Derwent Sailing Squadron Commodore Steve Chau yesterday sailed his Young 88 Young Lion to victory in the final race of Division 3 IRC of the Combined Clubs Summer Pennant, scoring an outstanding eighth win out of nine races over the season.
Young Lion also won the Division 3 AMS pennant, finishing second in the final race, but with five wins over the season.
The final pennant race of the summer was sailed in a chilly and gusty westerly breeze of up to 19 knots, with the downwind run proving difficult for some crews, include The Fork in the Road which shredded a spinnaker. Oskana (Mike Pritchard) won line honours but finished well down the results sheet on corrected time.
The evergreen Young 88 designs in Division 3 have dominated results over the summer with Stewart Geeves’ Footloose taking out the PHS pennant from Serica (Charles Peacock) and Trouble (Mark Millhouse).
Runner-up to Young Lion in the AMS pointscore was another Young 88, Young One (Nathan Mills and Jay Nibbs), with Footloose taking third. In IRC, Young Lion won from Footloose and Moonshadow.
Young Lion joined the veteran Division 1 yacht Doctor Who (Rod Jackman) and Division 2’s Wings Three (Peter Haros) in winning two handicap pennants for the 2018-19 summer season which attracted 53 entries, including a record 28 yachts with IRC ratings.
“We were looking over a shoulder all the time for Don Calvert in Intrigue,” commented Doctor Who tactician Phil Jackman, with the Davidson 52 enjoying the fresh westerly breeze to finish fourth in fleet, Intrigue eighth.
As a tribute to owner Roger Jackman before the final summer pennant race, the crew of Doctor Who pulled up off his Sandy Bay waterside home to hoist the mainsail. It proved a good luck move with the big boat sailed a fine race, finishing fourth on line, third in IRC and fifth on PHs.
Roger Jackman has retired from yacht racing, handing over Doctor Who to son Rod to campaign over the past three summers.
Back at the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania the Jackmans, father and son, joined Don Calvert to celebrate taking out the three Division 1 handicap categories, Doctor Who with IRC and PHS, Calvert’s Intrigue winning the AMS pennant.
On corrected times in the final race, just 31 seconds separated the two contenders for IRC honours, with Intrigue placing second and Doctor Who third in the Division 1 IRC category race yesterday, won by Crusader (Scott Sharp).
It wasn’t enough, however and Doctor Who won both the IRC and PHS handicap category pennants from Intrigue and Heatwave (Matthew Keal).
However, Intrigue’s second to Jeff Cordell’s Mumm 36, B&G Advantage in the AMS category, was sufficient to give the Castro 40 that summer pennant from B&G Advantage and Heatwave.
Today’s top performer in Division 1 was the Melges 32, Crusader, skippered by Scott Sharp, winning both PHS and IRC categories.
In Division 2, Peter Haros’ Wings Three, a Northshore 38, clinched both the AMS and IRC pennants with a last race win, with the PHS pennant going to another Northshore 38, Ian Stewart’s Southern Swordfish.
In the AMS category, Wings Three won from Southern Swordfish and Illusion (David Brett) while in IRC, Wings Three won from Rumbeat (Justin Barr) and Natelle Two (Glenn Roper).
In Division 4, just half a point separated Astrolabe (Peter Bosworth) and Camlet Way (Stephen Mannering) for the summer pennant after Camlet Way won the final race with Astrolabe eighth on handicap.
Words: Peter Campbell
Photos: Leigh Edwards, Peter Watson
31 March 2019
Another day on the Derwent and another day of wins for Shaun Tiedemann’s Sydney 36cr Philosopher on Saturday as she sailed to an overall victory in the Combined Clubs Inshore Series for 2018-19.
Philosopher convincingly won all three Division 1 races under AMS ratings on corrected times and two out of three under IRC scoring.
Yesterday was the final race day of the Inshore Series with race officer Nick Hutton running two windward/leeward and triangle course in keeping with the concept of short, sharp racing around the buoys on the river for the small but elite fleet.
The wins (and a third place) gave Philosopher first place overall in the IRC and AMS handicap categories, adding to the Sydney 36cr’s outstanding season that has included an overall win in the Launceston to Hobart race, division wins in the Maria Island and Bruny Island Races, and a notable IRC division win in the Australian Yachting Championships.
Philosopher won the Inshore Series Division 1 IRC from Paul Butchard’s Mem and X&Y (Toby Richardson) and AMS from War Games (Wayne Banks-Smith).
The PHS category of Division 1 went to Paul Boutchard’s Mem, today notching up a 3-31 result to win by half a point from X&Y.
War Games won two of three Division 1 PHS races, but did not figure in the overall top placings.
In Division 2, Derwent Sailing Squadron Commodore Steve Chau’s Young 88, Young Lion, sailed through the final day unbeaten in PHS, AMS and IRC scoring to win the IRC and AMS series. Division 2 PHS overall winner is Alibi II (Rod Williams).
The final Combined Clubs Summer Pennant Series race will be sailed next Saturday, with Philosopher in line for the IRC pennant.
Words: Peter Campbell
Photos: Peter Watson
24 March 2019
Three generations of Hobart’s bestknown sailing families, the Calverts, were aboard champion yacht Intrigue when she notched up yet another double rating win in the Combined Clubs Summer Pennant on the River Derwent yesterday.
Sailing with owner/skipper Don Calvert where his son David and grandson Angus, son of the late Bruce Calvert, with Don giving 19-year-old Angus the helm to steer the Castro 40 across the finish line.
Intrigue, which has been racing on the Derwent since 1985, now has a commanding lead in Division 1 AMS, with six wins over the summer. In IRC, she is a close second to Doctor Who and in PHS, third overall to the consistent Doctor Who, skippered by Rod Jackman.
The 10 knot SE seabreeze and flat water on the Derwent suited Intrigue and she excelled in the long first beat to windward to Ralph’s Bay.
On the second beat, down to a mark off the Garrow Light, a tactical decision to take a tack out to the east rather than to the west and Nutgrove Beach paid dividends for Intrigue and others.
In the AMS category, Intrigue won from Matthew Keal’s Heatwave and Chris Sheehan’s Assagai while in IRC it was again Intrigue and Heatwave first and second, third place going to Ian Johnston’s Zephyr.
With one Summer Pennant race day to go, on Saturday, 30 March, Intrigue is on a net 9 points, with Jeff Cordell’s B&G Advantage on 22 points and Heatwave on 27 points in the Division 1 AMS category.
Doctor Who discarded her sixth place in IRC yesterday and continues to head the IRC pointscore with 14 points. Intrigue has a net 18 points, Heatwave 20 points.
In the PHS category, Doctor Who placed 10th yesterday and has discarded this race to be on a net 20 points. Heatwave, which won the Division PHS category yesterday, is on 26 points, Intrigue just one point behind.
In Division 2 yesterday, Justin Barr was back to winning form in Rumbeat after his success in the Dragons at the Crown Series Bellerive Regatta.
Rumbeat won Division 2 IRC and PHS categories, beating Wings Three (Peter Haros) and Illusion (David Brett) in IRC and Juana (Jock Young) and Ian Stewart’s Southern Swordfish in PHS.
Southern Swordfish won Division 2 AMS from Wings Three and Illusion.
Division 3 AMS continues to be a three-way duel between the Young 88s, Young Lion (Steve Chau), Young One (Nathan Mills and Jay Nibbs) and Footloose (Stewart Geeves). Yesterday Young Lion won AMS from Footloose and Young One.
Young Lion scored her seventh win in eight races in the IRC category, from Footloose and Groove (Will Justo), and has a net 7 points, with Footloose on 14 and Moonshadow (Anthony Ellis) on 22 points.
In Division 3 PHS, Lock on Wood (Ron Akhurst) won yesterday from Serica (Charles Peacock) and Footloose, which heads the pointscore on 21 points from Serica, 30 points, and Groove (Wil Justo) and Trouble (Mark Millhouse) both on 31 points.
Astrolabe (Peter Bosworth) continues to head the Division 4 pointscore after finishing second yesterday to Innovator (Smith/Aberle) with Wayath (Allan Morgan) third.
After eight races, Astrolabe has a net 17.5 points, Camlet Way (Stephen Mannering) 24 points and Innovator 26 points.
Words: Peter Campbell
Photos: Peter Watson
17 March 2019
