First all-female podium at Taipan State Championships
by Roellen Gillmore 14 Mar 10:39 GMT
Left to right - Ada Dynes, Roellen Gillmore and Tilly Richards podiums of the Sloop fleet - Taipan State Championships © Albury Wodonga Sailing Club
Glassy waters of Lake Hume greeted the Taipan catamaran fleet as they rolled in to Albury Wodonga Sailing Club for the March Labor Day weekend, stirring an uneasy feeling that we had a hot long weekend ahead.
Worse was the realisation we could have organised ourselves better and brought the 'other boat' more commonly used by lake folk.
"Go look at your weather apps, and then disregard them" were the wise words of the Race Officer. Next, we learnt about katabatic winds and our thoughts of alternative watercrafts were gladly forgotten.
A total of twenty-five Taipans racked up on the start lines for the Victorian Championships, rivalling the nationals' fleet of 30 thanks to the savvy planning to drag NSW boats just south of the boarder. Come to think of it, we didn't actually check if anyone should have been disqualified for crossing into NSW waters during the VIC event.
Good racing by all you cat sailors, but we're here to talk about the fierce five - the sloops.
Ada (16), Tilly (16), Millie (16), Roey (16x2ish) and Jaxon (9) were in command. Each sloop committed to a crew steers weekend and girl, it was on! Save your giggles for between races, because even down to the Hollywood finish it was anyone's race.
Winds of 3-12kts on flat water was the perfect conditions for these newly-helms. Ada didn't flinch when it blew up more, showing commitment to time on water pays off. The VIC girls come home with a 1, 2, 3 in the sloop fleet, the first all-female podium.
Congratulations goes to the club for hosting a well run regatta, and hats off to each sloop crew (the blokes) for handing over the reins. The genuine support from the whole fleet is what makes the Taipan class stand out as one to be part of.