The Friday afternoon pursuit race from Balmain Sailing Club was conducted in the best breeze of the week. The conditions were perfect with sunshine and a consistent 12 knots of wind from a direction that gave the only true windward work from Long Nose to Goat Island. We made good progress and felt Avalon had not eaten too much into our seven minutes handicap by the corner of Goat Island but by the time we reached Long Nose on the way home they had surged up to our stern.
It did not help that we went inside the work boat too close to the lee shore but once we were out in the fair winds we resumed the chase on the long handicap yachts.
The run down the Drummoyne shore worked well as we were able to catch the fleet with the genoa winged out to windward and then gybe with just enough room for a clear ahead on Guwara and then a clear ahead on Riders of the Storm.
That left us concentrating on making up ground on Avalon which we did in the last flip to port of the leg around Cockatoo Island when we got just enough lift to clear the corner and make up some lost ground. Alas not enough lost ground but satisfying all the same.
Shaving the corner of Cockatoo hoping to catch Avalon
Chasing Avalon up the Cockatoo shore