It almost didn’t happen with a lockdown a fortnight before the even. However, the inaugural Junior Sail Regatta was held on the last weekend of school holidays. The event aims to keep Tackers kids on the water for longer, build confidence in boats, enjoy racing without pressure and a build a solid relationship with others in the same place in the sailing pathway.

The event was organised by the Darwin Sailing Club with support from Australian Sailing and regular sponsors Nautical Supplies & Northline. 

Final numbers had 28 junior sailors registered in Minnows and Optis (with both 1 up and 2 up combos). A variety of races were run across the weekend including triangle races, paddle races, tug-o-war, relays, opti bridge running and more. 

There were plenty of coaches and volunteers on hand. Senior junior sailors took on coaching roles whilst parents did BBQ & coffee making duty to fill the compliment.

Day 1 saw light breezes as racing was run close in Fannie Bay.  The kids did surprisingly well and 2 races were completed before the fun activities started.  After a belly full of food and some on land fun it was an early finish for most.  

Day 2 had everyone back nice and early and the kids keen to get straight on the water as early as possible. The course was out the other side with a little less protection and a bit more breeze.  This proved a challenge with a few capsizes and racing abandoned in favour of games on land.  As soon as things settled they were out again with 3 races knocked off before lunch.  

After lunch there were on-water games & races and the long awaited treasure hunt. This took a little longer than usual as the pirate forgot where he had hidden his treasure! Dedication and the thought of lollies kept the kids going and eventually the box was recovered after 2hrs of digging.

With a successful first event it will definitely be back in the calendar for 2022.  From all reports the kids had a great time as did the adults. We look forward to seeing the kids back on the water for term 3 programs and can’t wait to run it again next year.

Final results were;
Minnow Division
1.    Tiger Batenburg
2.    Abbey Heron
3.    Gabe Newman
Opti Division
1.    Andrew Schmidt
2.    Leo Batenburg & Keira Hall
3.    Liam Hall