2024/25 Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore – Bird Island Race
The Bird Island Race, the fourth event in the Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore (ACSBWPS), took place on Saturday 16 November under overcast skies and windy conditions. The starting sequence added intrigue; after two general recalls, the fleet got going, albeit more cautiously, on their third attempt.
A diverse fleet of 43 yachts competed, including three international entrants – Antipodes from Hong Kong, Bacchanal from the USA and Caro a New Zealand entry who is poised to stamp its mark on the final race in the Pointscore, the Rolex Sydney Hobart, following strong performances in 2022 and 2023.
The largest yachts in the fleet were the 100-footer Master Lock Comanche and 72-footer URM Group, while the smallest consisted of a handful of J/99s, all racing double-handed.
After two general recalls, the fleet eventually got underway at 1020hrs under a black flag. Competitors tacked out through the Heads in a steady 15-knot north easterly breeze, contending with an outgoing tide and rolling seas. Despite the bumpy conditions, the start was handled well.
Master Lock Comanche led the charge, clearing Sydney Heads at 1040hrs, followed by URM Group, Whisper, Caro, Smuggler, Antipodes, No Limit, and Koa.
In the Double Handed division, Disko Trooper_Contender Sailcloth set the pace as the first to leave the Heads, with the rest of the fleet close behind. Sailor Moon, bringing up the rear, was the last yacht to exit the Harbour.
However, Master Lock Comanche’s early lead was short-lived. After sustaining damage to its mainsail, the crew made the difficult decision to retire from the race.
Co-skipper Matt Allen explained: “We were using an old mainsail that we were planning to retire anyway. As we were sailing upwind, the top blew out. No crew errors contributed to the damage. The sailing conditions were great out there – I’m sure it would have been a fantastic race.”
The beat up the coast
The first yacht at the Bird Island halfway mark, (3nm NE of Norah Head on NSW’s Central Coast), was Anthony and David Johnston’s URM Group, with the team going on to claim their third Line Honours victory of the season. Their first victory in 2024 was the Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race and the second, the Flinders Islet Race. URM Group crossed the finish line off Watsons Bay at 17:26:33 after 7 hours, 6 minutes and 33 seconds on the racecourse, reaching speeds of 22 knots on their way back from Bird Island.
Anthony shared: “It was a great race and overall, we were happy with the performance of the team and the boat. We pushed as hard as we could and rounded with a healthy lead.”
The next bunch to round the Island were Whisper, Caro, No Limit, Smuggler and Antipodes, with Oroton Drumfire not far behind.
Oroton Drumfire skipper, Phillip Neil, was a happy man after the race: “The conditions suited us perfectly – this kind of weather is our bread and butter. In a decent breeze and a bit of sea state that might trouble other yachts, we just power through. It also helps that we have an incredible crew which includes some of the best female sailors in the world like Stacey Jackson, Carolijn Brouwer, Jessica Watson, Katy MacDonald and Jane Vicars.”
Only a little further back, an epic battle in the Double Handed fleet was unfolding. Disko Trooper_Contender Sailcloth co-skipper Jules Hall said: “There was a pack of five double-handers bunched together: Borderline, Disko Trooper_Contender Sailcloth, Toucan, Min River and Jupiter. We were crossing tacks the whole way up.”
Shane Connelly, co-skipper of Rum Rebellion, reflected on the challenging conditions: “It was a lot of hard work getting to Bird Island. The wind ranged between 13 and 19 knots, and the opposing current was brutal. We went a bit further offshore than the rest, which hurt us quite a bit.
“Approaching Bird Island we saw Borderline hoist their kite and take off like a rocket. It was incredible to watch the co-skippers handle the boat the way they did – my hat goes off to them.”
At the halfway point, the majority of the double handed fleet was only 100m apart with Borderline being the first in the pack. Hall continued by saying: “The standard in the fleet has gotten so high, so quickly. It is just epic to be a part of that.” Closing the fleet but still very much in the hunt on handicap until the very end was the the 120-year-old Maritimo Katwinchar.
The sled ride back home
With URM Group being the first back into the Harbour, the rest of the fleet raced against the clock to improve their corrected time. In the wash-up, Max Klink’s Botin 52 Caro (NZ) took out Division 1 and Overall IRC honours in a corrected time of 11:18:18 – seven minutes ten seconds ahead of Anthony Johnston’s Maxi 72 URM Group.
Johnston later reflected: “It was always going to be a case of whether we got chased down by Caro … and they pipped us in the end. A great day’s sailing all round. Congratulations to Max Klink and team”.
Locally-built JPK 11.80
It was not only the biggest in the fleet that enjoyed the fast return trip. In what has been described as “epic racing conditions” the smallest of the fleet were also ripping home. One of those yachts was Bacchanal, the brand-new, locally-built JPK 11.80 for American owner Ronald Epstein.
Epstein celebrated the team’s first hit-out: “I’ve dreamed of competing in the Rolex Sydney Hobart my entire life, so it’s incredible that we’re now preparing for that journey. The JPK has proven itself to be a fantastic all-round boat, handling beautifully upwind and delivering great speed downwind, topping out at 21 knots. I am fortunate with the level of experience my crew brings, with nearly 50 years of combined Bird Island Race experience – that certainly counts for something. We’re heading back to the USA now, but will return on 2 December to prepare for the Cabbage Tree Race, followed by the race I’ve dreamed of since I was a child – the Hobart.”
Another yacht that relished the fast conditions was Andy Offord’s Jeanneau Sunfast 3300 Borderline.
Offord, owner and co-skipper, led the charge in the double handed fleet, eventually taking both Double Handed IRC and Double Handed PHS honours. Offord lauded their performance: “We finally didn’t park anywhere or sailed into a hole, it was just a fantastic race. There was a good set of boats in the race, so it was a good gauge to see how we measure against the rest.
“We had an A4 up for about two hours coming out of the island and then we changed to an A5, a bit more conservative as that one works on a fractional halyard. Our strategy was to keep soaking into the coast before gybing into the Heads and back to the finish line. We topped out at 20.7 knots, but we needed the speed to create a gap between us and the J/99s. Back at the island they would have had us on corrected time, but we managed to create a gap in the end.”
Maritimo Katwinchar, Bill Barry-Cotter’s restored classic, skippered by Michael Spies, was the final boat home, finishing the course at 0148hrs Sunday morning, averaging 5.4 knots for the journey.
40 of 43 starters finished, with retirements from Master Lock Comanche (mainsail damage), Cinquante (rigging issues) and Sailor Moon (rudder damage).
Attention now moves to the next Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore race, the Cabbage Tree Island Race on Friday 6 December. This race also doubles as the first race in the 2024 Australian Maxi Championship, for competing mini maxis and maxis (60-100 feet).
Results
Line Honours
- URM Group (RP 72) – Anthony and David Johnston
- Whisper (JV 62) – David Griffith
- No Limit (RP 63) – David Gotze
IRC Overall
- Caro (Botin 52) – Max Klink
- URM Group (RP 72) – Anthony and David Johnston
- Smuggler (JV TP52) – Sebastian Bohm
IRC Div 1
- Caro (Botin 52) – Max Klink
- URM Group (RP 72) – Anthony and David Johnston
- Smuggler (JV TP52) – Sebastian Bohm
IRC Div 2
- Bacchanal (JPK 11.80) – Ronald Epstein
- Ragtime (J/130) – Steve Watson
- Ariel (Beneteau First 40) – Ron Forster and Phil Damp
PHS Overall
- Ragtime (J/130) – Steve Watson
- Bacchanal (JPK 11.80) – Ronald Epstein
- Caro (Botin 52) – Max Klink
PHS Div 1
- Caro (Botin 52) – Max Klink
- Antipodes (Santa Cruz 72) – Geoffrey Hill
- Oroton Drumfire (Hoek Tc78) – Phillip Neil
PHS Div 2
- Ragtime (J/130) – Steve Watson
- Bacchanal (JPK 11.80) – Ronald Epstein
- Quetzalcoatl (Jones 40) – A Bruce, J Lee Warner and A Sweetapple
IRC Corinthian
- Koa (TP52) – Peter Wringley and Andrew Kearnan
- Pretty Woman (IC 45 MOD) – Richard Hudson
- Calibre 12 (Cookson 12) – Richard Williams
Wild Rose IRC
- Pretty Woman (IC 45 MOD) – Richard Hudson
- Ragtime (J/130) – Steve Watson
- Min River (DH) (JPK 10.30) – Jiang Lin & Rupert Henry
Double Handed IRC
- Borderline (Sunfast 3300) – Andy Offord and Stephen Price
- Disko Trooper_Contender Sailcloth (J/99) – Jules Hall and Jan Scholten
- Min River (JPK 10.30) – Jiang Lin and Rupert Henry
Double Handed PHS
- Borderline (Sunfast 3300) – Andy Offord and Stephen Price
- Disko Trooper_Contender Sailcloth (J/99) – Jules Hall and Jan Scholten
- Jupiter (J/99) – Ian Smith and Lincoln Dews
