On the weekend I experienced an Umpire boat for the first time. I have done plenty of time on RIBS for Rescue boats and also as Race Management. This was different altogether and a great experience. On Saturday it was a wonderful surprise to see Adventures of a Sailor Girl (Nic Douglass) suddenly appear on the Start Boat.

Saturday saw not much wind which was great from my perspective as I got a handle of how to do things and when driving how and where to position the RIB. This was a false sense of security though as the breeze well and truly kicked in for Sunday and saw all the umpires on their toes. WOW is all I can really say! How to digest what I experienced is the current question.

Sunday was amazing. Watching the skill of the competitors in the breeze was fantastic.

I’d like to thank all the Umpires and those on the race course for welcoming me and allowing me to tag along and learn. Looks like I will be doing a little more of this in the future!

A big thanks to Kingsley Forbes-Smith for suggesting I give this a go.  A big thanks to my close friends and family who have supported me trying something new as well. Thanks for all your positive words of encouragement!