IWC was invited to participate in the Latrobe Valley Yatch Club’s season opener at Hazelwood Pondage on the 9th November. We were hoping to sail in the twilight race but Mother Nature had other plans.
For those who have never visited Hazelwood is used as the cooling pond for the large power station to the north. This means the water is warm all year round!
Conditions were marginal but the crew got out for a session. Being such a shy President, the moment a TV camera appeared, Kato throw in a few fancy-pants laydown gybes!
It was good to see Simmo up and about and a few lessons were given to some of the Yacht Club members, and then, owing to the swirly offshore wind, a decision was made to pull the pin.
A fun day, and it was great to share our passion with other sailors who may have forgotten about windsurfing.
I think we’ll be coming back!
Hazlewood Pondage
Driving past Anderson Inlet with a lovely 20 knot South-westerly wind with a great low tide and crystal blue water, we all didn’t even want to look at what we would be missing out on. But after a quick chat about the days plans we hit the road for an hours drive from Inverloch to the Hazlewood Pondage.
The road toward the pondage is on a bendy hill, and as you get towards the lake you realize how big this lake actually is. We were all keen to hit the water as most of us hadn’t sailed there yet. After a few minutes a few more club members arrived to make a full team of 7. This included Mick Green, Roy Worner, Joshua Worner, Joel Worner, Craig Hollins, Robbie Kenyon and Simon Chambers.
Everyone was on the water by 1pm, with gusts coming in from various spots on the lake. However it stayed light for most of the day. Joining the IWC at the Pondage were The Royal Navy Band, Motorcycle Club, Yachting Club. A few people were inspired to even try windsurfing. All of them uphauling and having a great time – even if it meant drifting down so far that you needed a rescue boat!
As the day went on the wind just dropped and dropped, so we all decided to come in, get warm and de-rig. As usual everyone gathered around to share their own experiences of the day, then we all hit the road once more for the trip back to Inverloch. Although we were meant to stick around till it got a bit darker and be involved in the twilight race, everyone still had a blast and we managed to get the IWC name out there.
Joel Worner