"The Beerfest was a huge success with over 240 people dancing the night away to a really great Band. South African Breweries did well too, judging by the hangovers on Saturday morning, and the number of headache tablets dispensed from the Race Office. Man.., yachties can party.!

Saturday morning arrived with a groan and turn of the stomach for many, and at first glance the low mist and dark clouds instilled dread in my heart, but I should have had more faith because the mist lifted and the clouds parted before the disprin could take effect. Needless to say more and more boats arrived and before 8am we had a total of 73 boats entered. Seventy-three.!

The Juniors were off the start line promptly at 9am, followed by the senior fleet at 10am. Conditions were very light and very switchy. The 1st three laps of the course saw positions changing constantly as the leaders pulled away and then sailed into big holes allowing the following guys to catch up and in some cases sail through them. The crew changeovers provided good spectator value as at least two tenders capsized spilling their contents into the chilly water, however by the end of the race it was common to see the keelboats come through the moorings with every stitch of cloth up being followed by small tenders at full throttle and crew changeovers taking place quickly and efficiently.

The "exotic" boats, such as the Inter 20, Thompson 7 and Humphries 22 were spectacular to watch but sadly for them conditions were just too light , and this played into the hands of the Hunters who managed to hold on to the leaders until halfway through the race when conditions strengthened a little. If the exotics were impressive, the Soling was the yacht which brought out the emotions, and she was firm favourite with the crowd on the bank. Although she tore her aged spinnaker and sailed the last half of the race with a Hunter bag, her crews got her moving faster and faster as she perhaps recalled her very good racing pedigree.

The J22, Cartoon Deckwork, also did very well, achieving a 11th on Handicap, and 5th on Line, but it was the Inter 20 and "Wild Monkey Dance" who really pulled ahead of the rest , recording a 1st and 2nd on Line respectively and a 27th and 13th on Handicap (respectively). Nailing the race on handicap was the Hunter fleet, securing 5 places in the top 6, with local boat, Odins Eye, skippered by Tony Cockerill and John Bruckman taking Handicap Honours and the big trophy.

On shore 90% of the course could be followed from the comfort of a deckchair, and there was a fair amount of "chirping" going on between the crews of respective classes. At one stage when Odin's Eye had been overtaken by Rumblebum (Frost/Frost/Willington/Surgeson) there was much consternation on the foreshore, with the underdogs having lots to say.

From an organisational point of view, the Club did everything in it's power to ensure that our visitors had a weekend to remember, and apart from our caterer being totally overun and playing "catch-up" all weekend, we hope and trust that the experience was an enjoyable one and that you will go back your clubs with kind words of HMYC. To the various Winners and recipients of the 84 Medals and 9 Floating Trophies we congratulate you on your achievements, and to the rest of the fleet we thank you for participating! Next year's event is already being organised - it will be bigger and better.

Top Six Places at a Glance:

Handicap Results:

Line Honours:

HOME