Offshore and Inshore - SSORC, Super 12 and Seven Islands at MHYC

The Sydney Short Ocean Racing Championship Offshore Passage Race today kicked off a very busy weekend for Middle Harbour Yacht Club.

Twenty boats entered in the SSORC IRC divisions were joined by entrants in CYCA’s Ocean Pointscore series for a race to Lion Island and return with a 10am start.  Breezes were below forecast and faded as the afternoon progressed, meaning a long day on the water for several crews.  However, Marcus Blackmore’s Hooligan was back in Watson’s Bay for a finish just after 2pm, earning him the John Hurley Memorial Gun Boat Trophy.

On IRC, Bob Steel’s Quest came out on top of the TP52 Division with Celestial (Sam Haynes) and Hooligan (Marcus Blackmore) taking the minor placings.

Daryl Hodgkinson’s Carkeek 40, Victoire, claimed the IRC Division 1 win from St Jude (Noel Cornish)and Nine Dragons (Bob Cox).  Zoe Taylor steered Grace O’Malley home for a win in IRC Division 2 ahead of Supernova (Matthew Hanning) and Justadash (Phil Dash).

The SSORC will head back off Sydney Heads tomorrow morning for three offshore windward-leeward races to complete the championship program.

The Super 12 Spring Regatta got underway with the Seven Islands inshore passage race today.  The fleet start at the entrance to Middle Harbour was challenging as the breeze rotated through 160 degrees right on start time.

After a short delay, the fleet was sent off in a light south-easterly that became more variable on the western part of the course.  Shaun Lane and Quentin Stewart’s Lazy Dog found a bit of extra breeze somewhere and managed to hold off the fleet to claim the double points race win from Lightspeed (Stephen Barlow) and Swish (Stephen Proud).

Three inshore windward-leeward races are scheduled tomorrow to conclude the Super 12 Spring Regatta.

The Seven Islands Pursuit Race is one of MHYC’s most popular feature races and is part of the Jeanneau Cup series.  Taking in seven harbour islands, the course is from MHYC to Spectacle Island and return.

Walter Carpenter’s Samarkand was the first Division 1 boat home, with a healthy advantage over XC3SS (Peter Woodhead) and Blue Sky (Carl Braden).  In Division 2 it was Charles Caskey’s Perception from Innamincka (John Crawford) and Renaissance (Gary Carless).

The Jeanneau Division was won by Scott Lawson in Starstruck, ahead of Macscap (Peter McClelland) and Zeusus (Laurie McAllister).

To view the SSORC results – click here 

To view the Super 12 Spring Regatta Results – click here 

To view the Seven Islands Pursuit Results – click here

To visit the SSORC Website - click here

Photos by Crosbie Lorimer...

Photos by Marg Fraser-Martin...