Due to expected unfavourable overnight weather conditions on Saturday, Plan A, the cruise to The Sandhills on Moreton island, was changed to Plan B, Horseshoe Bay on Peel Island. Plan B turned out to be a great choice of anchorage.

The weather and conditions were perfect for the Plastic Bottle Model Yacht Race (with craft made from 1 litre plastic milk bottles and assorted other materials.)

A downwind course was set at low tide in a convenient pond. Boaties, as always, showed their ingenuity and creativity, producing a varied selection of craft…monohulls and multihulls in all shapes and sizes.

The race was won by a very fast trimaran, designed by Craig Margetts using small golf umbrellas as sails. Mini Scarlett went like a rocket. Second place went to a small catamaran designed by Peter Hulme.

The design and ingenuity prize went to Dean Johns for a catamaran with self-steering gear. The design had a few technical issues but performed well.

Whilst this event was taking place a perfect afternoon of sundowners and nibbles was had by all. As darkness descended everyone helped get dinghies into enough water to motor to the moored yachts.

At 9am on Sunday we met on the beach to enjoy morning tea and tasty treats under the trees. Around noon people returned to their boats and sailed back to Manly.

We would like to thank North Light and White Mischief from the Power Cruising Group for joining us for the weekend. They participated in the model yacht race and we enjoyed their company.

Participating Crafts:

Freycinet
Spirit of Tommie
Imoogi
Congo
Curlew
Scarlett
Lucinda
Lalapanzi
Sundance DS
North Light
White Mischief