2009 Go to Blazer's Regatta

6:15 PM Sat 21 Mar 2009 GMT

'Blazer fleet Day 1 - 2009 Go to Blazer’s' Rayshele Martin Click Here to view large photo

A fleet of 17 blazers, the largest fleet assembled locally, competed in the 2009 edition of Go To Blazers held last weekend.

Hosted at Southport Yacht Club Hollywell, the cyclonic conditions that had battered the Gold Coast all week made way for a light breeze at the beginning of the regatta. The race committee promptly commenced racing, however a strong outgoing current along with the fluky breeze created challenging conditions for the competitors. The strong home club contingent of 11 boats was supplemented with boats from Noosa Yacht and Rowing Club and Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron.

Gold Coast local Neil Sherring made a guest appearance helming the Noosa boat 'Crash Test Dummies' for Paul Blundell, and his local insight seemed to pay off with the team racking up the first win of the day. However the shifty and inconsistent conditions kept everyone guessing throughout the four races, and this only served to mix up the results over Day One.

Consistent performer 'Crash Test Dummies' topped the leader board after the end of Day One with a score card of 1,2,4,1, Narrowly leading Peter Lahey and crew on 'Still Crazy' with a 3,1,2,6. However, surprise packages 'Critical Mass', skippered by Rob Davies and 'On The Edge', skippered by David Vincent , finished the day with solid results to take 4th and 5th position respectively.

The forecast for Day Two seemed to be more promising than Day One. With a light breeze developing from the North East, the breeze slowly developed throughout the morning and became more consistent prior to the commencement of racing.

The first race got under way and 'Riff Raff' skippered by Peter Pritchard sailed strongly to score the first win of the day. Local team 'Musto', skippered by Southport Yacht Club Sailing Manager Shane Smith, proved their mettle on the Gold Coast Broadwater winning races 6 and 7 of the series. However, this late surge was not enough to unsettle 'Crash Test Dummies' as they continued with their consistency throughout Day Two.

The familiar rivalry between Blazer stalwarts Neil Sherring and Peter 'Pedro' Lahey emerged on Day Two with both teams posting strong and consistent results of 3,4,3 and 2,2,5. Despite their utmost efforts to claim another Go To Blazers trophy, Peter Lahey and his team on 'Still Crazy' were defeated by Neil and his 'Crash Test Dummies' crew.

Congratulations must go to SYC member Neil Sherring and his crew of Paul Blundell, Chris Annear, and Ali Blundell from Noosa Yacht and Rowing Club for their great performance throughout the event.

A thank you to the sponsors Quantum Sails, Yalumba, Musto, Resene Paints and the volunteers for their wonderful support.

A special thanks to 'The Lahey Family' for again donating the awesome half mould trophy you see in the photos.

The next event for Blazer 23 owners is the Southport Yacht Club's Commodore's Cup on May 9th and 10th. For more info please contact the Southport Yacht Club Sailing Office.

by Rayshele Martin

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2009 Go to Blazer's Regatta

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