A fleet of 27 boats across three classes took to the water for the Tweed Valley Sailing Club’s Condong to Fingal river marathon.
In contrast to the becalmed start the sailors faced 15-23–knot gusts along the Chinderah reach, with the wind coming from all and any directions.
Three classes of boat were well represented this year – the three-handed Corsairs (eight boats), two-handed Pacers (6), and single-handed Impulses (5). There were also four Lasers.
In the Corsairs 683 Fairlight had an impressive lead for nearly half of the race but their downfall came in the form of Corsair 490 Keenas, who flew through the Stotts Island narrows, never to be caught again.
After more than three hours, three of the six Pacers finished only one second apart. Xavier Doer from TSS came first, with TVSC’s Igor Prado and Kynan Luescher in second place.
Isaac Poulsen with Layla Scholz were neck and neck with Xavier for much of the race, even though it was their first time in a Pacer.
The Lasers and Impulses played cat-and-mouse all the way to the finish line, but TVSC’s Kate Yeomans took first place in the Lasers, and Peter Fell was the Impulse and overall race champion.
TVSC’s Adam Hurt from Fingal took third place in the Impulses on Rosie, by far the oldest Impulse in the fleet.
The Tumbulgum Passage Marathon marks the end of the winter season for TVSC. The club starts racing again in October.
The club is holding a Try Sailing Day this Saturday September 22.
