KYC dominates at local regatta
WILDERNESS - George Lakes Yacht Club (GLYC) hosted its annual inter-club regatta at Island Lake on Saturday and Sunday, 6 and 7 October. This year, Knysna Yacht Club (KYC) was the only club that could compete with the host club for the inter-club trophy.
The sailing boats were grouped into a faster fleet and a slower fleet. There were 20 in the fast fleet, of which eight were from KYC. Seven of the KYC boats were of the Finn class, headed by previous national champion David Shilton. There were just six boats in the slow fleet – three Gypsies and three Optimists, all from GLYC.
On the first day, conditions were not too pleasant, with drizzly, Scotch mist and a light south-easterly wind. Three races were completed in these conditions. On Sunday the rain cleared and four races were held in a light south-eastern wind and some sun.
Finns being the faster boats, they headed the fast fleet in all the races, with the Lasers, Dabchicks and GP14s trailing behind. In front, it was just GLYC's Georgou Divaris (Finn) who was competition for Shilton, and it was close between these two.
After seven races both tied on points, however Sailing's tie break system gave first place to Shilton, with Divaris in second place and KYC's Michael Hill in third place.
With the event being scored on a handicap basis, Jean Paul Buys (Laser Radial) was the top boat for GLYC, scoring consistently in the top seven in the races and finishing in fourth place overall.
The inter-club results were determined by the scores of the top five boats of each club. With KYC dominating the top results in each race, they easily won the regatta.
The slow fleet comprised three doublehanded boats of the Gypsy class and three Optimists, all from GLYC. The Gypsies coped better in the conditions, with the team of Claire Bishop and Taelin Reuter finishing in first place, ahead of Kylie McDonald and Ava Murray, with Ndino Mnyazi and Matthew Wiseman third.
George Lakes Yacht Club acknowledges with thanks its long-standing sponsor, Lew Geffen Sotheby's International Realty, for contributing to the success of this regatta.
For more information about George Lakes Yacht Club, see its website, www.glyc.org.za or like its Facebook page, GLYC.