Adventures

Writing this from Darwin, where it is 24 degrees… definitely the place to be! The Darwin Tasar Nationals started today in an 18 knot sou’easter that was very up and down, and also very shifty. We were happy going into the racing, after rounding the bottom mark of the practice race yesterday in fifth, before heading home to look after my hand. The first race today had a few starts, even…

Well… just to keep up the variety in my posts, I am writing this from a hospital bed. Very slowly! Small accident yesterday in the kitchen has resulted in nerve damage of some kind. Currently awaiting surgery at the Prince of Wales hospital where they will attempt to repair the damage. Fingers crossed this happens today so I can be partially recovered for Darwin! Last weekend, we had a great…

I can’t believe that we pack up the containers for Darwin on Saturday! I can’t wait to get out on the gorgeous waters of Fanny Bay for the Tasar Nationals! It is just over two weeks until we fly ourselves which is awesome! Our training is in full swing, even though the weather hasn’t been crash hot. Last weekend we were so lucky to have another two days of solid training. Happy…

Today will be the second and final day of our split weekend group training sessions leading into the Darwin Tasar Nationals with Simon Reffold. Really looking forward to having an external opinion on how we are tracking. Sitting in the theory session at the moment chatting about boat handling and automatic sailing… talking a lot about how Dad and I sail together. Some really great experiences to…

After the month of May, that was nothing but madness on many levels, I was pretty happy to welcome June today. We did have some great training at Jervis Bay, Ulladulla, Woollahra and a double-header at Lake Illawarra last weekend that made the month much more bearable! Chris and I were also awarded the Yachtsman and Yachtwoman of the year trophies by the Canberra Yacht Club for our successful…

Guy Stening, a great sailor most known for winning the Mumm 30 world championships in 2008, passed away on Thursday 10 May. Today he will be farewelled at the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, a venue close to his family and friends, at 2pm, the time of his favourite Wednesday afternoon RPEYC race. I met Guy Stening when I filled in for his sick bowman at the 2007 Mumm 30 Nationals. I became fast…

Frank BethwaiteDFC OAM, the designer of the Tasar among many other things, passed away on Saturday 12 May 2012 at 92 years of age. Today he was farewelled at the Northbridge Sailing Club, whichwas describedas sacred groundby the Bethwaite family. I have been sailing the Tasar since I was 11, now for 16 years with my father Rob Douglass. We have known Frank through the Tasar…

Teams racing says it all; a focus on the team. A great reminder ahead of getting back into serious training tomorrow that a team is only as good as the sum of its parts. The NSW Teams Racing Championships at Woollahra last weekend were busy for me to say the least. I ended up on the start boat for two days, and I am pretty sure the word was that we ran 159 races… in those two…

The NSW Tasar State Championships finished up on Easter Sunday at the Illawarra Yacht Club. Dad and I managed to finish in fifth after a not so brilliant first day, a blinder of a second day, and then some rough luck on the last day. The most important thing was that Team Chukkel only improved as the regatta went on, or as Rob Douglass would say, the “apprentice” (apparently that is…