Our annual Ladies Helm Race was held under clear skies and a warm Sunday afternoon. Conditions were ideal for the day, winds were steady but quite forgiving. 10 boats joined the actiivities. The rules were simple, a female must helm the boat at all times. Race Officer Jimmy Shum also added a second rule: any collision will result in an automatic disqualification in that race of the boats involved, no matter who is at fault. This ensured that races focused on safety as well as competitiveness.

Awah set up a small triangle course which kept the fleet largely together. 

Race 1 got under way without major incident as many helms do not get much of a chance to practice their skills, much less in race conditions. The second race was not so simple. With one race under their belts, the helms became more confident at the start. Iris Shum wanted to get in close with Clara moving quickly up to the line, Iris miscalculated the space for her boat to fit behind and hit Clara firmly on the stern of her Hobie. The Hobie was undamaged, but Iris'  Dart 18 (borrowed from Cathy Lam) sustained a fair amount of damage on the nose. Oops...sorry Cathy!

Race 3 saw the wind just starting to fill in a bit more, making the racing more exciting. We added a race 4 because the 3 planned races finished quickly, and the wind was stronger now. Boat handling skills were tested, as quick tacks and gybes made a big difference in placings.

Once the racing was complete, several individuals enjoyed some thrill rides, going back and forth on reaches to maximise boat speed. It was quite a site to see a number of regular helms now out on the wire! Unfamiliar territory for some.

The racing was followed by some prizes and a delicious gourmet BBQ meal. The lack of a computer made handicaps difficult to calculate, so most of the handicaps were ignored. The top 3 finishers were:

• Clara Ng
• Michele Felder
• Keiko

A special award was given to Lotte Hessing for being the youngest Lady Helm on the day, at the tender age of 10!

• Loads of photos from the day can be found here