Twenty-five years ago last month, Hobart yachtsman Roger Jackman and his evergreen ocean racing yacht Doctor Who became only second handicap winner of the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race under the then new IMS rating system.
In was an outstanding performance by the Tasmanian yacht in a fleet of 105 boats, as she finished 10th in fleet, and also placed 11th on corrected time under the IOR rating.
Today, the now 32-year-old Davidson 52 showed she is still a most competitive yacht on the River Derwent and offshore when she won the PHS handicap category of the Combined Clubs Long Race Series.
“We certainly gave them their money’s worth today, with the last boat not finishing until just after 6 o’clock after a 10.00am start,” Bellerive Yacht Club sailing manager Peter Watson said last evening.
“Group A sailed a 41 nautical mile course that started in almost a drifter but the seabreeze built during the day to about a 20 knot southerly by the time the last boat finished after a long spinnaker run back up the river.
“Group B sailed a 28 nautical mile course, Group C some 22 nautical miles.”
Doctor Who finished second in fleet to line honours winner The Fork in the Road (Gary Smith) which sailed through the division fleets to take the lead abeam of the John Garrow Light.
On PHS corrected time the New Zealand designed and built Dr Who won from Black Magic, skippered by BYC Commodore Graeme Mansfield, with Shere Khane (P Watkins) third.
Bellerive Yacht Club entrant Invincible, skippered by Harold Clark won both rated divisions, AMS and IRC after getting a perfect pin end start in the light winds.
In AMS, Invincible won the Don Calvert’s Intrigue from the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania and Matthew Denholm’s Cleopatra and in IRC the Farr 34 won from Intrigue and Doctor Who.
Another BYC entrant, David Wyatt and Gordon Clark’s Silicon Ship got a fine start flying a yellow headsail, said to be ‘circa 1979’ and won Group B AMS.
Footloose (Stewart Geeves) placed second, Moonshadow (Anthony Ellis) third. Under PHS scoring, Group B went to Just in Time (Mick Sheehan) from Storm Dragon (Tom Pilkington) and Silicon Ship.
Group a PHS went to Tarremah (L Duncan)) from Wayatih (A Morgan) and Camlet Way (Steve Mannering).
– Peter Campbell
