Wrtten by Alex Kostin

The Qld Tasar champs this year were held in conjunction with the very popular Tinaroo Mayday regatta. The racing was conducted over three days and had ideal sunny conditions with winds ranging from 4 to 14 knots. One innovation that the Tinaroo club uses for starting was commented on by numerous competitors. The club operates a unique light countdown starting system that also incorporates two transit discs, and all equipment is easily operated from the shore by the club's dedicated volunteers housed in a weatherproof hut. The courses were quite varied, and required crews to be on the navigational ball given the various buoys that were strategically placed around the lake to ensure unbiased windward leeward legs. The regatta consisted of five races; that is, one race on Saturday, three on Sunday and one on Monday with one drop.

The northern clubs from Tinaroo and Mission Beach dominated the regatta's top five placings with consistent and masterful starting and speed techniques during the series. The eventual regatta winners, Mitch Heath and Max Creedy demonstrated the boat handling consistency needed to win regattas on their Townsville borrowed boat, 'Icon', with three wins and a second place. Kieran and Dane Mouldey on 'Redline, and Ken and Penny Laycock on 'Boyz light up', pushed the 'Icon' boat right up until the last deciding race.

While most boats sailed the regatta with well seasoned skipper and crew combinations it was worthwhile noting the generosity displayed by Mike Overland and Peter Macgregor who sailed with persons quite new to the experience of racing. So the results were somewhat skewed. It's hoped that those crews take onboard the wealth of knowledge that was available to them and they use it at the next Tasar regatta.

The Grand Master trophy was won by Ken and Penny Laycock on the beautifully presented, 'Boyz Light Up', and the Great Grand Master trophy by Bill and Jenny Mairs with, 'On Ice'.

Dan Scott and Steven Gibson from Airlie Beach sailing on 'Goldrush', sailed extremely well on their Dacron clad boat and consistently mixed it with the mylar fleet.

And how good was it, that Noel Borel from the Lane Cove 12 footers Club of Sydney, and Fiona McManus of the Darwin Club, joined forces on Noel's beautifully prepared Tasar of 'Eagle Eye' to enter the regatta. There's obviously still considerable adventure spirit in Noel as he did the three day driving by himself. Wow! Tasar spirit I guess!

The Tinaroo club, once again, turned on the hospitality for everyone with tasty hot meals and a slide night of the days' racing.

It was a credit to their organizational skills and unrelenting volunteer support. Thank You Tinaroo.

2012 Qld Tasar Titles results - Tinaroo Sailing Club

Sailed: 5, Discards: 1, To count: 4, Ratings: VY, Entries: 19, Scoring system: Appendix A