The Royal Yacht Club of Victoria (RYCV) played host to Race Day 2 of the Port Philip Women’s Championship Series (PPWCS) yesterday, Sunday 21st February, 2016. Similar to the first race this race is named after an influential female member of the sailing community. For the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria they named their race The Val Hodge Trophy after the first female skipper of the Club, Val Hodge.
Today’s race saw twelve boats share the start line in welcoming conditions. RYCV’s Race Officer, David LeRoy, thought the conditions were well suited for the series:
“Today’s conditions were ideal for the second race of the (PPWCS). The breeze was slow to get started and found it hard to settle. Once it did settle in it was nice; it’s been a little bit shifty, but that’s what you get.”
The Port Phillip Women’s Championship Series enjoys welcoming new teams to the water. One such team is Kelly Knowles and her boat, ‘Take One’. Knowles has been competing in the PPWCS for the past 2 years but only this year has bought her own boat and joined the rest.
“I’ve never done the full PPWC Series before so am very excited for this year. I was fortunate enough to skipper a boat at the Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta (AWKR) and really enjoyed the experience.
This series is great as it gives women the opportunity to compete in an environment where we can feel more comfortable. It’s great to have all the different ratings so it creates an even playing field and pushes everyone just that little bit further.”
Racing today was a three lap windward- leeward course held at the northern end of Port Phillip Bay. Fiery battles were seen on the race course with an emphasis on strategic thinking and boat speed. Such a battle was seen between Ellipse and 2015 AWKR winner, Executive Decision. Executive Decision lead the fleet with a strong start picking the shifts on the first upwind and building a reasonable lead. A fast downwind and some smart fore- thinking pushed Ellipse to overtake them and win line honours and AMS today. Gretchin Mohan, skipper of Ellipse, explained their performance:
“As a team we competed in the AWKR last year but this is our first regatta together for this season. We’re very happy with our result today and put it down to keeping our eyes out of the boat and focussed on where the next shift would be. We love this event and want to thank the volunteers, committees and staff who put this event together.”
Congratulations to all competitors; results for the Val Hodge Trophy below:
AMS:
Today’s race saw twelve boats share the start line in welcoming conditions. RYCV’s Race Officer, David LeRoy, thought the conditions were well suited for the series:
“Today’s conditions were ideal for the second race of the (PPWCS). The breeze was slow to get started and found it hard to settle. Once it did settle in it was nice; it’s been a little bit shifty, but that’s what you get.”
The Port Phillip Women’s Championship Series enjoys welcoming new teams to the water. One such team is Kelly Knowles and her boat, ‘Take One’. Knowles has been competing in the PPWCS for the past 2 years but only this year has bought her own boat and joined the rest.
“I’ve never done the full PPWC Series before so am very excited for this year. I was fortunate enough to skipper a boat at the Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta (AWKR) and really enjoyed the experience.
This series is great as it gives women the opportunity to compete in an environment where we can feel more comfortable. It’s great to have all the different ratings so it creates an even playing field and pushes everyone just that little bit further.”
Racing today was a three lap windward- leeward course held at the northern end of Port Phillip Bay. Fiery battles were seen on the race course with an emphasis on strategic thinking and boat speed. Such a battle was seen between Ellipse and 2015 AWKR winner, Executive Decision. Executive Decision lead the fleet with a strong start picking the shifts on the first upwind and building a reasonable lead. A fast downwind and some smart fore- thinking pushed Ellipse to overtake them and win line honours and AMS today. Gretchin Mohan, skipper of Ellipse, explained their performance:
“As a team we competed in the AWKR last year but this is our first regatta together for this season. We’re very happy with our result today and put it down to keeping our eyes out of the boat and focussed on where the next shift would be. We love this event and want to thank the volunteers, committees and staff who put this event together.”
Congratulations to all competitors; results for the Val Hodge Trophy below:
AMS:
- Ellipse – Gretchen Mohan
- Executive Decision – Joanne Norbury
- Salamander III – Monica Jones
IRC:
- Executive Decision – Joanna Norbury
- Ellipse – Gretchen Mohan
- Salamander III – Monica Jones
YV Performance Handicapping (Names forever engraved on the trophy itself):
- Blue Volvo – Samantha Smith
- Ellipse – Gretchen Mohan
- Executive Decision – Joanna Norbury
The next race day, the Shirley Freeman Trophy & Senorita Cup, is happening on Sunday 3rd April. Host for this race is Hobson’s Bay Yacht Club. For more information and to register visit the Women and Girls in Sailing website. For progressive results on the series click here.
Port Phillip Women's Championship Series Media
