THE final race of the Inter-club challenge provided some very interesting conditions for the 16 starters from Queens Lake Sailing Club (QLSC) and Port Macquarie Sailing Club (PMSC).
After the first two heats, which had been sailed at Taree and Port Macquarie, both clubs were tied on points and so this was to be the decider.
A fickle NW breeze settled into a steady 15 knot Nor'Easter just before the start and the fleet got away in ideal sailing conditions.
Decisions (Tony Kuhn) PMSC dominated the catamarans and Flembuoyant (Paul Robertson) PMSC did the same in the monohulls.
As a very threatening storm cell approached from the SW the Nor'Easter began to fade and swing NW Making a win for PMSC seem inevitable.
However this was not to be as some of the smaller boats just managed to round the final mark as a SW change with gusts over 20 knots hit the course.
What followed was an exhilarating run to the finish in strong wind and driving rain enabling QLSC to snatch a last minute victory by four points.
On corrected time, Bumsteer (Greg Marshall) QLSC won from Decisions, Flembuoyant, Hakuna Matata, Red Star, Cocktail, Anything, Pendragon, Dire Straits, Serial Thrilla and White Pointer. The remainder of the fleet had retired as a result of the storm. Fortunately no rescues were required and no damage was sustained by any of the fleet.
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