The rather unflattering name of 'Wobbly Boot'

by Ian Grant on 5 Mar 2012 Friendly Whitsunday Sailing Club skipper Craig Piccinelli has offered no real reason behind choosing the rather unflattering name of Wobbly Boot for his Jim Young designed sloop.

Many of his sailing mates are quick to assume the Wobbly Boot title came from the skipper’s party habits but that has never been confirmed by her proud owner who has always reflected a sense of personal pride when accepting trophies on behalf of his talented Wobbly Boot racing team.

Sure they have enjoyed a ‘quite little drink’ to celebrate the occasion while skipper Craig Piccinelli has remained happy about the performance of his investment with his personal racing record showcasing a number of important victories including The Boss Hog trophy as the star performer in the annual Airlie Beach Race Week.

Every race irrespective of the result is a reward for her skipper who laid his cash on the line to buy the small yacht ending a dispute between the builder and the original client.

The little yacht with the unusual name has justified her purchase price by providing endless hours of racing enjoyment for her happy crew who are determined to add further dollars to her resale value when the battle lines are drawn for class honours in the 2012 Airlie Beach Race Week later this year.

Meanwhile they are continuing to enjoy testing their handicap rated boat speed in the club point score races around the buoys and in the more demanding passage races around the Whitsunday Islands.

As expected the competition is heating up however this has not changed the friendly racing attitude of the Wobbly Boot crew.

Enjoyment is the first priority when they step on board; with the respected honour of racing in a Wobbly Boot crew shirt focused on a high degree of the fun factor.

However while they collectively maintain a sun tanned smile when hiking on the weather rail the Wobbly Boot crew have been known to aggressively protect their sailing space which has paved the way to record a share of the major results.

While the Wobbly Boot crew have been known to express their knowledge of the racing rules friendly skipper Craig Piccinelli has adopted the policy of what happens of the water stays on the water.

'After all sailing is all about having fun' he said.