Thursday, 28th January 2021
The Australia Day ‘Long’ weekend cruise kicked off on Saturday with what would be perfect weather for a very leisurely cruise to Geelong. Once all 24 boats were safely tied up, almost 70 of us from SYC caught up on the lawn area of the RGYC and ticked their bar and restaurant sales over.
Whilst some took it easy that night after the long trip down others did keep the festive spirit alive well into the evening.
Sunday saw another great day weather wise and another very laid back sail, with most starting a bit later for the run to Wyndham harbour. The 35 degree day did lead to a number having a swim in the bay on the way and everyone chasing the shade by late in the day, trying to stay cool. Though as the sun set most did enjoy the very balmy evening conditions and caught up either on the wharf or on the back of different boats.
Plans for a group day adventure activity on the Monday were put on hold due to a 41 degree day forecast.
Luckily with a cool gusty change coming through midday on Monday, the opportunity presented itself for a large wharf ‘party’ (or do we say a socially distant catch up in these COVID times). So with all gathered we had the judging of the ‘competition’ side of the weekend – the annual Simon Hemingway ‘Boat Quiz’. For those who don’t know this event, it involves each boat crew writing a story, poem or ditty that must include in it all the names of the boats on the cruise. As usual the judging was difficult and after much deliberation Judges Dawn Cleaver and Hugh Pilsworth selected three place getters and a few notable mentions that were read out to all present. After a fair few laughs the winning boat was announced, with the winning entry being a cracking yarn titled ‘Waves of Winsome’ from the team on Ariel II – Andrea Halford and Mike Ferguson.
Following another fun evening and a good night’s sleep, most saw in Australia Day by setting course for SYC early on Tuesday morning under a grey overcast sky with a 15 to 25 knot southerly and all boats having a fairly brisk run home.
