On Friday March 8th Sailors with disAbilities held our 3rd annual Making Waves Rally at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia. A fun and spirited day was had by all with just a hint of competitiveness to spice up the day!
Sydney Harbour put on glorious weather for us, with perfect race conditions out on the water. We had a great 15 kn nor’easter, which made for some fun sailing conditions and a thrill for our guests.
The 10 yachts taking part in the Rally were divided into two Divisions based on size, with 5 yachts in Division A, and 5 yachts in Division B. A huge Congratulations to our Overall & Division A Winners on "Sydney" Skippered by Charles Curran with Survitec, and also to Skipper Niel Burling in Baltic Lady for taking out Division B along with Kevin Mendes group Team McGrath!
SWD’s Roving Reporter Renee was on board our yacht Kayle, with corporate guests from the Diocese of Parramatta and says “For some reason, once we left the dock, I didn’t have any more requests for snacks or bottles of champagne from our guests up on deck. It may have had something to do with our crew getting them involved with hoisting sails, pulling sheets, and having a crash-course in how to sail”, laughed Renee. “Afterwards, we were thrilled to hear that this was the best team building exercise they had done together. AND that they’ll be going back to tell one of the bosses that his team should come next year too so that they can race each other.”
Division A winning skipper Charles Curran accepts the trophey from SWD CEO David Pescud, and Award Presenter Simon Marnie (ABC Sydney broadcaster) |
Division A winners are grinners! Survitec |
SWD CEO David Pescud and awards presenter Simon Marnie congratulate winners of Division B - Baltic Lady, skippered by Niel Burling and crewed by McGrath Estate Agents |
Congratulations McGrath Estate Agents Edgecliff - winners of Division B |
A huge thanks to the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia for their wonderful location and everyone enjoyed another magical Seafood Paella & some live entertainment on the front deck.
The raffle winners were as follows -
Survitec onboard Sydney |
Division A, tied in third place - Duende, skippered by Damien Parkes and crewed by the Aleksandar Projects Design Group |
Division B, Fourth Place - Martini, skippered by Josh Thatcher and crewed by Edgecliff Automotive |
Division A, Fifth Place - SWD Kayle, skippered by Mike Muir and crewed by Diocese of Parramatta |
Solange skippered by Andrew King |
The National Pump & Energy Crew |