Written by Belinda Parkes (RPAYC)
The South West S80 Championships held 28-29 January, hosted by Koombana Bay Sailing Club (KBSC) Bunbury WA, saw 5 women sailors from Sydney competing. Thanks to Lisa Cowell (s80 Sister Act, KBSC) who reached out invited us to participate, skipper Ruth Lawrence, owner of S80 ‘Alcamy‘ (BSC), for putting together her crew from the Sydney Harbour Women’s Keelboat Series (Eloise Clarke RANSA, Tasha Miller RSYS, Skye Paton RANSA, Belinda Parkes RPAYC,
and the kindness and generosity of the KBSC club members creating the opportunity to sail on a borrowed s80 ‘Misty Blue’ along with sails and spare parts.
We were warmly welcomed by the KBSC community and enjoyed a fantastic event with ten S80’s competing in seven windward leeward races over two days. The competition was exciting, the wind increased over the two days from light on day 1, to 20 kts on the second afternoon, and our performance steadily improved each race to be rewarded with 2nd place overall on Consistency.
Congratulations to Phil Slee from Miss Behavin, the local favourite who was hard to beat, for the Championship victory.
A great experience racing one design S80 where they originated in conditions they were built for, combined with a wonderful friendly atmosphere, great food, live music and daily visits from friendly dolphins made for an unforgettable adventure.
Special thanks to Phil Truman(Rear Commodore Racing) for inviting me to join a twilight sail on Wednesday on his Farr 38, Courtesan for 2nd place, and an exciting adventure filled Australia Day race out of the Bay to the shark buoy in over 20kts to win first place, worth getting drenched for.
