About the author
“There are those who pass like ships in the night, who meet for a moment then sail out of sight with never a backward glance of regret; people we know briefly then quickly forget. Then there are friends who sail together through the quiet waters and stormy weather, helping each other through joy and through strife ..... they are the people who give meaning to our lives.”
Over the years I've been fortunate to race yachts with some extraordinary sailors and good friends, and along the way we've even won the occasional State and National Championship. My real passion however has always been dinghy racing, which I still consider to be one of the most challenging forms of our sport, a complete workout for mind, body and soul. I've sailed a variety of national and international classes from Northbridge Juniors to Finns and MJs to 505s.
Sadly, in dinghies I have never achieved much beyond the level of an enthusiastic club racer.
It's Lasers that keep drawing me back, partly because they're a relatively cheap boat to campaign but also because of the large fleets and the standard of competition available, even at Master's events. I am in awe of the select few sailors who have truly mastered the Laser. For us mere mortals Lasers can be torture machines capable of humbling far better sailors than me, and on more than one occasion I've sworn I had sailed in my last Laser event. But by the time the next event comes around the memories of sore back and aching muscles have usually faded just in time to see me dusting off the boat for another big dose of reality.
An involvement in junior sailing has allowed me to indulge an interest in sailing photography and also experience first hand the remarkable growth of the Optimist class in Australia over recent years. More and more people are coming to understand the role the International Optimist Dinghy is playing in the resurgence of junior sailing in Australia, and I'm very proud to have played a small part through the development of www.optinsw.yachting.org.au in New South Wales.
My goal with Dinghy Fever is to put the spotlight on high performance dinghy sailing on Pittwater, providing a focal point for anyone interested in the ISAF classes which can be their first stop in search of news and useful sailing links.
We hope that in time Dinghy Fever will develop it's own character and that there will be enough interesting content to keep you coming back. We'll look forward to seeing you again soon ..... until then, happy sailing.
Warwick Crossman
