“Believe me my young friend, there is nothing – absolutely nothing – half so much worth doing as simply messing about in boats.” So says Ratty to Mole in the classic novel 'The Wind in the Willows'. And messing around in boats was something Brent loved doing amongst many other pastimes. Brent was a terrific sailor, happy, friendly, interested, innovative and above all, a great bloke.

The members at Perth Radio Sailing Club decided to dedicate a race day to the memory of Brent. The Brent Field Memorial Regatta paid tribute to him, and the afternoon was very well attended.

We were very pleased to welcome Brent's wife Jane Cutler and his pooch Mishy to the lake to join us at the beer circle for the presentation.

The afternoon was a glorious winter's day in Perth, with sunshine, blue skys and light winds. Sailing kicked off at 1.30pm in both IOMs and DF95s. A total of 10 DF95s and 15 IOMs were racing on the afternoon. Brent's old boat - the V10 number #69 sailed by Bruce Robins was amongst the IOM fleet, reminding us of Brents history at the club. 

There were a number of volunteers who gave up their sailing so that the rest of us could participate. Bob Paton and Warren Rock ran the day from the bank, whilst Mal McKercher made sure the course was right, boats were recovered as needed and took some beaut photos out on the water in the club's rescue boat - "Brent's Choice". A big thank you to each of you.

Thanks also go to Dave Odlum, who arranged a host of things that made the day special. Dave arranged the banner for the day, burgees for prizes, a couple of trophies including a lovely painting done by his wife ( who also supplied us with some great brownies for the beer circle afterwards)

The racing was conducted in light shifty conditions and was held in great spirit. Justin McAullay took out the DF95s whilst Glenn Dawson came out on top in the IOMs.

Notable was the number of families and people watching from the bank. The club put on a great show for the many onlookers. 

Some photos from the day and results at the bottom......