The HMYC 9-Hour Endurance Race was once again a fantastic event with a good turnout of boats and sailors.

Although numbers were slightly down on last year with around 55 entrants it was still a varied and colourful fleet that took to the water on Saturday morning. Most of them took to it a little late and in the extremely light conditions found themselves some distance from the line when the race was started. The only good thing about being late for the start was that those who were there on time weren't exactly racing away from the fleet. It did however mean that there was a fair spread of boats at the first mark with some only starting as the leaders finished their first lap. The first hour an a half or so was sailed in deadly light conditions with only the faintest of breezes powering the fleet along. After an hour and a half or so and a few fluctuations and wind switches in what breeze there was the wind finally swung to and settled from the dam wall. This allowed the fleet to settle into a good rhythm and the laps started to tick by fairly regularly. With the breeze never getting much over 8 knots the crew changes were very straightforward, much to the dismay of those spectating from the safety of dry land. Most crews were fairly happy about this though with the chance of a swim greatly reduced. The early light conditions certainly didn't favour the cats with and there were a good few high performance boats that were frustrated by this. The Inter 20, Hobie 18 Tiger and Tornado Sport really struggled in the early stages but came into their own once the breeze piped up. On the water the early race leader was the Thompson 7 Wild Monkey Dance which maintained good speed throughout added to the advantage they gained by being one of the few boats at the start on time. They gained such a significant lead in the early stages that it was sometime after the breeze filled through before the cats could ease their way past them. The local Hunter fleet has always been the one to beat at this race with some good sailors and their local knowledge advantage hard to beat. Last year they occupied the top places and with Tony Cockerill, paired with John Bruckman, looking in good form for most of the day it was a somewhat suprising, for thos of us sailing the boat anyway, to find that the 29er skippered by Rob Tarboton and Dave Andrews was leading on handicap at the halfway stage from the aforementioned Hunter of Cockerill and Bruckman. The breeze hung in pretty much until sunset dying to nothing as the sun slipped over the horizon. Sitting out on the boat in the calmest of conditions this pleasant scene somewhat made up for the complete lack of wind and rapidly chilling air. It wasn't quite over yet though with the last hour and a half of the race seeing the smallest of pufs coming though. This meant that most were able to at least finish the lap they were on while the 29er sneaked in an extra and very unexpected final lap to seal a solid overall victory. Since the laps that count are the laps that are completed by 19:00 there is not point in sailing on if the time remaining is less than it will take you to complete another lap. Most boats and crews were therefore on the shore when the final hooter went at 19:00 although there were certainly one or two stranded out on the windless dam.

The prize giving took place in the specially erected marquee in the HMYC car park and was well attended and certainly well catered for with a splendid lamb on the spit feeding most competitors. While there were not as many people as perhaps were expected at this event it was once again a fantastic race. As the main event on the HMYC's annual calendar they really go out of their way to make a big thing of it. The club is extremely accommodating and the whole atmosphere is just great. There were plenty of families and kids having a good time around the place while not directly involved in the sailing and this is one of the really great things about this venue. The sailing is good and the main focus for sure, but it is not that serious and it is really more about taking part than anything else. As sailing events go this is a particularly special one and I hope to see it continue to thrive in years to come.