Just one sleep to go and the first event of this seasons Raceboard Series is upon us! At the biggest club for Raceboards in NSW - Dobroyd Aquatic Club is hosting the day. Briefing at 1:15 racing from 2:00.
The Series this season is just interclubs with Illawarra YC on Nov 30 and St George on March 22 2025.
Other events of the season are the Nationals at Lake Cootharaba Jan 16-19 2025. www.ausraceboard.org/raceboard-windsurfing-events#/2024-25-raceboard-nationals-lake-cootharaba/
and Raceboard NSW state titles April 5&6 at Saratoga Sailing Club.
Come along get involved.
A great turn out at DAC with 22 boards competing in challenging conditions. A gusty southerly was striking the glistening waters of Iron Cove. Like always at DAC you can never be sure of the result until you cross the finish line. Locals James Luffman and Richie Reynolds took the top two spots on the podium with John Doolan a super consistent competitor in the Raceboards coming 3rd. All through the fleet there was a lot of close competition as sailors tried to get the better of the conditions.
See you at the next round on Lake Illawarra on Nov 30.
Round 2 of the Raceboard Series is this Saturday at Illawarra.
The key times are:
Briefing 1215
First of 3 races 1230
Debrief, drinks and possibly dinner after racing in the club.
We recommend that windsurfers use the Western Gate off Northcliffe Drive to directly access the western carpark adjacent to the western Rigging Lawn. If windsurfers do enter via the eastern gate then they should immediately turn right onto a narrow internal road that takes them past the Main Entrance to the Club. As they pass the Main Entrance the western carpark and the Rigging Lawn will be visible. We will look to park cars towing trailers on the lawn area between park and the club building.
There is a Coffee and Snack Bar operating upstairs in the club from 9 am to 12.30 pm then the Lunch Menu commences. No wetsuits and booties upstairs in the club so visit and sign-in with ID before you get changed. After racing Neil Dewey has booked a couple of tables in the bistro so we can have a debrief over a beer or a coffee etc, with 2 tables booked in the evening for a meal.
We are planning that the racing format will be probably 3 races in the Bay with the finish adjacent to the Rigging Area each time. At this early stage WillyWeather is predicting a 12-15 knot ENE breeze, ideal for all skill levels. So we will be able to hold a briefing prior to each race. We plan that there will be an Early Race nominally starting at 12.30. A Middle Race nominally starting at 1.30. A Late Race probably starting about 2.30.
As something different we plan that each race will be a Handicap Start ie slowest windsurfers away at 15 minutes and the best away at or near 0 minutes.
See you there.
Todays round at IYC has been cancelled. They are getting smashed by some bad weather already and decided it was best to cancel todays event.
After the disappointment of missing round 2 due to the weather we have Round 3 this Saturday 22nd March at St George Sailing Club.
We're looking at three races, with the first race Warning Signal at 14.10. Briefing at 1pm.
No need to register this year, just rock up ready to race.
Stay on for a drink and dinner afterwards.
The club address for those who haven't been before is 2 Riverside Drive, Sans Souci.
Also only a couple of weeks later on April 5&6 is the Raceboard NSW state championship at Saratoga Sailing Club. check out the details and enter www.ausraceboard.org/
Great day at St George Sailing club yesterday. 8-12kn from the SE. We got 3 races in on a figure 8 course with the occasional puff to tempt you to pump away and plane, but would you be able to come back? The figure of 8 challenged Christophe's navigational skills, getting a mark rounding the wrong way in race 1 taking him down the scoresheet on a very consistent day's sailing. Many thanks to the club for hosting us again. It was great to see some new faces making their debut on to the NSW Series, so hopefully we'll be back again next season with more participants. Over the series we've had 28 participate.
Nathan Clift was showing some great form on his Exocet 380, dominating upwind with local Keith Single close behind. Keith was pushing it at the starts, collecting an OCS in race 2. Richie felt nervous and went back when the recall flag went up, giving himself a challenge to get back to the pointy end of the fleet. Lissa sailed consistently and was kicking at the heals of the leaders.
See you at the Raceboard State Championships at Saratoga on April 5 and 6. www.ausraceboard.org/
For the series consistent performance in each round delivered Richie Reynolds the trophy with Nathan Clift second and Lissa McMillan third.
There is still time to get your entries in for the NSW Raceboard State Championships this weekend at Saratoga Saiing Club.
www.ausraceboard.org/
NSW Raceboard State Championship is underway. Saratoga was sunny sparkly and warm. The wind started off in the west, a bit light and was forecast to swing to the south and build. After 2 light and shifty races we had a lunch break before heading out to hopefully get 3 more in. We lined up for a start to the south west but in the sequence the wind shifted to the south and built so after a quick reset we got underway, getting in 3 quick races in mainly planing conditions. We have our fingers crossed for good winds tomorrow,
Day 2 of the NSW Raceboard States saw us wake up to another sparkly beautiful day with a north-westerly breeze across Brisbane Water, with the occasional white cap. How long would the wind hang in? We were scheduled to start at 11:00. As we headed out to the start there were some encouraging gusts getting up to planing speed. Right on time we got underway. It looked like the gusts were coming from the right but those that went left got a huge lift towards the top mark. That was the nature of the morning - go for the gust, but would it be there? or would the angles work?
Nathan and Richie went into the day on equal points so both had to work hard picking the way to go and covering the other. There were others that wanted to get into the mix with John Townson getting a 2nd in Race 6 and a 3rd in Race 8, with Stephen Barton snagging a 3rd in Race 7. Lissa kept working her way up the fleet.
We had 4 people competing in a regatta for the first time with 24 competitors altogether.
Put the Nationals at Illawarra in your calendar now Jan 8-11 2026.
The Raceboard Podium
Overall: Richie Reynolds 1st, Nathan Clift 2nd, Lissa McMillan 3rd.
Men: Richie Reynolds 1st, Nathan Clift 2nd, Greg McInnes 3rd.
Women: Lissa McMillan 1st, Helene Pino.
Sprint: Neil McKinlay 1st, Geoff Stevens 2nd, David Cranby 3rd.
Left to Right: Nathan, Lissa, Richie and Greg. 
The Raceboard Sprint Podium
Left to Right: Geoff, Neil McKinlay, David Cranby.
The full results:
There were 14 longboards out at SGSC last weekend. Good to see... was anything on? The skiffs also had a media boat. Big blue cat with massive back deck. Nice setup!
What great weekend of racing at Saratoga Sailing Club. Made special by the Friendly camaraderie of competitors and the support of Saratoga Sailing Club. Thanks for allowing a Neighboring State Sailor to join in. Very impressed with the levels of sailing by all over the weekend with some much improved Sailors since I last raced. Obviously some hard work put in by some. Looking forward to next years Nationals and seeing how the numbers improve with the 2 new classes put forward by the Illawara sailors.
Special mention To Lissa for all the hard work she puts in on & off the race course. Proving on the weekend how good she is. Interesting hearing how many Sailors are happy just to beat Lissa. Me included. Good luck doing Aus proud on retaining your European No 1 Title which I will be following from SK.
