Entry is open and the Notice of Race is online for the 37th Sydney Short Ocean Racing Championship (SSORC), to be hosted by Middle Harbour Yacht Club on the weekend of November 29 and 30.
The two-day series traditionally opens the summer offshore racing season and is one of the last times owners and crews can test their mettle against rivals and newcomers. It is also the ultimate opportunity to practice for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race each year.
Those contesting IRC, ORCi, PHS and one-design categories are eligible to enter. A varied program is designed to attract the best in the business and opens with a Lion Island and return race. Competitors will need to be wide awake the following day, as a short and sharp windward/leeward course will be followed by a short ocean race.
One of the SSORC races will also form part of the MHYC and Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s Ocean Pointscore Series’, so serious competition is anticipated.
For those preferring to stretch their legs on a long Harbour course, the Seven Island Race, to be held on Saturday November 29, is always a thriller. With a pursuit-style start off MHYC, the yachts then take in some of the famous islands on each side of the Harbour Bridge before the winner gets the gun at the finish line off the Club.
Already four owners have signalled their intention to start, including Brian Lees and Geoffrey Charters with their respective well-named Adams 10’s; Contentious and No Friends, such is the friendly rivalry in the class. Stormaway, the super-quick Sydney 36 owned by Jack Stening and Colin Gunn, and Twitcher, Steve Plante’s Beneteau 35s5 have also signed on.
Middle Harbour Yacht Club Commodore, John McCuaig, summed up the event nicely when he said: “This is a great weekend for everyone – whether you are an offshore sailor wanting the challenge of championship racing, or if you prefer the spectacle of inshore harbour racing.
“For some, racing up Harbour and under the Harbour Bridge to Goat Cockatoo, Snapper and Spectacle Islands is special as it’s not often the major clubs use that side of the Bridge for racing. Others just want to enjoy a relaxing drink on the picturesque beach at Middle Harbour Yacht Club – so the SSORC is a favourite,” the Commodore ended.
Competitors and friends are always welcomed back to the friendly atmosphere of MHYC following racing, where they enjoy the relaxed post-race beach party, drinks, sausage sizzle and live entertainment.
To download the Notice of Race and to enter online, visit the event website at: www.ssorc.mhyc.com.au Sailing Instructions will be available from Tuesday 25 November.
Di Pearson, MHYC Media
