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Bruce Hodgkinson AM writes, 'We left the dock at Berrys Bay with a little trepidation. A lengthy holiday and Alibi being on the hard for an extended period meant that this was our first Friday twilight for the season. During the week the winds had been stronger than predicted and we were understaffed for a big blow.

Rounding the Governor General’s residence we were delighted to be in a 12 to 13 knot breeze and starting to feel a little more relaxed. With the sails up we faced our next challenge. As there were five boats going off at the same time, the start line was going to be a battle. We received some helpful advice about positioning at the start line from Bluey on Just Quietly and joined in the jockeying for the best line. The wind was SSE and the boat end was favoured. We headed for the middle of the line. Jackie Clare, Allegro and Viva La Vita were looking for start line honours and we crossed about five seconds after them.

The first mark saw Viva La Vita round first with Alibi hot on their heels. They did their best to force us up on the second leg to Lady Bay mark making for a lot of fun. Alibi proved too strong and we headed into the second mark having taken the lead.

There are few better sights than heading north and looking back to see the harbour covered with sails.

Having shaken off the cobwebs the crew, Verity, Erica, Ryan and our sail whisperer David set about consolidating our position. Rounding Shark Island with other fleets introduced our second round of trepidation for the night. We were now well in the lead and had no one to point us to the next mark. Most of the boats on the water were heading to Point Piper and we started to doubt that we were heading in the right direction. Viva La Vita came around the island and was heading for Kirribilli, so we kept our course and took the horn.

It was a great sailing evening with the breeze staying steady and no rain. Thanks to our volunteer race officials who make the twilights possible so we can enjoy our magnificent harbour.'

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