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Gwynn Boyd writes, 'The forecast had been consistent for a few days, predicting moderate southerly winds shifting southeast and fading in the early afternoon. Fortunately, the weather gods had other ideas.

The starting area was quite congested, with very little sea room to leeward of the line. Accordingly, our plan was to start slightly late at the start boat end, and this worked perfectly.

The first leg up to the Rose Bay mark was textbook sailing in 11-15 knots. However, the boats that started further down the line benefited from better wind shifts. By the time we reached the top mark, Casamajor found herself behind the long markers. Luckily, there was enough south in the wind for us to carry our asymmetric spinnaker on the long run to the Kirribilli Point mark, even though we were heading more toward Admiralty House than the mark. Still, we managed to catch up significantly.

The long leg back up to the Rose Bay mark was a godsend, as Casamajor thrives in winds above 11 knots. The self-tacking jib allowed us to tack on every wind shift between Clarke Island and Point Piper, often with tacking angles as low as 50 degrees. The crew on the rail were very accommodating, even as I tacked with little or no warning (and thankfully, I didn’t lose anyone!).

Once again, the gods smiled upon us, and we carried the asymmetric spinnaker on the run from Shark Island to Chowder Bay South. This enabled us to close in on the leaders and work hard to capitalize on the remaining two legs.
Casamajor then settled into a rhythm. The leg up to Shark Island was uneventful, and the run down to the Taylor Bay mark was dead square, prompting us to pole out the headsail.

The final leg to the finish was an absolute delight, with the boat cruising just shy of seven knots and the lee rail barely clear of the water. Although we closed in on Liquidity toward the end, she comfortably beat us. Nevertheless, our second and first places among the Squadron boats left everyone thrilled, marking our most enjoyable experience in a Combined Clubs race.'

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