What a day of quality racing.

The forecast was for a sunny day of 24C condition with a varying Southwester breeze blowing between 4 to 15 knots.

 As is usual at Austin Lakes that means the trees offer fluctuations near any banks and therefore some variability in direction and strength.

For the most part we had good solid breezes from the south for most of the day, in fact with two races to go we were offered a break to change sails and a few of us did change down a rig however Murphy rules occurred and it softened instead of increasing.

We set the course on the western bank of the lake using the shelter as a base to conduct the measuring and presentations area. The course itself was adjusted to be suited to a fleet of 13 boats and shortened for the smaller class in choppy seas.The bounce back at the northern end did become an issue when the winds were stronger so we stayed out of that zone the best we could. There was also good club representation with Albany (4), Wanderers (2), Austin Lakes (6), Perth (1) making up the fleet and they all sailed well.

We thank Ian Sherriff who stood out from this year racing to be our PRO on the day and he did a sterling job. There were two starting general recalls because the starts were becoming key to getting to the top mark first, so there was pressure being applied right from the get go. For the most part the racing was jovial and fun with good banter and mateship displayed by all skippers. We did have a few contacts and the odd topmark pile ons which was unfortunate but it did allow the skippers that could keep clear to escape and pass. Plenty of great tacks and downwind legs added to the spice especially when the breeze picked up.

We would like to thank Dave Woodcock, Ian Meiklejohn and Terry Priest for their assistance on the day, they set up, scored and measured plus set up the lunch rolls and did it with ease. The Club would also like to make special mention to "Chain Gate Woodwork" in Willetton and the Meiklejohn family for the fantastic handcrafted trophies that were presented to the winners.

The new DF65 Champion is Nick Jerwood. This now becomes the most important trophy in his collection. Nick clearly showed us the level required to be a World champion and we appreciate that he came down to join us and showed us the way. Second was a lucky Donks who escaped many of those clusters with the 2021 champion Geoffery Oliver coming in third.

Thank you to all the skippers that came and joined us for the day.