| Tell
Tales
CRAYFISH CUP - Saturday 18/19th November
20006
There was a buzz of excitement among the club members
who had gathered down at the harbour early on the
Saturday morning. The word was getting around that
there was a large number of visiting boats in town
and that we could be assured of a good fleet for the
weekend regatta, our annual Crayfish Cup.
It’s always a pleasure for the club members
to welcome visiting sailors to Apollo Bay and for
many visitors it can be their first experience of
the sometimes challenging conditions of Bass Strait.
The only challenge the fleet would face on Saturday
was keeping their boats moving in the light north-easterly
breeze.
The fleet was a bit of a mixed bag with the favourite
of the adrenalin junkies, the Fireballs, dominating
although one lone Flying Dutchman, sailed by a very
capable crew, were able to give them a run for their
money. For our crew of Fireball sailors - Geeks &
Stewie on Not Your Average White Boat and Matt &
Gary, still sporting their ‘L’ plates
for Fireballs - it was a rewarding experience to mix
it in a large Fireball fleet.
The visiting 420’s sailed by junior crews proved
they were capable of sailing with the rest of the
fleet and put in a good result. The local Flying Fifteens,
with Shayne & Max on Town Bike, Randall &
crew on Zappa, and Colin & Doug on Miss Molly,
found the light conditions not exactly to their liking
and would have relished a much stronger breeze.
After the day’s racing it was back to the club
room where the shore crew of Chris & Sandra had
the saveloys and nibbles ready, much appreciated by
the hungry sailors. With the afternoon fast disappearing,
and the food all gone it was unanimously decided to
adjourn to the pub for tea and continue the tall tales
and true on into the night.
Sunday’s conditions were to be a repeat of the
previous day’s although the breeze at times
may have been slightly stronger. There was also the
addition of three A Class Cats from Colac who blitzed
the fleet in their extremely fast boats, completing
the course in a little over 30 minutes – almost
40 minutes ahead of the rest of the fleet. With the
race over, it was back to the beach for a quick lunch
where Geeks as MC presented the trophies to the prize
winners, with the first place getters in the junior
and senior categories taking home the trademark crayfish.
So for all concerned it was a great weekend and with
the camaraderie generated among the visiting sailors
I am sure we will see them back again next year.
Our thanks go to our sponsors Apollo Bay Fishermen’s
Co-Op, and Pete at Café 153 for his work in
calculating the race results.
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