WV Classic (1st April @ PYC)

Please note; entrants can use any gear in any race. This could be multiple gear per person, your choice.

Additional guidelines;

For the Retro prise, your most retro gear (sail and board) must be used for at least one race.

For the Best (worst) Dressed prise, you must be in fancy dress for at least one race.

Please note; fancy dress is not mandatory.

I have put my hand up to help out for the day, but will bring some kit down anyway. Try Spotty, don't think he is in a Team yet???

This Sunday is the WV Classic at Parkdale Yacht Club, the end of summer season event and the start of the winter season. I hope everyone has organised their teams etc. Some of stores have various boards and kits that can be loaned from the stores for your teams. This includes SUP windsurfers. Go and have a chat with them before Sunday.

The event will be based on 3 water races and hopefully 1 land based fun race (TBC). The 3 water events will be set up to run for 30mins each with a 1hr window for each race. The water races will consists of 1 triangle with a water start, 1 slalom (figure 8) with a beach start and 1 relay (1 reach mark) with a beach start switching from the first sand bar. The slalom race will be based on the number laps over a 30min period. The land base event will be decided on the day.

Please note you can use different gear for any of the races. The best dressed award will require the entrant to wear their get up for at least one water based race. The most retro is the same, must be used in one water based race. There is always ways to twist the use to cover how the gear is used.

Cost to the event is $10 for the BBQ and $10 for non-Parkdale Yacht Club members. All payable during registration.

After the races we will have a BBQ dinner and the awards night for the WV Classic and the WV Course Racing Series, with some special presentations. The bar will have drinks at pub prices. The schedule for the day is listed below. WV and the stores/schools will be at Parkdale at about 10am to setup.

10:30am – 11:45am Registration (Club Room near the bar)
12:00pm Race Briefing
1:00pm 1st Race
2:00pm 2nd Race
3:00pm 3rd Race
4:00pm 4th Race (Land Based if run)
5:30pm BBQ
6:30pm Awards
8:00pm Close

If you have not been to Parkdale Yacht Club before, the club is great place to watch the bay and the action on the water.

See you all there.

Can anyone comment on how easy it is to sail upwind (i.e tacking on an upwind leg of a race course) on a formula board in 10-15 knots? What size sail would I need in these conditions?

If you have a PFD please bring it with you - approx 30 odd will be available to loan on the day.
Bring a big sail and board too! There will be some big gear on loan too for all the wave crew!

The wind is looking ideal for big boards and sails with up to 15 knots SSE. The RS Ones should be ideal, looking forward to a fun day! Luke

Awesome day organised by the WV. Great fun to get on the water in 10 knots and get left for dead by the Parkdale crew. Good to see a great turnout in such light conditions as well. There could be a few people checking the trading post today to get there hands on a "old" one design !

The "ZU" Lander guys where hilarious to watch all day, I'm quite sure Jerzy is still wearing his wig today. Bring on next year !

Back in the 90s there was an event called the Blue Diamond that was runned by Victorian Sailboarding Association and Parkdale Yacht Club (PYC). WV wanted to bring back the same sort of fun and event as the Blue Diamond for its members. With the recent events with WV at PYC and PYC long time support of windsurfing with their weekly racing. WV proposed to PYC to bring back the fun and requested to host a new and hopefully an annually event. The date of the 1st April was proposed, due to this dates typical association with pranks and fun. Plus the 1st April 1985 was the birthdate of Victorian Sailboarding Association (i.e. Windsurfing Victoria).

The day started off with very light winds, but changed to about 10-15knots when we were all setting up. The day's program of events was set around 3 types of races, with everyone within a team of 4. The first was a triangle set course race, starting from the water. The second race was a 5-lap sprint around a figure 8 reach course starting from the beach. The third race was a relay race around the same outer reach mark from the second race.

The event also was advertised with entrants having the option to dress up for a best-dressed prize. This brought a team based on the Zulander and a fully dressed Viking. Plus there was a retro prize up for grabs as well for the oldest kit.
With 8 teams the races were full of action and heaps of laughing. There was plenty of different type of gear racing from Race-boards to Hybrids to Windsurfer One Designs (WOD) to Wind SUPs to Formula to slalom to beginner boards and so on.

The first race was a one lap of a triangle course. The race started from the water between the start boat and a marker. The first leg was a direct upwind sail to the first mark. The second and third legs were a broad reach finishing off with short up wind race to the finish line in front of the club. Some sailors saw how the older WOD go so well in light winds. A few had some troubles getting to the first mark, but all enjoyed themselves with most first timers wanted to try the course again.

The second race was based on as many laps as possible within 30mins. Due to the weather the race was set for 5 laps. The course was set on direct reach from the beach. We all started from the first sand bar and headed out to the first mark, all 32 of us. Of course there was plenty of action at the gybe marks, but the major fun was in between the marks. With plenty of calls of Starboard; for right of way. In the end all you could hear was laughing.

Third race was spilt up with each team having one sailor sail at one time and tag the next sailor at the first sand bar after one lap. This was the closest race of them all.
By the end of the races everyone was exhausted, but we all had huge smiles on our faces and could not wait to the next time this event was run. Some of entrants are already looking at what kit for next time and what other races WV runs like this. I guess the course racing series next season will be bigger. As everyone would have realised you learn so much from racing and racing with WV is about having fun and more fun.

The event ended with a typical WV BBQ in the PYC clubrooms looking out over the bay. After the BBQ the trophies for the WV Classic and WV Course Racing Series was presented including a special presentation to acknowledge Mike Meyers long contribution to the sport of windsurfing in Victoria and to WV. Please refer to following page for the race results.

1st Place Team
1. Luke Meyers
2. Simon Hansen
3. Tao Langham
4. Greg Shapcott

Last Place Team
1. Jerry Copestake
2. Evan Mackenzie
3. Martin Love
4. Peter Hands

Best Dressed
1. Gordon Newbury (i.e. the Viking)

Most Retro
1. Anton Vdovin (old WOD with a rope tied boom and centre board over the shoulder)

A big thanks to PYC, The ZU, SHQ, Core Boardsports and Jodi from Whitecaps Photography for their support of WV and the event. Please stay tune for photos from the event.

Great pics Jodi!