Consistent sailing has placed David Taylor’s Pisces in a commanding position on the leader board going into the final race in the RYCT’s Winter Series at the end of August.
'Winter' was the apt description for the race, with Hobart’s temperature during the Sunday morning event just 6-7 degrees, with a sharp northerly breeze sweeping down the Derwent at 14 knots, gusting to 17 knots at start time, but easing to 6 knots by late morning. The wind chill factor on the river was probably less than 5 degrees.
Pisces, a modified Sydney 36 today finished fourth in Division 2 on the Winter Series, sponsored by The Good Guys.
Following earlier placings of 4-7-1, this gives Pisces a total of 16 points, five points of today’s race winner, Kaye Roberts and Stewart Geeves’ Young 88 Footloose, which is on 21 points.
Third overall on 25 points is the Farr 40 Peregrine, skippered by Launceston-based yachtsman David Stephenson, despite a 10th place on corrected time today. In fourth place is Nick Rogers in his SB20 Karabos, on 27 points after a third place today.
Second place on corrected time in Division 2 today went to another SB20, Three Blind Mice, skippered by Daniella Polita, beating Karabos by five seconds.
Line honours today went to Toby Richardson’s Fred Barrett-designed 38-footer X & Y which dashed around the course in 54 minutes, crossing the line two minutes clear of Peregrine.
In Division 3, after four of the five races Winter Series, octogenarian sailor Tom Kirkland has also maintained consistent placings with Ragtime to head the pointscore going into the final race day on Sunday, 31 August.
Ragtime has a scorecard of 1-3-4-4 for 12 points, followed by Vistula (Gregory Biskup) on 15 points and Engenie (Nigel Johnston) both on 19 points.
In today’s Division 3 race, Off-Piste (Paul Einoder) took outright honours, winning on corrected time from Engenie and Serenity (Graham Hall).
– Peter Campbell
