And you thought you had a busy week?
Try this on for size.
Manly 16ft skiff sailor Greg Windust has four kids aged between 10-15 all sailing at the club while also sponsoring/funding four skiffs and having involvement with two Flying 11s and two Manly Juniors.
Greg usually gets a lift to Sydney from his Central Coast home each Friday with Bec following with the kids after picking them up from school. The family stays on the family boat moored at The Spit before shooting off to various sailing locations over the weekend.
You exhausted yet? Wait, there’s more.
Greg and Bec also find time to run their busy Gosford-based concrete pumping business, which supplies sponsorship and support to a number of boats and sailors across several classes.
“We run a family calendar that has everything in it. The hardest part is normally the trailer and car logistics,” Greg explained. “We are constantly trying to balance it all with work and school, but sailing is probably the priority in our family at the moment so we make it work.
“I was a builder for 25 years and wanted something that gave our family a bit more flexibility, so we started Red Pumps eight years ago. I love to put back into the class and the club as it’s given me a lot of fun over the years.
“I started sailing at Manly when I was 10 in Flying 11s and to see all my kids are coming through and enjoying it is a good feeling.”
Asked how she managed to pull such a hectic schedule together, Bec joked: “Champagne!” Her hubby hopes there will be some bubbly flowing in the second week of January after the Australian 16ft Skiff Championships are done and dusted at Belmont.
Greg is chasing his maiden national title onboard Red Pumps, alongside experienced Jay Harris and young skipper Tyler Dransfield.
“I’ve been trying to win a nationals for nearly 30 years and I think we are getting close…I just hope my kids don’t beat me to it,” Greg laughed. “We are reasonably confident. Our boat speed is better than most at the moment and we just need a few things to go our way and we should be at the pointy end come the last couple of days.
“But the fleet is very strong and, as we all know, you still need a bit of luck.”
Red Pumps did most things right but still needed that touch of fortune on Saturday in winning the third race of the long course pointscore series by the slimmest of margins. Just one second separated it from stablemate Red Pumps Red, with Buckingham Marine rounding out the top three in perfect sailing conditions.
In the 13s, Buckingham Marine turned the tables with a win over Red Pumps 58. Big Foot Bags and Covers finished third.
Red Pumps will be a major presence at next weekend’s first round of the 13ft & 16ft Skiff State Championships, hosted by Middle Harbour 16’Skiff Club across both days. They will not only have a host of boats in action but are the major sponsor.
The Red Pumps team rundown reads:
16s: Red Pumps (Tyler Dransfield, Greg Windust, Jay Harris)
16s: Red Pumps Red (Zoe Dransfield, Hugh Stodart, Jamie Stodart)
16s: Red Concrete (Sebastian Marajian, James Downey, Sam Skeen)
13s: Red Pumps (Jemma Hopkins and Harvey Windust)
Flying 11: (Noah Windust and Levi Windust)
Flying 11: (Taj Bridge and Audrey Windust)
Manly Junior: (Noah Windust and Fletcher Williams)
Manly Junior: (Audrey Windust and Clara Page)
Words Adam Lucius
Photos: SailMedia | Michael Chittenden
#Sailing #16ftSkiff #AustralianSailing #RedPumps #Manly16ftSkiff #SkiffChampionships
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