Women at Work won the day, from Electric Tram, with Jecks Family Sedan in third place.

Skipper of Women at Work, Christine Sunderland, heeded previous advice from her last race in near identical conditions to gain the advantage on her competitors. She positioned her boat perfectly in the tactically demanding conditions, while her crew, Sally Dix, Sally Watts and hard-working husband Alan kept the boat speed up. This enabled the skipper to make best use of the shifting breeze.

After an hour and a half of racing it was a thrilling finish as Women at Work took a well deserved win by just 33 seconds. Electric Tram had a couple of new crew members on board but that didn’t stop Sam and Alana Chesterfield-Evans, Tania Roodhouse and helmsman Gavin Ronald from finishing second. A mistake rehoisting the jib may have cost Jecks Family Sedan, who came in third. Apart from this, Jazz Singer, Deb steering, John running winches, mast main trim and head sails and Mike Davies on the fore deck, had an excellent race.

Craig Francis, in yet another new craft, Suicide Blonde, sailed well to take out fastest time, while light windward returns did not suit Sharpies.

The winning skippers took the credit for their results, while the losing skippers refused to take responsibility, instead blaming the crew, conditions or anything else in sight. One skipper scrubbed his hull prior to the race only to see his crew launch the spinnaker sideways – welcome to the foredeck of Darryl Slee. Other finishers were Skyrider (Dave Watts), Wings of Wind (Rob Johansen), Psyclone (Snow Francis, Peter Browne and Mozzie) while Ziggy and Cool Change struggled.

Mark Audet, Stuart Bender, Lyndon Crocket and Scot Warby, onboard Oliver Twist, were sailing in their first ever race and deserve special mention. The competition is on again in August for race three, which will have a Fancy Dress theme. Thanks must go to Nigel Chesterfield-Evans, Ashley Morris and Larry Holdsworthy for course setting and manning the support boat. After the race sailors went back to the yacht club for a sausage sizzle, where they joined the fishing club which was celebrating its Annual Family Crab Fest.