Row for Romance  

  A love of maritime history combined with the romance of taking his wife for a row was the incentive behind Darrell Spiers building his nostalgic Salt Bay Skiff affectionately called Just another Toy. Darrell and wife Penny are avid wooden boat enthusiasts and are regular visitors to the internationally famed Australian Wooden Boat Festival in Tasmania which attracts visitors from all parts of the world and will be held this year from 6-9 February. 
  This lovely rowing skiff was officially launched at Munna Point (Noosa River) earlier this month and reflects the meticulous craftsmanship and dedication gained from 45 years of boating experience on Moreton Bay. 
  Her yesteryear shape and the traditional glossy varnish and the deep blue colour of her hull makes this skiff a unique vessel in the modern world of boating. 
  As expected Just another Toy attracted a flow of interested admirers when the proud husband and wife enjoyed their first outing with an effortless and carefree paddle along the Noosa River Sound in November. 
  Darrell a retired fitter and turner has always had a passion for timber boats and with the encouragement from wife Penny now has the pleasure of enjoying the romantic row, with Penny soaking up the scenery from the stern thwart as they glide along the water. 
  The design, regularly seen around the American seaboard well before outboard motors were introduced, is an absolute joy to row. 
  “I hesitate to think about how many different dinghies I’ve rowed, however I now know Just another Toy is the best by far,” said Darrell Spiers. “In fact I’m simply blow-away with her motion from every stroke of the oars and she is very cheap to run and furthermore she did not cost a lot of money to build. 
  “She is built from plywood and solid timber including re-cycled 100 year old Hoop Pine recovered from the restoration of a Pioneer Cottage in the Pine Shire. Evidence of this beautifully grained timber can be seen in her stern where the old nail-holes have been made watertight with modern epoxy putty.” 
  This lovely little boat measuring 12 foot 1 inch is also fitted with a lee-board and rudder allowing her to be sailed free with the wind. 
  Meanwhile Darrell and Penny Spiers continued to enjoy their annual holiday with romance enhancing excursions on the Noosa River. 
  “Just another Toy is the result of a retirement project and she has answered our dreams of owning what we believe to be the perfect dinghy to paddle on the Noosa River,” Darrell said.

___/) /) /)___

Medals for Sunshine Coast sailors at Sail Brisbane  

  Mooloolaba SB3 Dart skipper Kai Timm will revise his one-design tactical racing strategy before he packs his sea bag and heads to Geelong to contest the 2009 Australian championships. 
  The talented skipper has reason to be confident of being on the pace after his Silver Medal result in the open Queensland fleet racing championship on Brisbane’s Moreton Bay. 
  However, he will continue to step up his training schedule on the open ocean waters off Mooloolaba over the next nine weeks to ensure that his high performance crew, including his Noosa River sailing mate and Australian Blazer 23 match racing champion Chris Annear, are race ready to compete against the nation’s best during the Skandia Geelong Race Week over the Australia Day Weekend. 
  Skipper Kai Timm and his Ocean’s 11 crew need to find a more consistent all angle sailing speed and the pace to erase seven penalty points which was the difference between winning the Gold Medal won by rival New South Wales skipper Warwick Heath helming Sarah Palin Safaris. 
  Heath won only two heats but finished second in five other exciting races while the Ocean’s 11 crew completed the series with a 3-3-4-4- 1-2-3-2. 
  There was only a marginal difference in the overall elapsed course times but as both Warwick Heath and Kai Timm know, you only need to have a few centimetres of the bow in front at the finish to win championships in this strict one-design class. 
  The search for those critical centimetres will become the focus of their training and fleet racing in the Mooloolaba Dinghy Club events before they make the long road trip to Geelong for the Australian title series and the selection races for the 2009 World championship in Portugal next September. 
  Teenage Sunshine Coast skipper Levi Curtis also showed he had the tactical maturity to test his personal skill against his more experienced older rivals when his Tasqua Youth crew shared the lead with Warwick Heath and Joe Akacich (Claaka) after the opening four heats. 
  His final six races of 6-4-3-5-6-5 fell four points short of beating Claaka for the Bronze medal. 
  Sunshine Coast Hobie 16 crews were handed a lesson of sailing in the fast lane when the Brisbane husband and wife crew of Peter and Juliette Bates won five heats of their series to clinch the 2008 Sail Brisbane Gold Medal ahead of former Australian champion Andrew Keag and sailing partner Karen Warneke. 
  Team Noosa’s Queensland open Olympic Laser champion Ryan Palk did very little harm to his career ranking with fifth and the best Australian result against a very competitive fleet which included International champions Matt Coutts (New Zealand), Matias del Solar (Chile), Javier Hernandez (Spain) and Fredrik Westman of Finland.

___/) /) /)___

Another trophy in the Treasure Chest  

  A mix of soft winds and steamy temperatures proved to be testing conditions for veteran Whitsunday Sailing Club skipper Harold Menelaus when he almost squandered his chance to win the Abel Point Yacht Sales trophy off Airlie Beach in late November. 
  Menelaus and his Treasure VIII crew entered the trophy-deciding final with a commanding points margin over their most serious challengers John Galloway (Queensland Marine Services) and Craig Piccinelli in Wobbly Boot. 
  The Treasure VIII crew were considered to be a past the post winner but that almost fell apart in the light and tricky wind which was mastered by the Wobbly Boot crew when they beat Queensland Marine Services by a handy 35 seconds while skipper Menelaus left a shadow hanging over their light wind form with a disappointing 9th. 
  It was a result which the Treasure VIII crew had no reason to smile about after firming a stranglehold on the Abel Point Yacht Sales trophy in the previous three races. 
  Sure they will have an explanation for the form reversal but their overall corrected course time which was almost four minutes slower than race winner Wobbly Boot is enough evidence to indicate that Treasure VIII has a light wind boat speed problem. 
  However, they managed to scrape home winning the trophy on count back after Treasure Vlll (5-1-2-9) and Queensland Marine Services (2-8-5-2) finished with identical 17 point scores. 
  There is little doubt that Harold Menelaus, who normally sails fast and smart irrespective of the wind velocity, will have some concern when the light and fickle summer sea breeze fails to blow above a zephyr. 
  He will also have a handy respect for both skipper and crew on Queensland Marine Services and Wobbly Boot when the sails are tensioned for the important Charter Yachts Australia trophy which will decide the 2008 overall Twilight series sprint race championship.

___/) /) /)___

Gladstone Race wins Tourism Award  

  Queensland Cruising Yacht Club Life Member Herb Prendergast had a special spring in his step on the deck of the Brisbane Convention Centre when the 60th Anniversary Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race was presented with the 2008 Special Event Queensland Tourism Award in November. 
  The experienced yachtsman expressed the value of his experience as the Race Director heading a team of happy volunteers and consultants while Andra Bite and Rachel Pearson directed the media campaign which gained significant exposure worldwide. Prendergast will continue as the Race Director for the 61st blue-water classic which will again start off Sandgate at 11am on Good Friday and will include the defending Courier- Mail Cup champion the Ray Roberts skippered Quantum Racing.