As I type I am feeling quite bloated having feasted on a heavy meal of humble pie and crow in the wake of events at Trent Bridge overnight. Watching the Australians bat last night was like watching a bad car accident and it happened almost as fast. For the second innings I think they should ask if there are any Australians in the stand who would like a go. I am sure there are a few kids from the under 11C’s who could display better technique. So to my many readers who are England supporters, I humbly retract my smartarse comments from my last newsletter! Feel free to gloat by email, Facebook or pick up the phone – you will never get a better chance than this.
Last weekend saw the 9th running of the Brisbane to Keppel Yacht race with the schools BH41 joining the other 28 entrants on the line. Starting in a light southeaster that stayed light throughout the afternoon and evening gave us a very slow trip out of the Bay, finally rounding the fairway buoy at 10pm. A long few days followed as the breeze never got above 9 knots true and was less than 5 most of the time. Despite the conditions the weather was glorious, calm seas, full moons and endless whales to entertain us and some fantastic boat on boat racing with the first 40’s Mayfair and Drakes Prayer, and the Sayer 40 Frantic. The lead changed between us each few hours and we raced side by side most of the way up. We even played Frantic a few tunes when they were close enough! After 57 hours of racing we still had 100 miles to go and running out of wind, time and humour we retired. Oh well there is always next year and we had a fantastic few days racing. Congratulations to Duncan and the team on Alive who not only took lines honours but won every division on corrected time as well. We are already taking bookings for next year’s race so start planning.
One thing I had plenty of time to do on the race was marvel at just how lucky we are to live along such a beautiful coast line. Fraser Island, Lady Elliot, Lady Musgrave and the Keppel islands are the kind of places most people dream about. All this only a few days sail away. But then when you see places like Moreton island only a few hours’ sail away you understand why so many people want to live here.
This is the time of year to get out on beautiful Moreton Bay. The days are sunny with lighter breezes and the nights are perfect for night sailing with crystal clear visibility.
We have plenty of places available on the weekend practical courses and still have places available on the boat handling course next Friday 14/8/15.
The weather is picture perfect today – so much so that I might even go for a night sail tonight. I am certainly not going to watch the cricket.
That’s all for this edition
Cheers
Mike Job