Welcome to Heron Class
Updates25 Feb Ryde Handicap Games - a reduced fleet of four Herons took to the water for this handicap start event. Chris was off 9 minutes in Flying Circus, Peter was off 6 minutes in Rippa, Wayne was off 3 minutes in Cirrus and Paul was off scratch, sailing Flat Chat. The forecast was for a decent Southerly breeze but the reality was that most of the race was fairly light. The other Herons were away for the Junior States at Narabeen.
Flying Circus took some catching and they were looking good for a while. Wayne and Kathy in Cirrus eventually caught Flying Circus with about 3/4 of a lap to go. However after half a lap of sailing together Cirrus had still not managed to go past and get clear. Flat Chat was closing fast from behind in a new breeze as the two lead Herons approached the Brays mark. Paul and Xavier in Flat Chat took the lead on the second last leg to the Bridge mark and were never headed after that. Cirrus picked up second and Flying Circus third. 18 Feb Club Championship Heat 5 - Certainly an unusual days sailing. Course 4 was set but the conditions were probably better suited to course 3. This limited overtaking opportunities. Cirrus started on Port at the pin end and had the best of the start. As a result Cirrus was able to make the top mark in 1st without tacking. Closely following were Heronasaurus, Grumpier and Alias. The conditions were threatening to storm for most of the later part of the race. Grumpier was able to hold on for the win from Heronasaurus and then Alias. Allan and Luke on Little Tacker Too were unlucky to drop the rig within 100m of the finish. 11th Feb Autumn Point Score Heat 3 - A reduced fleet of four Herons took to the water on a sweltering day with temperatures pushing into the high thirties. A light Easterly breeze made conditions much more pleasant on the water than they might have been. David McClean and Ella Donovan in Grumpier led the fleet around the top mark (Fishers) with a tight grouping of Cheeserocket, Cirrus and Stingray following behind. The race progressed much the same way with Grumpier leading and Stingray, Cheeserocket and Cirrus swapping places behind. Grumpier finally won by two minutes followed by Cheeserocket, Stingray and Cirrus, closely grouped in that order. Well sailed to Sophie Bedhauer and Hanna Nash on Stingray for the handicap win. Cheeserocket and Cirrus dead heated for second on handicap with Grumpier fourth on Handicap. As an aside Geoff Nash and Cathy Clapham both sailed in the Spiral fleet. Geoff placed third and enjoyed sailing a boat that wasn't secretly sinking for the first time in about five weeks. We are all looking forward to seeing the Golden Fox back on the water. Feb 4 Autumn Point Score Heat 2 - A late decision to move the Heron Association Interclub race from Dobroyd to CRSC saw and enhanced fleet of 20+ Herons racing. Following a delay while we waited for the light NE breeze to set in excitement was high on the start line with a general recall resulting from the first attempted start. There seemed to be some confusion on the restart with quite a few boats late for the line. Local sailor Chris Loring in Tinker Rescue sailing with his daughters Jessica and Olivia continued his strong run of recent form to lead the local boats home and finish second in the overall fleet. Chris Gildersleeve sailed a strong race in Flying Circus to take out the handicap result. Tinker Rescue's winning margin was good enough to give them second place on handicap. Graham and Brendan Carrick sailing Alias had a good start and sailed well near the front of the fleet to secure third place on Handicap. January Summary - Eight CRSC boats traveled to St Leonards on Port Phillip Bay to contest the 58th Heron National Championships regatta during January in a fleet of 34. The sailing was fantastic throughout the regatta with a range of conditions from drifter - to approximately 20 kn. The CRSC boats that competed were Heronasaurus - Paul Armstrong and Xavier Waters (5th), Grumpier - David McClean & Caitlyn Takacs (7th), Little Tacker Too - Allan Takacs & Caroline Takacs (14th), Golden Fox - Geoff & Hanna Nash (19th), Cirrus - Wayne & Katherine Spencer (20th), JID - Cathy, Sachi Clapham & Kimberley Spencer (24th), Uputu (28th) - Warren Hodgkins & Charlie Waters and Rippa - Peter Carrick (31th). The CRSC sailors competed well taking out some of the heat prizes for top three on handicap and scratch. Heronasaurus took out the prize for first family boat, JID took home the proize for first Lady Skipper on Handicap. On the home front the sailing competition was no less fierce with the Festive series (1st Tinker Rescue, 2nd Cirrus, 3rd Golden Fox) and Australia Day HCP start race (1st Tinker Rescue, 2nd Grumpier, 3rd Heronasaurus being raced in January. |
A little about HERONSThe Heron is a two person dinghy that is the perfect family boat. They are sailed competitively with crew combinations of adult & child, two teenagers or two adults. The Heron is flexible enough to offer competitive sailing over a range of crew weights with a larger jib available for crews with a combined weight of over 135 kg (or 125 kg with corrector weights).
Class Captain: Alan Takacs Phone Number: 0459 184 305
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