Organisers of the Twofold Regatta are expecting an influx of last-minute entries this weekend.
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“We’ve had a few more early entries this year, but a lot of people will turn up on the day,” Twofold Bay Yacht Club sailing chairperson Ted Dexter said with a laugh.
"We’ve got a really diverse field of boats taking part, there are some more guys coming down from the Wallagoot Boat Club and a few trailer sailors.”
Mr Dexter said it was great to provide classes for a range of boats as the regatta is a laid back “off the beach sort of event”.
The trailer sailors can hold plenty of pace and will race an extended course, while some of the smaller classes build incredible speed.
“The B14s are so fast, they can whip around like rockets,” Mr Dexter said with a laugh.
He said Eden can be challenging to predict the weather conditions, so he would evaluate closer to the opening race,
Idyllic races conditions would feature winds gusting to about 15 knots – around 25kmh – without too much chop.
“It doesn’t really matter which direction the wind is blowing from, Eden is just such a pleasure to sail on.”
Last year the club held a more sheltered short-course for kids and learners, but it’s not likely to go ahead this year.
Mr Dexter said the main reason was many of the entrants have continued to sail throughout the year and developed their skills so much they will contest the feature event.
“They won’t race a separate class, but instead will be stepping up,” he said.
The club already played host to nationals for the B14 multi-hull skiffs and Paper Tiger classes, which created quite a spectacle.
Mr Dexter said this weekend’s regatta was a great follow-up to the event and the yacht club is excited to host future events as well.
“The surrounds are so phenomenal and it’s such a good facility that we’ve already had a lot of inquiries from organisations looking to host their regattas here,” he said.
Spectators are welcome with the club suggesting some of Eden’s lookouts as good vantage points to catch the boats in action.
Sailors will hit the water early on Saturday and events will run until about 3pm on Sunday.