SA Summer of Sail Launch Regatta at Adelaide Sailing Club - Day 1
by Harry Fisher 1 Dec 2018 06:32 PST
1-2 December 2018
SA Summer of Sail Launch Regatta 2018 © Elise Dalmaso
It wasn't the textbook start to the Australian summer and the launch regatta of the SA Summer of Sail today with strong northerlies of more than 25 knots forcing racing at the Adelaide Sailing Club to be postponed.
With that being said there were still a few keen sailors getting in some practice in the breeze, including a handful of Optimists, Lasers and a sole Sharpie that decided to get in the thick of it.
SA 926 'Nude' was the lone Sharpie on the water and had some great rides, however understood the need to cancel racing due to strong wind warnings and thunderstorms on the way.
The boat's sheet hand, Sean Keen, said he and his team had about a 30 minute window where the breeze looked okay and decided to get in some heavy weather practice while the opportunity was there.
Some of the high level Optimist and Laser squad sailors also gave it a crack, thriving in the windy conditions and treating it as a good hit out ahead of the upcoming nationals.
It sets up an exciting day tomorrow with the entirety of the Optimist States and fair chunks of the Laser and Sharpie states relying on favouring breezes to put together a series.
The Sharpies saw 32 boats today, the biggest South Australian state fleet seen in more than six years, while the Lasers and Optimists also had strong turnouts with more than 30 and 50 boats respectively.
The launch regatta this weekend sets the tone for a huge summer ahead, which will see more than nine major events at five different clubs take place across December and January.