Report - Lion Island Yacht Race and Prizegiving
Sunday 14th December was BYRA's last organized race and LTS day for the Spring season.
Here are the Learn to Sail kids and adults in action in the morning, with the start boat moored & ready for the yacht race start.

It was also our 76th annual Lion Island Yacht Race, one of the oldest continuously run Yacht races in Australia.
During the race, the yachts ran through the afternoon dinghy fleet, here are 3 Moths battling in out near the top mark.

After the racing, we held a BBQ at the club, drinks on the deck and a prizegiving from 5pm. Club members and Yacht race entrants turned up to a small, but friendly gathering after a hot day on the water.

Lion Island Race report
The annual BYRA Lion Island Race, 76th edition commemorates the race that started BYRA - click here to read about the epic between K.C. Dalton Esq. Skipper of the “Owen Davern”, and Cedric Williams Esq., Skipper of the “Christina” that took place in 1949. (Spoiler alert - Dalton won.)

This year we had 5 entries and a ring in! Entries were:
SISU  - Cleveland Rose - 24 ft Spacesailor
Jacana -  Ian Ward  - 37ft Ward Custom
Island Trader - Paul Bolliger - Farr 1020
Sumomo - Andrew Plumley - Sheerline 747
Knot a Clew - Rob Warnes - Max 7.7 entered but could not find a crew.. perhaps the boat is mis-named!
Pinta Bay - Frank Milner - Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 349

It was an extremely shifty, challenging and frustrating hot breeze varying from SW at the start to NE, NW, SE, NE and even back to NW again at the finish! Jacana won the start but was soon headed by Island Trader off Long Nose, where Pinta Bay fell in a big hole. It was a great tussle at the front and after a very slow start, the smaller boats revelled in a nice breeze from Joey, around the Island and then home.

In the end, the fully crewed Island Trader won by just 2 minutes to Jacana and then a fast finishing Pinta Bay a further 2 minutes behind. 
the smaller boats all finished before 4 pm.

Results:
1st  Island Trader - Paul Bolliger
2nd Jacana -  Ian & Caroline Ward
3rd  Sumomo - Andrew Plumley

Thanks so  much to Andrew and Paul who ran the start and brought in the finish boat and mark.
Also many thanks to our BBQ team ably run by Ian and Merryl and Gaving for cooking the snags!

On the run to the finish from Jacana with Island Trader well ahead..