Competition is really gingering up in the SB20 Winter Series being conducted by the Derwent Sailing Squadron as part of its Cascade Winter Series on the Derwent with prominent names in Hobart racing today figuring in exceptionally close racing.
Former Sharpie champion Frazer Read, world champion in International Cadets in this teens, Paul Burnell, current Moth masters world champion Rob Gough and Michael Cooper, who last month finished third overall in the Portuguese national championships filled the top scratch placings in the two races sailed today.
Cooper, along with Phil Reid (Mind Games) plan to contest the world championships in Portugal in August/September.
The highly competitive racing in winter augers well for a spectacular summer of SB20 one-design racing on the Derwent with a fleet of 40 boats predicted as Hobart sailors look ahead to the worlds here in 2018.
Conditions provided for excellent one-design racing, a 10-14 knot NNW with gust to 20 knots-plus with 14 SB20s competing along with 22 keelboats in three cruiser/racer divisions.
First race for the SB20s saw just of a minute between the first seven yachts, with Pinch (Frazer Read) leading the fleet home, 14 seconds ahead of Honey Badger (Paul Burnell) and just one second to Difficult Women (Rob Gough).
On PHS scoring, Pinch won from Honey Badger by one second on corrected time, with third place going to Alice Grubb at the helm of Big Ted.
In race two for the SB20s, Rob Gough held off a determined bid by Export Roo (Michael Cooper( by 17 seconds with Andrew Blakney’s Wicked four seconds back, in third place.
On PHS scoring, two more prominent yachties took top honours, with Richard Fader steering Sudden Impulse to victory from Yachting Tasmania’s sailing personality of the year, Hughie Lewis, at the helm of Nautilus Marine. Rob Gough came in third.
Overall, on the day, Gough had the best results on scratch, a third and a first, while Export Roo had a fourth and a second.
Plenty of breeze for the SB20 fleet in the DSS Winter Series, Photo Michelle Denny,
Division 1 victory went to Steve Harrison’s Thomson 7 sports boat Temptation from the classic 8-metre Juana, with Jock Young on the helm, third place going to Shaun Tiedemann and his young crew of ex-dinghy sailors in Sydney 36cr Philosopher, sailing its first race with the Squadron fleet.
Philosopher, with her youthful crew, gave Wayne Banks-Smith’s Farr 40 War Games a run for her money around the course, but the bigger boat finally pulled away to take line honours from Philosopher.
Division 2 saw an outright win for the J24 Another Toy (Latham Syndicate) ahead if Wildfire (Jon Attershank) and Hornet (Neville Georgeson).
There was another outright win in Division 3 with Serenity (Graham Hall) winning from Cool Change (Chris Bobbi) and Kindred Spirit (Peter Alcock).
Peter Campbell
3 July 2016
