Words: Liz Rountree
Photos: Courtesy of the Derwent Sailing Squadron
There is a full line-up for Saturday’s fifth and final installment of the Combined Clubs Long Race Pennant Series, hosted by the Derwent Sailing Squadron. Racing kicks off with a mid-river start at 10am and will finish at Castray Box in Battery Point in the mid to late afternoon.
While one team has already won their division regardless of their final race result, the rest of the results are neck and neck, with a few extra entries guaranteed to spice things up.
In Division 1, Andrew Jones’ Inglis 47 AdvantEdge is back on water after missing the last two races and will be ready for the Line Honours tussle with Gary Smith’s Bakewell-White Fork in the Road and the returning Cookson 50 Porco Rosso, who begins her 2024 Sydney to Hobart campaign with owner Paul McCartney on the helm. Brent McKay’s Bakewell-White Z39 Jazz Player will be fending off the two Mumm 36’s, Ian “CWeed” Stewart’s Joint Custody, Matt Keal’s Heatwave Fish Frenzy and Ian Johnston’s Farr 41Mx Zephyr Insurance Masters to keep her second overall in both ORC and IRC handicaps, while Don & Jill Calvert’s (Castro 40) Intrigue already has the series wrapped up.
Alice Grubb and Tom Stearns’ Adams 12 Sundowner will be one to watch, the only boat to take a win off Intrigue’s perfect scorecard this series and could add precious points between competitors that make or break their overall score.
It’s anyone’s game in Div 2, with the smallest boat in the fleet Stewart Geeves’ Young 88 Footloose tied with Steve Chau’s XP33 IYKYK on IRC, IYKYK leading the ORC, but with the “Xciter’s” on board the (Rocket 31) Xcite and Footloose both 1 point behind, and Ron Akhurst’s Jigsaw a mere 3. In the PHS score Bryan Walpole’s Farr 1104 Invincible is tied with Footloose, with Jigswaw and IYKYK tied only a point behind them. New entrant James Chilman’s (Hick 30) Anna will also be a wildcard that could spread the points and break the tiebreakers.
In Div 3 it could be a bit of a match race between Steve Mannering’s (Zeston 40) Camlet Way and Ben Morgan’s (Beneteau First 345) Joie De Vie who are tied for the lead, as Peter Bosworth’s Astrolabe sits in a solid second 5 points behind.
The light and variable forecast for Saturday means Race Officer Ian Ross and his team will have a tough day picking a course to make the most of the conditions. It also means that no team is guaranteed an easy performance. Everyone will be working hard to the last.
Combined Clubs Series Hosts:
Bellerive Yacht Club * Derwent Sailing Squadron * Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania
