Stephen Brown brings in 116th sailing season at PRSC as 14-strong fleet hit the harbour for gentle cruise

A large crowd of members and guests enjoyed the traditional glass of champagne before being welcomed by club commodore, Rachael Hodgson who then introduced the guest speaker and veteran skipper Stephen Brown.

The gathering which included past commodores and life members listened intently as Brown gave an interesting account of his and his family’s long connection to the Princess Royal Sailing Club before officially opening the 116th sailing season.

Fourteen yachts from various fleets sailed in a rally around a few harbour marks in an unofficial race.

Brett Hawker found the bottom in the very low tide but extricated Jessie James from the mud just minutes from the start and did well to go on to be the first to finish the rally.

Chris Oldham, skippering Joker, decided to hoist a spinnaker which was working well until it went out of control but eventually was put away and resumed the race and finished well up.

It was a perfect sailing day with a gentle but flukey southerly around the 11-knot mark.

This Saturday sailing gets serious with division one and two conducting a King George Sound event with the Flying Fifteens and Hansas in harbour competition.