2019 / 2020 NSW Slalom and GPS Series

Hi All

Photos from Myall Lake NSW Slalom Titles held from Friday 29th November to Sunday 1st December 2019.

Any results from yesterday?

Well experience and wisdom shone through for the committee in choosing Saturday as the best day of the weekend, as it delivered a variety of conditions from minimum 12 - 14knts building to a beautiful (as Tibor would describe it) 14 - 18knt NE breeze.We kicked off with a 30 minute GPS freerace as the breeze filled in and began its shift from east to northeast, there was a fair amount of weed about which effectively took 2knts off the wind and put us right on the limit and made for some challenging times to get or keep moving. Most of the fleet opted for there largest combination mostly on slappers with the exceptions of Jeff Davies and Tibor on the foil.Remi brought home the win with an impressive 19.917km in the 30 minute session followed by Jeff on the foil, which showed a foil can actually be effective in this format of racing.

Following a small break we decided to trial a new format and conducted a 15 minute 2 second peak session, with the aim of recording the highest speed in the relatively short period, most headed or attempted to head to "sand island speed strip" which just starting to get going, it took a bit of time to get there but on arrival no weed and some nice gusts allowed Remi to knock out a top speed of 30.68knts, pretty tidy on a 9.2m sail and 85 wide board, Muz attempted to compete recording 30.21 also on a 9.0 and 85 wide board, Rick wimped out on his 8.4 and recorded 26.73knts and could have done with some more cloth. Of note Dezza sailing well and recording a respectful 24.49knts.

Hard luck story goes to Otis who's GPS satellite signal disappeared during the session which also happened to another, however they had a backup device, next time Otis!

With the breeze now settled in we introduced slalom into the program and set a simple one gybe 5km blast race from Coal Point to Swansea Caravan Park and back, by this time the wind was starting to fill in and even Remi changed down to tackle the 14 - 18knts now on offer. With the adrenalin of the 4 minute count down taking over we smashed out 3 slalom races in no time flat, Remi reigned supreme with 3 bullets followed by Rick with two seconds and a 3rd.A great day was had by all in attendance with a variety of conditions and formats offered, we will continue to introduce more fun formats and look forward to watching those who participate improve their sailing and hone their skills further.

Massive thanks to Greg Millard who gave his Saturday up to make the event happen and man the start boat and to our ever so conscientious Club President Ian for getting the boat kitted up and ready for action.

Next Stop Forster 1st and 2nd February 2020.

Thanks again for compiling the results and for the great write up, Muz! We definitely got the most out of the conditions.

Location fantastic and with a great forecast should be a fun weekend.
This place cranks in a NE breeze more than anywhere in NSW.
Enjoy

Well, What a great way to end a great series, with 6 results being achieved in winds from 14 - 22knts.

Forster delivered with a great NE breeze which got us on the water for a pretty snappy 12:15pm start. The format for this weekend following lesson's learnt from previous years was to maximise sailing time and eliminate stuffing around time. To achieve this we opted for new format which we opened a 1hr window to record results across 3 categories being 2 second peak, nautical mile and alpha (500m including gybe).

The first session was conducted in 14 - 16knts of breeze with everyone playing it fairly safe, fearing the forecast of 25+ and opted for mid range sail sizes (maximum sail size on the water was 7.8m). The format allowed for pretty relaxing and strategic session where position on the lake and proximity to the weed beds was always on your mind to achieve your best results. The difference with this format over an all out distance session was it allowed people to rest or recover if desired opposed to being in a full blow endurance, but you could still do that if desired.

At 13:15 the session closed and everyone retreated back, some taking quite some time to come back up wind after fighting the offshore breeze. Much needed hydration and food was consumed and discussion about the afternoon session was had.

With the wind now settled in at 18-22knts and everyone happy with the first session format we simply repeated it, now in more favorable, stronger conditions. Most opted for the same gear as the first session, however once on course a few people retreated during the session and changed down sails or fins to better handle the conditions which were really great by now.

Wallis lake, whilst being weedy does provide a very unique venue with runs of 3 - 4km easily achieved with water states from small chop to short medium chop and sections of silky smooth weed flats.

The second session was completed by 4pm with may attendees sailing well in excess of 50km on the day with our most youthful competitor Bill clicking over 82km, a big day.

We retreat back to the caravan park and rested up with the possibility of another hard day on Sunday.

On arrival at lake, the car park was hectic with swimmers and picnickers everywhere, the boat was launched and ready for action, but as suspected we had seen the best of the wind and the heat began to build and the breeze didn't, the call was made to pack it up after having a great day yesterday and head for home.

Some great results recorded by everyone and some really close competition across the fleet, I'm sure following analysis of results everyone will have identified an area in need of improvement for next season.

Massive thanks to Greg for collecting the boat, towing it up and keeping us all safe on the water.

On behalf of the committee I'd like to thank all the volunteers throughout the season that allows us all to come together and sail in these great locations and enjoy each others competition and mateship on and off the water and for all those who have come along to the events.

We will follow this post with a season wrap up (final positions / divisions etc) and talk about what we are think for the 2020/21 season for which planning is well advanced.

Always happy to take on feedback, suggested improvements or new ideas, with the series now having 30 odd years of history it has seen a lot of changes and has always responded to change, as it will into the future.

Great stuff, Muz! Thanks again for compiling the results (of which you came out on top!? Well done champ!) and for deftly running everything on the days of the events. Thanks also to Byron for all his behind the scenes work despite being out injured and Greg who donates a heap of time and effort with the boat.
I really enjoyed having the option to use the foil this year and get a bit more time on the water when conditions were marginal. Quite a few others were foiling as well and I expect to see more of this in the coming years.
Great to have people taking the trouble to travel from the Illawarra, Sydney and Queensland (Jonesy) to join the LM crew at these events. You guys really help to make these events special! Hope to see you all, and more, next year.

That was so worth the drive! testing out the weekend adventure van for its first proper run!
Great to catch up with some familiar faces !
It was Super windy in the end, haven't had wind like that for months, not sure where you got your wind strengths from Muz?! was solid 25+knts out in the middle!! great spot have always wanted to sail there, great spot for families too, paradise like really!

Sat night was a like a time warp...should have warned me i would have found some brown swede flare pants!
I felt sorry for those crustaceans they didn't stand a chance.

Weed fins are foreign objects for me, as are weed banks...but can see now why so many people get hooked on weed :)

Sunday was even better! Scored a really nice fun wave session in 20-25knts at Coffs Harbour with a couple of locals off park beach, great spot in a NE lots of fun....cool water was a pleasant change !

C u all at GI