Racing Review by Peter Campbell
It’s been a big, and somewhat controversial, week and weekend of racing with the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron on the harbour and offshore.
The past week saw the Twilight Regatta for the prestigious Etchells Milson Silver Goblets and the completion of the Dragon class NSW State championship on the harbour.
The weekend saw the Squadron’s Spring Offshore Regatta, with the Squadron Offshore Division fleet racing from Port Jackson to Broken Bay on Saturday and then back to Port Jackson on Sunday for the Morna Cup, one of the club’s traditional trophies.
Racing with them, for the Paul Royle Memorial Trophy was the CYCA’s Short Haul Division, making a total fleet of 31 boats that faced a hard beat to windward all the way into a fresh to strong nor’easter on Saturday. The return race on Sunday was a little easier, with a spinnaker run almost all the way for Division 3 and 2 sail reaching for Division 4.
“It was an outstanding Spring Offshore Regatta, great sailing conditions on both days and close competition in both divisions,” race officer Rob Ridley said after the fleet returned to Sydney on Sunday.
“Going up they had a beautiful breeze, a nor’easter, freshening from 12 to 25 knots. For the return race it was a spinnaker run almost all the way for Division 3 as the 6-8 knot easterly backed to the nor’east, freshening later in the afternoon.
Winner of the Morna Cup, awarded on PHS results over the two races, was Ray Entwistle’s Sweet Chariot, a J-109 from Greenwich Flying Squadron, with 8 points from a consistent 6-2 placings, while second went to Freya, a 40 foot Hanse, owned by a group of RSYS yachtsmen, A King, H Banck, T Carroll and Will Hutchinson.
Freya notched up 3-8 score for 11 points, taking second place on a countback from Max Prentice’s Beneteau 40.7 Ticket of Leave which won the race to Broken Bay but slipped to 10th on the race back to Port Jackson.
The return race went to the smallest boat in the fleet, Tom Cehak’s Farr 727 Therapy, but a 13th in race saw her place fifth overall on a countback. Therapy has been competing in the Morna Cup for over 20 years. Fourth place overall went to Double Trouble (Steve Wyatt), a 35 foot X Yacht.
Line honours in both races went to the Middle Harbour Yacht Club entry Samarkand, Walter Carpenter’s Beneteau 50, which sailed the race back in a fast 2 hours 26 minutes.
Under IRC results, John Maclurcan’s classic Illingworth & Primrose-designed Morag Bheag showed she continues to be a force in offshore racing with a 2-1 result to finish 3 points, winning from Ticket of Leave on 6 points and Zephyr, James Connell & Alex Brandon’s Farr 1020 on 7 points.
Overall winner of the Short Haul series for the Paul Royle Memorial Trophy was the CYCA member Bill Bailey’s Elan 43 Relish IV with a third going north and a second coming back south.
A fleet of 20 Etchells contested the Milson Silver Goblets Regatta of one twilight race each evening during the week, but six of them, several helmed by prominent yachtsmen, raised the ire of the Master of the ferry Queenscliff, outward bound from Circular Quay on Thursday evening.
The six boats apparently were in his path, forcing him to sound warning signals and ultimately reduce speed, an incident that was reported to Harbour Control, the Water Police and the Race Committee.
The ultimate result was a protest by the Race Committee against the six Etchells and their disqualification (one accepted RAF – retired after race) from race four for “their actions in passing through the ferries exclusion zone….in breach of the Sailing Instructions.” (See Protest Reports on this web site from complete details)
Winner of the Milson Silver Goblets was Fifteen, owned by David Clark and Andrew Smith, with such a consistent series that they did not have to race on Friday evening. Fifteen’s previous placings had been 1-4-3-3 and she ended up with a net 11 points, well clear of North Sydney Station (Ed McCarthy & Michael Coxon) on 18 points and Tonic (Peter Alexander) on 20 points, while Bushfire (Jervis Tilley) was a close fourth on 21 points.
Former RSYS Commodore, Life Member and class veteran Norman Longworth showed his great harbour knowledge and skill in the Dragon class by winning the State championship in Karabos VIII, sailed over eight heats, three the previous weekend and one each evening during the Twilight Regatta.
Longworth and his crew of Dick Sargeant and David Bain sailed Karabos VIII to an outstanding series of 3-6-1-1-2-5-7-1 to finish on 19 points after one discard.
Second place overall was decided on a three-way countback after Toogara, Whim and Tatsu each finished on 22 points after the one discard. The countback gave second place to Robert Alpe, helming Toogara, with that great veteran of yachting, Gordon Ingate, now in his 80s and a 50-Year Member of the Squadron, taking third place.
With his new crew, the former America’s Cup, Admiral’s Cup and Olympic yachtsman improved as the regatta continued during the week, notching up two wins, a second, a third and a fifth in the Twilight Regatta section of the championship.
Tatsu, skippered by Wolf Briet, placed fourth overall, while only one point back in the fifth place was Trio (William Bartley & Edward Cox).
Back on the harbour on Saturday, despite it being a non-pointscore race for the mixed division, good fleets still turned out for some exciting racing on a crowded harbour as the strong nor’easter kicked in to 25 knots by mid afternoon.
CYCA-based boats won all three of the mixed division races on Saturday, Charles Curran’s 60-footer Sydney taking out line and handicap honours. Back on board was sailing master David Kellett, just returned from the International Sailing Federation’s annual conference in Portugal.
In Division 3, line honours and first on corrected time went to the cruising Etchells Wallop, owned by Brian Collis and Stephen Wall, while Peter Campbell’s Bonbridge 27 Hornblower took out first place on handicap in Division 4. Wallop and Hornblower are berthed in adjacent pens on C Marina at the CYCA!
In the Etchells, Fifteen (David Clark & Andrew Smith) continued its winning ways after taking out the Milson Silver Goblets.
Peter Campbell, Yachting Journalist
Sydney, Australia
Close Window »
|
