PBSC Australia Day Marathon

Palm Beach Sailing Club’s Australia Day Marathon was held in a perfect 12 knot Nor-Easter turning what was expected to be an endurance race into a series of sprints.

The course took the fleet of multihulls on a series of “reaches” from Pittwater’s Careel Bay to the entrance to Gosford River back to Careel Bay via Lion Island and then once more around Lion Island to the finish in Careel Bay.

The Marathon saw a battle on two fronts. There was the battle for first on corrected time and the battle for line honours within each of the A Class and Hobie 16 fleets.

Lion Island was to play a huge role in determining the eventual winners. Mark Johnson in his A Class and Dave Fisher sailing with Ainslie Gordon on their Hobie 16 where first to Lion Island but both cut it too close and were becalmed under the lee of the Island while John Goldsmith in his A Class and Jamie and Sarah Roberts on their Hobe 16 took wider births and took the lead.

Mark Johnson managed to get in front of John Goldsmith to cross the finish line first while Jamie and Sarah kept Dave and Ainslie at bay to finish first of the Hobie 16’s and ultimately first and second on corrected time. Vaughan and Leanne Price came home in third place on their Hobie 16 relegating Mark Johnson on his A Class to 4^th.