A record 71 boats celebrated the 20th Quantum Sails 9Hour Endurance Race at the gorgeous Henley Midmar Yacht Club at Midmar Dam, with Steve Hegerstrom and Roger Hill being crowned the 2012 winners.
Story: Sophie Thompson
In the picture: The local entry Dynamite, a fast flying Hickman skippered by Anton Ellens, chases down the 505 sailed by brothers Peter and Thomas Funke in Saturdays Quantum Sails 9Hour Endurance Race at Henley Midmar Dam.
The team paired up sailing a Halcat 1 Up and circumnavigated the long rectangular course set by race officer Rob Bell, 11 times. The endurance race that started at 9am had close to 300 sailors working hard in the scorching Midlands heat for the 9-hour duration. The race started with a light North Westerly that swung around to a North Easterly as the day progressed and only picked up towards the end of the day making conditions tough for the guys out on the water.
A spirited fleet of 505s were constantly at the front of the pack and were awarded for their persistence with the class making an appearance on the podium with a second, third and fourth on the scorecard. Teams lead by helmsmen Hans Rogotski and Thomas Funke claimed silver; helmsmen Jonathan Ham and Mark Biagio bronze and the young duo of Euan Hurter and Alex Horn helmed their way to fourth.
Each boat has two teams with a maximum of two skippers per vessel navigating themselves around the course for nine hours. The teams head between two markers and then as smoothly as possible, attempt to change teams while trying to stay as dry as they can. Spectators are presented with magnificent thrills and spills as the changeover area is a stone throw away from the banks. Crews can be spotted jumping off their fast moving boats enabling another crew member to jump on board.
Classes included catamarans, a smorgasbord of dinghies, Hunters and keelboats that all buzzed around the dam, some getting some much needed training for national events like the Hunters, Laser and Halcat Nationals that take place in the coming months.
“The event is growing and growing each year and is becoming a must on the sailing calendar for competitors.” beamed Craig Millar, the Manager of Quantum Sails. “It was truly magnificent seeing the number of young, new faces thoroughly enjoying themselves and reinforcing our commitment to supporting youth participation in sailing events.”