Skip to main content

Island Time at Docklands

Thursday, 7th April 2022

Well, the weather might not have been tropically warm but it was still a great weekend with 50 people and 18 boats turning out to party.

 

Four boats headed to Docklands on Friday for an early start to the weekend and enjoying some fresh (and rolly) downwind sailing.  Amo on Pekeri texted a photo of his GPS reading 7 knots whilst sailing with just his #4 headsail. Followed a few minutes later saying he’d hit 9 knots – pretty good for a 24 foot boat! The rest of the fleet arrived Saturday and still had strong winds and lumpy seas. Fortunately conditions were much better on the river and in the marina  where the city provided some relief from the winds.

 

Dinner was an island theme, and the tables were covered with brightly coloured sarongs, shells and candles. Everyone had embraced the Tropical Island theme and were dressed in colourful shirts, grass skirts and floral leis. Hugh Pilsworth was the judge of the best shirts, being acknowledged as the person with the largest collection of tropical shirts. The crew of Eureka were the winners. Congratulations to Cath and Chris Furey.

 

The evening kicked off with drinks and nibbles at 17:00 followed by food inspired by the Pacific Islands. Pork, chicken, meatballs and fish were all on the menu, as well as platters of fresh fruit, Portuguese tarts and even a Tropical Tapioca dessert.  A short quiz tested everyone’s knowledge of islands near and far. The winners were a combined team from Emerald and Eureka. Well done to all. The other award for the night went to Emerald for the best docking as they did a fabulous job maneuvering into a very tight spot with only a fenders width to spare on either side.

 

After dinner the music got turned up and crews continued socialising and relaxing before retiring for the night. There was a real buzz as everyone gave a helping hand with cooking, setting the tables, serving food, doing the dishes and tidying up. What a great Club to be part of. Sunday morning saw a slow departure of boats for the return trip to Sandringham. With the wind on the nose even most of the yachts opted to motor and try to beat the rain home.

 

Our next Cruise in Company event is the Queen’s Birthday Cruise to QCYC. Save the weekend as it will be a great time.