Race 7
Race 7 was the second Championship race of the season.
Uncle Norm, Eric Partland and Gary Wills, triumphed, winning both the championship race and the handicap. The race was over the southerly course, in light shifting winds of less than 10 knots. Gary said the first work, from the start west of Spectacle Island up the narrow channel off Drummoyne to buoy 1, off the clubhouse, was tough work, getting to the front of the pack. Overall, he said the wind was fluky. “The breeze was shifting everywhere. It wasn’t hard to get on the wrong side. It was Drummoyne at its best.” Eric and Gary both bring a lot of experience to their sailing. Eric started sailing at Drummoyne as a 10 year old in VJs, over 60 years ago. Gary started in the Drummoyne Junior Sabots when he was 12. Between them they have decades of experience sailing the local waters.
Uncle Norm was challenged all the way by Tranquil, Neil Johnson and Bret Pollitt, which came second. Gary used to sail with Bret and his brother Ross (who now crews in Helen Joy) in the skiffs, where they enjoyed considerable success. “Now we are in the Trailer Sailers and we have a competition on Saturday every week,” Gary said.
Eric, in Uncle Bob and then Uncle Roy, won the TS16 championship every year from 2005/5 to 2017/18, except for 2010/11. After taking 2018/19 off, they returned last season. Uncle Norm was built in 1970 and is the oldest boat in the DSC fleet. It was previously owned by TS16 stalwart Norm Thompson, who sailed at Saratoga. After Norm passed away, Eric bought the boat and changed its name from Exit to Uncle Norm. Eric said Norm had been a dear friend since they raced 12 footers at Balmain in the 1960s. It took half a dozen races for Eric to get the boat tuned to his satisfaction and to start winning races again. Gary said they did a lot of work on Uncle Norm over the off season. “It has a new boom, new mast, new sail. There was a lot of fiddling with the rig to get it right, Eric is very good at that.” And a hint to newer sailors: if you are wondering why there are texta marks on the ropes, Gary said “we mark things so you know where they go.”
Uncle Norm was first across the line, followed by Tranquil and then Annette, Ron Johnston and Ben Speed. Uncle Norm also won the handicap, with Annette second and Tranquil third. Race 7 was the biggest fleet so far this season, with ten boats on the water. Uncle Norm is leading the Championship Point Score, followed by Tranquil and Annette. Annette is leading the Spring Point Score, with Uncle Norm second and Murphy’s Law, David and Russell Johnston, third.
