Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron’s 146th sailing season on Sydney Harbour began on Saturday with more than 70 boats and their crews enjoying close competition in a light and shifty easterly breeze.
Apart from the distant buzz of helicopters flying over the APEC sites and the noise pollution of a couple of ‘thrill boats’, it was a perfect spring day for sailing.
With entries for the Saturday racing season so far totalling 115, not to mention the mini-regatta fleets and twilight racing, it is obvious that the Squadron has a huge season ahead.
Sydney takes line honours in season opener
The Etchells fleet alone has 31 entries, making it almost certainly the largest fleet of Etchells racing weekly in the world. Twenty Etchells raced on Saturday, while in other divisions and classes there was also a typical early season list of DNCs.
Saturday was a day of success for newcomers and new boats – even a new knee - and a new boat - in the case of Peter Gardner, who skippered Humpback to victory in the Etchells class.
Gardner, who owns Humpback with Stephen Barlow, had a knee replaced with a titanium joint just six weeks ago. “No problems at all, far better than the old one,” he said at the CYCA hardstand after the race.
In a finish that epitomises Etchells fleet racing, Humpback came from 7th at the first windward mark to win by 22 seconds from another new boat, Squadron member Ben Lehmann’s The Front Row, with 13 seconds to the third placegetter, Bushfire (Jervis Tilley).
Last boat to finish in the Etchells was also a newcomer to the fleet – and a winner - with Irrepressible, skippered by Kim Le Gras with a crew of an Italian visiting sailor and two women, placing first on handicap.
Senior Squadron member Graeme Lambert, one of the winning skippers in the 1979 Admiral’s Cup winning Australian team, steered his new boat, Impetuous Too, to victory in Division 1.
Impetuous Too, a Sydney 36 CR, won by just 11 seconds on corrected time from About Time, skippered by sailing committee member Julian Farren-Price. In third place, a further 28 seconds back, was Yandoo (John & Margaret Formosa).
Division 2 produced another close result, Arcturus II (Peter Davenport) beating J Force (Moty & Judy Bergman) by just six seconds, but in Division 3 Half Hour (Paul Hendry) had a margin of nearly two minutes from Wizard (Darty & Gary Glover).
Arcturus off to a fine start
Newcomer to Division 4, Allan Levick led the fleet home with Velocity, but had to be content with fourth on corrected time, first place going to the well-sailed Hood 23 Esquisse 2, skippered by Richard Staines.
The International Dragon race attracted only three starters, with winner being Toogara (Robert Alpe) while in the Ynglings, Pourquoi (Hamish Jarrett) held off a determined bid by Joyce & Patricia Warn in Holly. – Peter Campbell
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