Dick Cawse and his crew have continued their dominance of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia's Ocean Pointscore series with the Lyons/Cawse 60 Vanguard scoring another line honours victory today.
Commencing the race in light 6-8 knot easterly breezes, Vanguard led from start to finish with Leslie Green's Swan 601 Ginger their closest competition throughout the three lap windward/leeward course set off Sydney Heads in an area known as Macquarie Circle.
With slightly sloppy conditions and only a little swell remaining from last night's southerly, it was a case of patience and working the boat gently around the course for the crew of Vanguard.
“Given the soft conditions today, we had to be patient. It was a case of coaxing the boat throughout the three legs and keeping the superstars aboard Ginger behind us,” said Dick Cawse.
“On the last leg, the breeze freshened a little and we had a nice angled spinnaker run home to take the gun,” said Cawse.
Vanguard crossed the finish line at 14:24:32hrs with Ginger finishing second over the line just eight minutes behind and Noel Cornish's Sydney 47 St Jude third over the line a further 17 minutes behind.
Taking the IRC win today was St Jude in the boat's last hit-out before she takes to the start line of the Rolex Sydney Hobart in twenty days time.
“What a confidence boost this win is,” said an elated Noel Cornish, after being informed of his IRC win.
“The crew have been training hard in preparation for our second Rolex Sydney Hobart. Our results this week and last week show that all the training and hard work is starting to pay off.
“I have got together a keen and committed crew , who have spent lots of time getting to know the boat and learning how to make her go fast,” continued Cornish.
“The boat felt like it was performing really well today. We managed to keep Vanguard and Ginger in sight and finish strongly. It's now time for us to knuckle down and continue with our preparations for the start of the Rolex Sydney Hobart on Boxing Day,” concluded Cornish.
Second today in the IRC Division was Darryl Hodgkinson's Beneteau 44.7 Vivacite, with Vanguard placing third.
Vivacite scored the PHS division win, with Rod Wills' X-43 Great Xpectations second and St Jude third.
Vanguard leads the Ocean Pointscore series by three points from Paul Clitheroe's Beneteau 45 Balance and St Jude a further one point behind in third place.
Today was the last race in the Ocean Pointscore Series for 2009. Racing re-commences in 2010 with the next Ocean Pointscore race conducted as part of the 174th Australia Day Regatta on 26 January 2010.
– Jennifer Crooks, CYCA Media
