The Shorthanded Sailing Association of Australia (SSAA) is Australia's peak body for this type of sailing in Australia. Member's goals are diverse and include serious racing aspirations through to the development of skills to enable ease of shorthanded cruising.
The SSAA's annual racing series comprises of eight events that are timed to occur through the less busy season to complement other yacht club race calendars. With races to and from Pittwater, Botany Bay return, Newcastle, and Port Stephens, the series is primarily aimed at double-handed crews though accommodates single-handed and three up through handicap adjustment.
The series also includes the novel ‘Polar' Challenge where the fleet races to a longitude, turn at any point on that longitude, and then return to the start line on Sydney Harbour.
This year the series culminated with the 180 mile Two Islands race over the weekend of the 17th and 18th October. The race starts in Sydney Harbour and participants head up the coast to round Bird Island, then back down to round Flinders Islet before finishing back in Sydney Harbour. Well known Pittwater yacht dealer Lee Condell won the Two Islands race on his Mount Gay 30 Lik Lik and the win also resulted in him taking out the series.
Entries are welcome for individual events or for the entire series and this season twenty different yachts including two multihulls took part. Entries included Ed Psaltis on his modified Farr 40 AFR Midnight Rambler, Bruce McKay with the Sayer 40 Wasabi, and Nic Ewald and Sue Rice on their Adams 12 First Light on which they cruised the Pacific some years ago.
A wide range of yachts took part in the series from production cruisers and cruiser-racers to specialist short-handed yachts and all are welcome. See the association website www.ssaa.com.au for further details.
The SSAA would like to thank their sponsors Sail Solutions, Performance Boating Sales and SECUMAR Australia for their ongoing support.
2009 Series Results:
First Lik Lik Mount Gay 30 Lee Condell
Second Torquil Adams 10 Peter McCorquodale
Third Rollercoaster Sydney 32 David Bonallo
