Since purchasing Lady
Katherine, a Peterson Serendipity 43, last September and delivering her to
Airlie Beach from Townsville, we have done some great sailing around Pioneer
Bay and the Whitsunday islands.
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| The gentle art of sailing |
We are regular contenders in the weekly Wednesday Twilight
race hosted by the
Whitsunday Sailing Club, usually with a not so regular crew.
Every week brings a new set of enthusiastic sailors with varying skill levels,
from complete first timers through to ocean crossing professionals. And every
week brings new experiences with a whole load of fun for everyone as we sail
around the triangular course. Well, we enjoy it anyway!
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| Wednesday Twilight Race start. Division 3 completes 2 laps around the triangular course |
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| Plenty of room for everyone - join in or sit back and enjoy the ride! |
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| Lady Katherine sails like a witch up the breeze |
Last week we finally came first on handicap in Division 3,
having won second or third place a few times over the last six months. We even
made the local paper, the Whitsunday Times. And we have managed line honours on
one or two occasions as well. Our efforts are rewarded with prizes donated by
the club – we always make good use of the food and beverage voucher at the post
race roast dinner buffet.
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| Pipped at the line for line honours, but had the last laugh with a win on handicap. |
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| No matter what your experience or where you are from, join in the fun on Wednesday afternoons. |
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| Winners are grinners. And save some money too! |
The highlight destination of our boat ownership so far has
been our Christmas sail to
Bait Reef, 30 nautical miles north east from Airlie
Beach. A pre-dawn start from Hayman Island had us hoisting sails in about 12
knots of easterly breeze; perfect conditions for us to be picking up a mooring
some three hours later and snorkelling to our hearts content on the Great
Barrier Reef.
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| Christmas Day snorkel on the Great Barrier Reef |
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| Bait Reef all to ourselves. |
In February, we held our first Weekend Navigator course; an on-water
introduction to coastal navigation for recreational sailors, and for those commercial
mariners who need to brush up on their skills. The ability to plot running fixes on the AUS 252
chart increased in speed and accuracy as the day progressed, and as night fell, we sailed
from Double Cones to the Molle Island group before returning to our berth in
the Port of Airlie.
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| Teaching the finer points of coastal navigation |
Our hopes of winning a second consecutive Warri Cup (
with a different boat but same name!) were dashed this year. We crossed the line in fourth place
but were handicapped to the tail end of the field in spinnaker division. Still,
it wasn’t a bad effort for an inexperienced crew, who were well led by the very
experienced skipper!
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| The MPS makes for a far easier hoist, especially for beginners. |
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| Port of Airlie, home of Lady Katherine |
Lady Katherine is available
for private charter and small group sailing tuition, and if you are wanting to get
some commercial sea time check out our
sea time events calendar.
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| A man and his boat. |
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| My turn at the helm! |
Hope to see you out on the water!
