And that’s a lot!

by John Curnow on 5 Apr 2017 142. Impressive. It’s a lot. In landlubber terms, 142 knots is 263 kilometres per hour. Now that is ginormous, for you would need a well decent car to do that on the highway, as well as a lot of track because you swallow up tarmac at a voracious rate. Your closure rate on upcoming vehicles is also well over the legal limit and something like the old ton, 100mp/h, should you be old enough to remember that. You would of course also lose your licence, maybe for life, and also that very decent automobile under anti-hoon laws, should you attempt it. So don’t It's a waste of a good car...!

As you can see from the graph, it is what TC Debbie was doing when she slammed into Hammo last week. A friend used to work on the island and said to me, “42 is enough, but 142 is insane! The gauge said West which was impossible, so it probably had issues. (Ed. Who wouldn’t standing out in that!) I lived in the staff marina, was there on my trimaran for Cyclone Justin and a few others, I could tell you some stories...” He did, and they were somewhat mesmerising.

Pantaenius Sail and Motor Yacht Insurance were on the ground to help their customers as soon as the first planes were allowed in. We all feel very much for Hamilton Island, Airlie Beach and the whole Whitsunday region, and look forward to seeing them back on their feet soon, Abell Point Marina checked in to say that things were not too bad and once all the electrical storms had passed they began to get repair crews out on the quays to attend to the problems they had.

On Hamilton Island the clean up and repairs began, with a five-month timeframe indicated, so it will be still going on in part when whale watching season is in full swing. So to the industry, the locals, boat owners, emergency crews and so forth we say well done on surviving and we look forward to seeing you in normal operation mode very soon.

Well it is a continent of changeable and varied weather, so as Northern NSW and SE Queensland recover from a drenching it was good to see a record fleet partake in the Newcastle to Port Stephens feeder race. Also good to see that the bulk of the fleet comprised of craft like Bavarias, Beneteaus, Mumm 30s, Northshores, Elans, Adams, Radfords, and Farrs. They will all make the first part of Sail Port Stephens more colourful.

Now as the season sort of winds down and before whale watching season officially kicks off it seems timely to remind everyone to have their Publicity Officer, club, association, Race Committee or gathering to ensure they get their material in to Sail-World.com via the ‘Submit News’ button right up the top of the home page, next to ‘Contact’.

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In the same vein, don't just leave it until the finish of the regatta to do a report - do a preview, and a report each day. Mention your sponsors in each and they will get many times the exposure they would have, had you done just a single report. They'll be keen to sponsor you again, if you can show them the value you deliver. Also you'll build a following for your class, club and events, which will help bring new sailors into your fold. Look upon your reports as free marketing.

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