After a three year wait (due to COVID) and a record-breaking storm in the lead-up period, Scouts finally gathered at Balmoral Oval over the weekend of March 18-20, for the 70th Sirius Cup Regatta.

The small team arrived at the oval in full sun with very warm and humid conditions to start the Regatta setup. At lights out on Friday it was evident that there would be fewer participants than previous years with only half the oval occupied by campers. Late Friday and Saturday morning saw the showers (heavy rain really) with some campers flooded and returning home with others arriving to set up camp.

The short course canoeing was cancelled due to the unfavourable water conditions. The rain cleared mid-morning and in the afternoon the wind was moderate to fresh (around 17 knots, gusting to 24 knots) as a fleet of 40 boats headed out for the start of the Saturday afternoon sailing race. A number of the boats retired from the race with gear failures. With the weather fining up we had an outdoor screening on the front of 1st Balmoral Scout hall, with the grass packed with moviegoers.

Sunday started early, at 07:00 for the Sirius Iron Man event (or more aptly know, the Iron Run) and rowing with the Cub canoeing program also falling victim to the unfavourable water conditions. The Sunday sailing race was run in much lighter conditions (gentle to moderate breeze) than Saturday resulting in more boats finishing this race.

Some of the other key trophies and their winners were:

  • Commodores Cup (Champion Group Overall) – 1st Sailors Bay
  • Sirius Shield (Overall Group Sailing) – Lake Ginninderra (ACT)
  • Sirius Cup (Handicap Winner, Division 1) – Sloppa Choppa, Lake Burley Griffin (ACT)
  • Little Sirius Cup (Handicap Winner, Division 2) – Pickledoo, 1st Bayview
  • Voice Pipe (Total Points, Rowing & Canoeing Combined) –1st Sailors Bay
  • Rudder (Champion Rowing Group) – 1st Sailors Bay
  • Wal Piltz Skin (Champion Group Camping) – Epping

A full list of the results will be available in a few weeks at http://siriuscup.x10host.com

A big thank you goes out to all the leaders, Rovers, Venturers, and Scouts who helped in running the Regatta and to SWASH who helped the safety boat team with three boats. There are a number of volunteers who come down and help with the setup and packing up of the Regatta HQ, run safety and marker boats, marshal the events, staff the office, and do numerous other tasks. Also thank you to Mowbray Radio/Bob Richards for loaning us the radios and PA systems and to Mosman Council for their assistance in running the event at Balmoral Oval and allowing us to use the oval.

Paul Soltau – Regatta Co-ordinator