Wind tests Walpole sailors
The weather gods smiled on Walpole Yacht Club's In the Trees Regatta at the weekend.
The action started on Saturday afternoon with winds about 20 knots, enough to severely test the sailing skills of lighter competitors and more than enough to keep rescue crews busy, tending to capsized yachts at regular intervals.
The Person of the Regatta may be seen as the ultimate accolade to a sailor who had won everything in his division over the weekend, but this year it went to a completely different winner.
John Fishwick was named Person of the Regatta, who for months prior to the regatta made it his mission to coerce owners of Mirror dinghies in the district to drag them out of garages and spruce them up in order to have a meaningful fleet of Mirrors at the event.
Lloyd Edmonds showed great speed and remarkable consistency by winning all four races and of course, the State title in the Moth fleet.
Peron Pearse was second and Mandurah sail maker and moth veteran Phil 'Buggsie' Smith finished third.
Todd McVee sailed his Cherub dinghy Smurf Crease into first place, followed closely by promising female skipper Virginia Horn in Serenity Now and Brad Luketina in Panda Monium.
Roger Thurecht's Chardonnay finished on top of the points table with a comfortable win over Cliff Rolfe's Madness and Chris Thompson's Feeling Lucky in the surf cats competition.
Division 4 attracted an amazing variety of sail craft ranging from the big trimaran Halicarnassus, sailed by Frank Cooper, to two little yawls - classic examples of the beauty of yachts from a bygone era.
Halicarnassus, which has sailed in each of the regattas to date, recorded its first win, ahead of Albany yachtsman Neil Worrell, sailing the Red Witch Cunning Witch.
The winner of the Tasar class was David Meehan's Critical Path, followed by former Sharpie champion Trevor Date in Zailing and Bill Quinn's Plan B.
East Fremantle's Peter Coop was in total control of the single-handed Sabre fleet, winning every race of the series.
The small surfcat fleet saw Andrew Martin take the honours in Wasabi ahead of Royal Perth Yacht Club's Sally Wynn in the Little Blue Surfcat and the popular veteran Jay MacFarlane sailing the Green Machine.
In the Mirror class, first place went to David Fishwick in She Wookie, followed by Paul Beeck in the Butt Headed Demon and Ian Pianta's Old Salt.
The regatta ended on a high note, with a special presentation to Kim Swarbrick and his cousins Glenn and John, recognising the contribution of the Swarbrick family to the Walpole sailing community.
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