Small Sailboat Cruising's video: Gaff Rig Regatta - Noosa Yacht and Rowing Club On again in June 2021

The annual Gaff Rig Regatta is on again in June 2021 at the Noosa Yacht and Sailing Club. It will take place on the Noosa River. The inaugural Noosa Gaff Rig Regatta in 2019 had a small fleet, ranging from a 23 ft Pilot Cutter, to Moonlight, a 12 ft gunter rigged clinker dinghy. The Noosa River is situated at Noosa, North of the Sunshine Coast in South East Queensland. After a week of wet and windy weather, race day delivered blue skies, and light winds. Noosa is just a half-hour drive North of our home on the Sunshine Coast. We launched at around 9 am, rigged the boat at Tewantin on the Noosa Estuary, and motored downstream to the banks of the River in front of the Noosa Yacht and Rowing Club. A small fleet of gaff boats from 12 - 23 ft in length were being rigged by their enthusiastic owners to the rhythmic thump of several bands entertaining the public at the Noosa festival. We were the smallest boat in the fleet, with one of the least experienced crews as far as racing goes. I had been in a couple of races over the years, but only as crew, I had never been at the helm, so I was a bit anxious about how this might work out. Our 11 am race briefing eased some of my concerns, and a little mud map scratched out on the back of my race notes gave me a pretty good idea of the layout of the course. My concern was not about finding leading the charge and not knowing where to go. Rather, I wondered if we would be in-touch with the rest of the fleet so we could follow their lead. After the first leg, the circuit had a dogleg between two buoys that created a figure 8 effect. Several tacks seaward gave us plenty of time to observe the others in the race weaving back and forth. By the time we rounded the mark the first time, the rest of the fleet was rapidly disappearing out of sight on the homeward leg. We ponderously navigated the figure 8 section and headed downwind with the current to the finish line, as the others were maneuvering for the start of the second race. They generously delayed the start until we were across the line, so with no time to waste, we joined the fray and managed to get in a comfortable position at the start. Our good starting form meant that I was able to capture some nice footage of the fleet as they passed us early in the first tack, which was the last time we had any meaningful contact with the fleet. This time, the wind failed against the increasing tidal flow and we retired half way through the first leg of the race so as to make it back to the starting line in plenty of time for the 3rd race in the series of three. A heads up from one of the committee had us positioned pretty well at the start as the five of us crossed the starting line for the third and final time. Things went a lot better for us this time around, finishing forth in the fleet ahead of Dory who with a very young lad at the helm putting up a valiant fight against our 45 years of sailing experience. It was a great day on the water made even more satisfying when we were awarded a bottle of Bundaberg Rum for coming 5th overall out of a fleet of 5. Read the full story here: https://sailingmoonlight.com Follow Christopher sailing trailer boats, wooden boat projects, fibreglass boat restoration projects on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sailingmoonlight We have a healthy and growing community conversation about all things sailing, and you are welcome to join us on Sailing Beat https://www.facebook.com/groups/sailingbeat/ Follow Sailing Moonlight on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sailing_moonlight_dinghy/ Get Updates on Twitter: https://twitter.com/dinghymoonlight Christopher is staying fit, mentally sharp and extending his life on Superfood Sea vegetables. Convenient healthy grub for authentic sailors crammed full of zing. If you use my personal coupon code CHRIS you will get a 10% discount. https://seaweed.ph/ref/1/ These videos are made possible by people like you. If you would like to get early access to videos and behind the scenes insights, consider supporting the channel via my Patreon link: https://www.patreon.com/sailingmoonlight Discover how I can help you realize your dreams and attain complete freedom through life coaching. I am available as your mentor regardless of where you live, on land or sea. https://businesspilot.com.au www.linkedin.com/in/christophersly There are some affiliate links on this page that give us a small commission. All our music is licensed from Artlist https://artlist.io/Christopher-1171683 unless otherwise noted. Predict Wind is an app I use and highly value. See just how helpful it is for sailors like you and me. Go to https://www.predictwind.com/?ref=christophersly