Race three of the Combined Clubs Winter Series on the Derwent yesterday produced four new race winners on a morning of challenging sailing in steady rain and an 10-12 knot south-easterly, an unusual breeze for this time of the year.
The sou’-easter did, however, allow the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania to set a good windward/leeward course as the breeze freshened with gusts to 20 knots.
Divisions 1 and 2 sailed down to the Nutgrove Beach mark, Division 3 and 4 had the DSS permanent buou as their leeward mark.
Division 1 saw another win for a Kettering Yacht Club entrant with Brent McKay’s Radford 35, Rad, winning from Drew Latham’s MBDG36, Whistler and Guilty Pleasures VI (Gary Cripps).
Oskana, Mike Pritchard’s Cookson 50, took line honours and placed eighth on corrected time but still heads the pointscore for Division 1, just one point ahead of Whistler, with another point to Jazz Player (John Pritchard).
Bellerive Yacht Club member Richard Grant won Division 2 with his Knoop 39, Cromarty Magellan after a race-long duel with Zephyr (Ian Johnston. Zephyr crossed the line just 19 seconds clear but finished second on corrected time. Temptation (Steve Harrison) placed third.
Division 3 had a smaller fleet that usual with Wayne Pitt’s Farr 37, Southern Cross, a BYC entrant , a new winner in this group. Second went to race two winner Trouble (Dave Willans), third to Invincible, skippered by new owner Bryan Walpole.
Graham Hall’s Serenity gave a win for the host club of the day, the RYCT, a Van De Stadt designed half tonner winning Division 4 from Sundance (Don Bailey) and the famous 46-year-old Huon Chief (Peter Farley).
Huon Chief has returned to racing after decades as a cruising boat with Farley, the RYCT bosun, scoring his first race placing since acquiring the former one ton champion earlier this year.
After three Combined Clubs Winter Series races Oskana (Mike Pritchard (RYCT/DSS) heads Division 1 with 13 points, Whistler (Drew Latham, DSS) on 14 points and Jazz Player (John Dryden, KYC) on 15 points. Today’s winner, Rad, is fourth in standings on 15 points.
Zephyr (Ian Johnston, DSS) heads Division 2 with 7 points, ahead of The Dog House (Ambrose Coad, DSS) on 11 points and Temptation (Steve Harrison, PESC) on 12 points. Today’s winner, Cromarty Magellen is fifth on 19 points.
Just Jones (David Wyatt) retains its lead in Division 3 with 11 points, two clear of Young Lion (Steve Chau, DSS) on 13 points and Mind Games (Phil Reid, RYCT) on 14 points. Race 3 winner Southern Cross is sixth overall on 19 points.
The J24 Another Toy (Michael Kennedy, DSS0) heads the Division 4 leader board with 9 points; Motley (Stephan Lubach) is on 11 points and Zest (Matt Westland) on 12 points. Today’s race winner, Serenity has 14 points on the board and is fourth in standings.
– Peter Campbell
