Ian Snape’s Cookson 12, Sailient, had a stellar day in her last hit out before next Friday’s TasPorts Maria Island Race, winning Group 1 PHS, finishing runner up to the Don Calvert-sailed Intrigue in IRC and third behind Intrigue and Ian Johnston’s Zephyr Insurance Masters in ORC.
A Farr-designed New Zealand-built Cookson, the 40-footer is the complete racing package and joins sistership Kraken 42S (Mark Bayles and Andrew Sinclair) as a powerful addition to the Hobart racing fleet.
The Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania race management team sent Group 1 to a mark in Storm Bay, over a 35 nautical mile course, while Group 2 sailed the 28 nm course to Yellow Bluff on the eastern side of Bruny Island. Group 3 raced to a mark in Bull Bay, a 25 nm round trip.
Starting in three waves from 10:00am the fleet set off in a 10-knot south-easterly breeze and made steady but unspectacular progress to their respective turning marks. As the day wore on the south-easterly grew into a proper sea breeze around 18 to 20 knots, giving the fleet a classic downwind slide home.
Gary Smith’s Fork in the Road took line honours in four hours, 45 minutes followed by Sailient 10 minutes behind and Chris Sheehan’s Assagai a further two minutes astern.
In Group 2, Peter and Karen Davis’ Jiyuu, took the PHS/ORC double with Ambrose Coad’s The Dog House winning IRC. Ron Akhurst’s Lock on Wood stood up for second on PHS with the Dog House in third. Stewart Geeves Footloose and Justin Barr’s Rumbeat filled the minor placings in ORC.
Group 3 was won by Astrolabe (Peter Bosworth) from Steve Mannering’s Camlet Way and Ben Morgan’s Joie de Vie.
Nick Hutton/RYCT
