The Arafura Bubbles team consisting of Fiona McManus (Skipper), Sue Turnbull (Main), Pippa De Beaux and Jo Barrkman(Trim and Strings), Tash Bramble (Foredeck) travelled to Melbourne last Thursday 9th June to participate in the 30th Annual AWKR, run out of RMYS.

The weekend started for the Bubbles with a delayed flight out of Darwin, so this allowed for us to start to discuss tactics for the weekend.

Landing in Melbourne during one of their coldest weekends in a very long time saw us whipping out the jackets, scarves, beanies gloves and toe warmers hoping that after being in the depths of the Darwin wardrobes they still fit.

Friday morning had us up early and trotting over to the RMYS to meet with Roger and Keith, the owners of Mood Indigo, the S80 we were to sail on. Looking out the window of the club, over Port Phillip Bay was, as always pretty, but conditions not quite what a bunch of sailors out of Darwin would be accustomed to, or as Roger and Keith put it, “plenty of sheep in the paddock” and a phrase that stuck with us for most of the weekend….. “Fresh to Frightening”.

We eventually gathered the courage to venture out of the club and down the St Kilda pier to the boat where the boys showed us the ropes. The rain at this point had held off so we decided to take Mood Indigo out for a sail to get a feel for it and to experience the frightening part of Roger and Keith’s comment. It was certainly lumpy with swells in excess of very big.

After a couple tacks and jibes, a couple waves over the bow, a few ominous clouds above and a few choice words uttered, we decided that was enough for the day, so it was back to the club to discuss more tactics for the weekend.

By this time quite a few of the other teams were arriving at the club where they too were discussing tactics. It was important for us that we kept up given the experience some of these girls have so after lengthy discussions, we were finally asked to leave the club.

Saturday morning briefing was at 8am at which point no one was sure if racing would go ahead, given the forecast of gale force winds over the bay.

The RO for the weekend finally decided we would race and be able to get at least one race in before the said winds hit, so climbing into our wet weather, fleece lined, sumo style sailing gear we once again set off down the pier to head out into what was indeed fresh.

With conditions fairly blustery and a little frightening, skipper decided much to the delight of the foredeck crew that the spinnaker would not be given a run today. Conditions unexpectedly eased very slightly throughout the morning and after 2 successful races, and everyone from our crew still safely on board (not so for a couple of other boats) RO decided she would spring a third race on us. After much moaning, a few discussions on tactics we dutifully set our sails for the start line of the third race. Our placing for the day saw us in 4th position in the S80 fleet which given our minimal time sailing together as a team we were happy with so we set about discussing tactics for the next day.

We woke Sunday to another blustery, chilly wild day in PPB and again the RO was uncertain if we would even get on the water, but by briefing she had decided we would be racing. The number of races uncertain but aiming for 2.

We did in fact get the 2 races in, one short one long and this time, hungry for a podium skipper decided the spinnaker would be given a run and in usual spinnaker hoisting style it went up sideways at first, second attempt had us blow the brace and finally third time lucky we got it flying high. Unfortunately, as we tied up back on the dock one of our crew members Jo Barrkman took a tumble off the boat in a very stylish fashion dislocating and breaking her ankle in 2 places, chipping a few bones and getting herself a lovely ride in the back of an ambulance with Jack the young ambo to RPA hospital. We wish Jo a very speedy recovery and a tactical discussion briefing on how to disembark from a boat when she returns to Darwin.

Our position for the series after day 2 saw us finish up in equal third position with a local Melbourne crew on board Georgia, another S80.

Monday, 1 race in the series to go, one crew member down and Melbourne decided to turn on the weather for us. The clouds broke, the rain cleared and the winds dropped from what had been consistently 20-30knts the previous two days to 3…. Not ideal for sailing but good enough for the Darwin girls to peel off a layer.

We hit the start line amongst the pack and after our discussions on tactics the previous night we knew Georgia would be kept in our sights.

Winds were shifty, boats sailing on all tacks, we managed to pick up a breeze that put us second around the top mark with at least 100m on Georgia. We popped the kite, and cruised down to the bottom mark in first position and Georgia nowhere to be seen only to then have the winds completely drop out right on the mark. This allowed for the rest of the fleet to not only catch up but to pass us. Once we finally managed to get around the bottom mark and heading back to the top mark on our second lap and clearly by now a little disheartened we were not going to make up that lost time.

Rounding the top mark again, another spinnaker hoist we set off for the finish line watching as Georgia safely crossed the line taking third and leaving us in 4th position overall for the series. Obviously we had not discussed tactics thoroughly enough the night before. Or maybe we did?

After crossing the finish line in the last race of the 2022 AWKR we decided to enjoy the great conditions on the water (no 1.5mtr waves) and take a leisurely sail Port Phillip Bay admiring Melbourne sky line and of course discuss some more tactics. We weren’t the only ones who had this idea as when we tacked around who did we bump into but Georgia. While we licked our wounds, they were regaling their podium finish and of course discussing tactics. We toasted their success across the water and set sail back to the dock.

AWKR 2022 was definitely a great weekend for the Arafura Bubbles. Surrounded by a bunch of likeminded women from across the country with a varying degree of skill, and to hear the constant banter around the club that most male sailors would not sail in those conditions let alone with a spinnaker flying is certainly an inspiring way to spend a weekend.

We would like to thank everyone who helped us get there by buying raffle tickets in the weeks leading up to the the event. Bob Stroud for taking us out on Swindler while the Cleaning Lady is feeling a little dusty and allowing us to get at least a few practise sessions in the lead up to the trip, and of course Fiona McManus for pulling the team together and encouraging team tactic discussions.

For those wondering if our tactical discussions were worthwhile, we also used this wisely to spread the word of the NTWKR in August which many ladies were keen and eager to hear more about.

So if you have a keel boat and not sure if you trust another skipper to handle it but you want to encourage women in sailing then lend up your boat to a crew from interstate for the NTWKR. The talent amongst these women is world class.



http://www.awkr.com.au

AWKR 2023 Queens Birthday Long weekend June 09/06/2023