Today’s Race 5 in the Combined Clubs Winter Series, hosted by the Derwent Sailing Squadron (DSS), looked like starting in idyllic conditions with air temperature around 20 degrees and a moderate NW breeze and brilliant sunshine.

The DSS Race Committee set conservative courses for all Divisions with a forecast of stronger winds for later in the morning and into the afternoon.

The predicted stronger breezes arrived earlier than anticipated and were reflected in revised forecasts issued by the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) once the breezes had already arrived.

With winds gusting over 40knots racing was abandoned and the fleets made their way back to their respective yacht club marinas.

The crew on board the DSS rescue boat Neville Smith were kept busy assisting boats and their crews with the timely recovery of man overboard Dave Willans, skipper of Trouble and RAD which had been assisting the J24 Another Toy off Maning Reef.

RAD was flattened by a large gust and suffered engine failure. She was successfully towed back to the marina by the Neville Smith.

Another gust flattened War Games and Quest suffered catastrophic damage to her mainsail creating work not only for the sailmakers but also for her hard-working crew to get the sail down and tucked away.

DSS Commodore Scott Brain praised the competitors and volunteers for their efforts to return safely and to provide assistance to other boats. This highlights the seamanship and boat handling skills of our sailors and our rescue volunteers and these skills are reflected in the safe arrival home of all who left their clubs this morning on a beautiful winter’s day.

Words: Nick Hutton and Colleen Darcey

Photographs: Colleen Darcey

Tasmanian female sailor Colleen Darcey has had a big week:  crewing on Division 3 leading yacht Young Lion in last Sunday’s Combined Club Winter Series and, on Monday taking up a new professional role as sailing manager at the Derwent Sailing Squadron (DSS).

She won’t be sailing Sunday; in her new role she will overseeing racing on the River Derwent as the Derwent Sailing Squadron hosts race five of the Combined Clubs Winter Series.

In her successful sailing career she has skippered two Tasmanian crews to victory in the Australian Women’s Keelboat Regatta on Melbourne’s Port Phillip as well as winning the women’s division of the SB20 Pre-Worlds regatta in 2018.

She is one of several regular helms on Young Lion, a Young 88 owned and skippered by Derwent Sailing Squadron  Past Commodore Steve Chau which now heads the Division 3 leader-board after last Sunday’s race.

The Young 88 has placed 4-4-5-3 with two more Sunday morning races to complete the highly competitive Combined Clubs Winter Series.

Young Lion has a talented crew in DSS Past Commodore Steve Chau, current Commodore Scott Brain,  Colleen Darcey,  Clare Brown, Toby Burnell, Tammara Potter and Anthony Woolley.

The Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania’s new sailing manager Brian Hall also started work this week, taking over from long-serving Nick Hutton who will, however, continue an active role as race management volunteer.

Going into Sunday’s race five of the Combined Clubs Winter Series the Division leaders are John Dryden’s Jazz Player (Division 1), Ian Johnston’s Zephyr (Division 2),  Steve Chau’s Young Lion (Division 3) and Michael Kennedy’s Another Toy (Division 4).

Words: Peter Campbell

Photo: Colleen Darcey

Kettering Yacht Club yacht Jazz Player outsailed the strong opposition from Hobart clubs for an outright win in Division 1 of the Combined Clubs Winter Series on the River Derwent today, the outcome of good sailing and a course-reading mistake aboard line honours favourite Oskana.

The win places Jazz Player, John Dryden’s Bakewell-White Z39, at the top of the leader board in Division 1, displacing Oskana, Mike Pritchard’s Cookson 50 which had taken line honours in the previous three Winter races.

“Oskana was leading us at the windward and wing marks but they apparently missed rounding the leeward mark….something they did not realise until halfway up the windward leg,” recalled Fin Cooper, the young sailing master on Jazz Player.

“We had better communications on board Jazz Player today, we sailed well, and were able to capitalise on their mistake,” added Cooper, with Jazz Player crossing the finish line 1 minute 49 seconds ahead of War Games (Wayne Banks-Smith) and 3 minutes 14 seconds ahead of Oskana.

On corrected time Jazz Player won Division 1 from the syndicate-owned Quest and Drew Latham’s Whistler, which is still second overall in the point score. Oskana placed 10th and has dropped to fifth in overall standings.

Today’s race was sailed in a south to south-westerly breeze on a showery and cold day in Hobart with Jazz Player now the only boat in the fleet of 58 to have won two races.

Unlike the Winter races run by the RYCT and the DSS, Bellerive Yacht Clubs is giving the fleet mid-river starts and finishes, today sending each of the four divisions on different courses that provided good windward and leeward legs for the 47 starters.

The variable breeze ranged from 7 to 15 knots which also caused some upset results in the four divisions with new winners in Divisions 2, 3 and 4.

David Brett’s Hanse 400e, Illusion won Division 2 from the veteran Peterson 41 Natelle Two (Glenn Roper) and Cromarty Magellan Richard Grant’s Knoop 39. Ian Johnston’s Farr 41 Mx Zephyr took line honours in the Division, placing sixth on handicap to retain top spot on the leader-board from The Dog House (Ambrose Coad) with Cromarty Magellan moving to third.

Today’s race has seen significant changes at the top of the Division 3 leader-board after the Young 88, Footloose (Stewart Geeves) scored first place from the Farr 37, Southern Cross (Wayne Pitt) and Young Lion, Steve Chau’s Young 88 which took line honours.

Young Lion now heads the Division 3 leader-board from another Young 88, Chris Sheehan’s Saga and Wayne Pitt’s Southern Cross the leader from last week going into today’s race. David Wyatt’s Farr 1020 Just Jones has dropped to fourth overall after placing 10th today.

Only 15 seconds separated the first three boats on corrected time in Division 4, with Sundance (Don Bailey) winning from Innovator (Ian Smith and Dean Aberle) and Zest (Matt Westland).

The consistent J24, Another Toy (Michael Kennedy) heads the leader-board with 13 points from Zest and Sundance both on 15 points.

Words: Peter Campbell

Photos: Bellerive Yacht Club, Colleen Darcey

23 August 2020

Race three of the Combined Clubs Winter Series on the Derwent today produced four new race winners on a morning of challenging sailing in steady rain and a 10-12 knot south-easterly, an unusual breeze for this time of the year.

The sou’-easter did, however, allow the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania to set a good windward/leeward course as the breeze freshened with gusts to 20 knots. Divisions 1 and 2 sailed to the Nutgrove Beach mark, Division 3 and 4 had the DSS permanent buoy as their leeward mark.

Division 1 saw another win for a Kettering Yacht Club entrant with Brent McKay’s Radford 35, Rad, winning from Drew Latham’s MBD36, Whistler and Guilty Pleasures VI (Hughie Lewis/Gary Cripps).

Oskana, Mike Pritchard’s Cookson 50, took line honours and placed eighth on corrected time but still heads the pointscore for Division 1, just one point ahead of Whistler, with another point to Jazz Player (John Dryden).

Bellerive Yacht Club member Richard Grant won Division 2 with his Knoop 39, Cromarty Magellan after a race-long duel with Zephyr (Ian Johnston). Zephyr crossed the line just 19 seconds clear but finished second on corrected time. Thompson 7 Temptation (Steve Harrison) placed third.

Division 3 had a smaller fleet that usual with Wayne Pitt’s Farr 37, Southern Cross, a BYC entrant, a new winner in this group. Second went to race two winner Trouble (Dave Willans), third to Invincible, skippered by new owner Bryan Walpole.

Graham Hall’s Serenity gave a win for the host club of the day, the RYCT, a Van De Stadt designed half tonner winning Division 4 from Sundance (Don Bailey) and the famous 46-year-old Huon Chief (Peter Farley).

Huon Chief has returned to racing after decades as a cruising boat with Farley, the RYCT bosun, scoring his first race placing since acquiring the former one ton champion earlier this year.
After three Combined Clubs Winter Series races Oskana (Mike Pritchard (RYCT/DSS) heads Division 1 with 13 points, Whistler (Drew Latham, DSS) on 14 points and Jazz Player (John Dryden, KYC/DSS) on 15 points. Today’s winner, Rad, is fourth in standings on 15 points.

Zephyr (Ian Johnston, DSS) heads Division 2 with seven points, ahead of The Dog House (Ambrose Coad, KYC) on 11 points and Temptation (Steve Harrison, PESC) on 12 points. Today’s winner, Cromarty Magellan is fifth on 19 points.

Just Jones (David Wyatt, BYC) retains its lead in Division 3 with 11 points, two clear of Young Lion (Steve Chau, DSS) on 13 points and Mind Games (Phil Reid, RYCT) on 14 points. Race 3 winner Southern Cross is sixth overall on 19 points.

The J24 Another Toy (Michael Kennedy, DSS) heads the Division 4 leader board with nine points; Motley (Stephan Lubach, DSS) is on 11 points and Zest (Matt Westland, BYC) on 12 points. Today’s race winner, Serenity has 14 points on the board and is fourth in standings.

Words: Peter Campbell
Photos: Richard Bevan
16 August 2020