Volvo Round the World Racing Yachts
After the long sail from Cape Town
Powering down wind,
Surfing across the Southern Ocean
Resting now in the calm waters of Docklands, Melbourne.
Round the world stopover Melbourne
Tag: Racing
ISAF World Cup Sailing – Melbourne 2016
It was a beautiful early summer day and here I was a volunteer official on the finish line of the last round – the medal round – of the ISAF World Cup.
I know a little about race officiating but was a little nervous about such a big event as we waited at St Kilda Marina to pick of the other officials. My club the Hobsons Bay Yacht Club had provided our club boat to be the set the finish line and record the results.
Maria from Valencia (oh how I loved Spain) quickly assured us that we needed to just do as she said. Press the hooter when she said now, raise the flag when she said now etc.
She was a quiet woman but chatting away after fine tuning the reach angles and waiting for starts her experience was slowly revealed an on water official at two Olympics, Principal race offer for the TP52 series in Europe.
Great I just did what I was told, enjoy the racing and take some photos.
From the boat we had a great view of the start and the final rounding mark leading to the finish.
We were officiating 5 races all deciding the series for that class.
There was the Men’s and Women 470 class.
The Finn a hard boat to sail for big strong blokes.
The women’s laser radial and men’s laser the boats of single handed skill.
The last race the Men’s laser
A tightly fought race,
with a fairy tale end.
With Pavlos Kontides winning his first ever international series gold medal, having won an Olympic Silver Medal and many other placings in a decade of senior sailing in the laser.
Classic Racers
Classic racers
At the Phillip Island Classic Event
Classic Racers on Manx Norton
- Manx Norton
One of the racers walked with a cane
but on his Manx Norton he thundered around the Grand Prix Track
unrestricted by age
by injury
by fear
the old bike roaring thunder down the main straight
Old Friends
Old leathers
Old bikes
each with their own yarn to tell
Sitting talking across the pits shed
Stripping off the leathers at the end of a hot day of the track.
The Philip Island Classic is an annual race event for historic motorcycles were teams from Australia, the US, the UK, New Zealand and Ireland compete for the overall trophy.
The event attracts fantastic historic bikes both on the race track and in the car park.
Of course there were the amazing Vincents
- Vincent Black Lightning
The bikes that inspired Richard Thompsons Vincent Black Lightning a song about a bike and the tragic (not quite Shakespearian) death of lovers. In original street guise (above) and in full racing guise (below).
- Full Race Vincent Black Lightning
But for me it was the beautiful brace of race Moto Guzzi that caught my eye.
- Moto Guzzi in race mode
Then there was the racing with the UK Team taking the trophy till next years historic battle.
- UK Team shed preparing for the last race of the event