MHYC Youth Sailing World Roundup
at Lake Como, Italy. Photo by Renato Tebaldi
Once again, our Middle Harbour Youth sailors have been spreading their wings in Europe and competing competitively in World Championship events. Will Wilkinson just finished top in the Bronze fleet of the Optimist Worlds in Turkey and now more of our youth sailors are making an impact on the world circuit.
49er Junior World Championships
Congratulations to both Max Paul and Jack Ferguson who came away with the silver medal at the 49er Junior World Championships on Lake Como in Italy. After a slow start they steamed home at the end and won six of the last seven races.
Max Reports “After a long week of sailing here in Lake Como we finished in second overall. Super proud of how far we have come since we teamed up in 2020, a little frustrated that we started on the back foot this week but happy to have shown what we can do over the last three days. We did all we could yesterday to close the gap, but it was a bridge too far in the end.
We will have a few days off then pack our bags to head to Canada to begin preparing for the Worlds, our last and most important event of the year.”
Also representing MHYC boat were Ryan Littlechild and Jack Hildebrand who were placed 22nd in the same 68 boat fleet.
29er World Championship
Just up the road in Barcelona, Spain were 242 boats competing in the 29er World Championships.
In the Gold fleet, Tyler Dransfield and Jamie Stodart representing MHYC were the first Australians home coming 20th overall in the gold fleet.
Also representing MHYC were Zoe and Jesse Dransfield who were placed 53rd overall and 13th in the silver fleet.
Ben Crafoord along with John Cooley were competing in the 29er worlds for the first time. They made their way up to the Bronze fleet and were placed 106th overall. Ben started out with our Opti fleet and was previously a FLYAS Award recipient.
Congratulations to all our young Youth sailors who are doing us so proud.
Julie Hodder
Picture 1 – Tyler Dransfield and Jamie Stodart at 29er Youth Worlds at Barcelona, Spain. Photo by Laura Carrau
Picture 2 - Max Paul and Jack Ferguson at the 49er Junior World Championships at Lake Como, Italy. Photo by Renato Tebaldi
Pictures 3 and 4 – Ben Crafoord and John Cooley at 29er Youth Worlds at Barcelona, Spain
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Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race
It was a very slow start for the fleet of 61 boats in the 384 nautical mile race to the Gold Coast which got underway on Saturday. It was difficult to make progress with mainly light northerlies before the stronger, mainly NNW winds took over.
Then it was tacking all the way up the coast for the next couple of days, to take advantage of the more Westerly winds close to the shore. The strong weather conditions, the bitterly cold wind and sometimes choppy seas tested many of the boat’s gear and crews.
However on the fourth day the winds turned to the South, the sun came out and the finishes were rewarded with a beautiful kite ride to the finish.
Congratulations to the MHYC boats that made it to the finish - Gordon Ketelbey’s TP52 Zen was the 10th boat to arrive in Southport and 3rd Overall on IRC and 2nd in their division. They missed out on winning overall by 26 minutes and they were 2 min behind the second place boat after racing 384nm.
Out new Commodore Rob Aldis and Sandy Farquharson’s boat Khaleesi was 19th on line honours and 3rd on IRC Division 2 while Tempo (Michael Smith) was 21st and Flying Cloud (David Myers) 40th top cross the line.
Retired with all crew safe were Farr N Away (Graeme & Chris Lee), Highly Sprung (Mark Spring), Shearwater (Guido Belgiorno-Nettis) and Popeye (Craig Douglas).
For more news and detailed results visit https://goldcoast.cycaracing.com
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MHYC Senior Members Lunch
After a wait of 3 long years, last Sunday MHYC members who have been members of our club for 20+ years were eventually able to catch up once again.
Everyone agreed it was a fun day and the new caterers did a fantastic job providing us with a delicious 3-course meal that (currently) they had to cook at one of their other venues. I am looking forward to eating at the club again, when the new kitchen facilities open up.
As always, we present MHYC badges to those that reach another decade of membership. This had to be backdated for the last 3 years to catch up since our last Senior’s Luncheon in 2019. Next year we will also need to purchase a 70+ badge for the longest member at our club William Regan.
We recognised the 25 longest members of our club, 12 of which attended the luncheon. I was able to catch up with 3 more at the Cruising dinner function on Monday night and have inserted their photos.
We usually have a guest speaker, however this year it was a little different, we looked at historical changes to our yacht club premises since its beginning. Our Commodore, Peter Lewis gave a sneak preview of proposed future changes. A more detailed report will be presented at the AGM.
Numbers were down this year due to late notice, the ongoing COVID/Flu problem, and people escaping the cold weather, however, I feel confident that we will be back to normal next year. I really want to encourage more of our younger 20+ members (there were 45 members this year) to get involved and come along and possibly reunite with old friends.
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Would You Like More Fun With Your Yacht?
Are you like many of our members, who want to be more involved and sail more?
Christmas in July
The last MHYC Feature Race for the 2021-22 season, Christmas in July, was sailed on Saturday in a light north-westerly. It was also the finale of the Beneteau Race Series. As the breeze failed fill in as forecast, the fleet completed a shortened course.
First home in Division 1 was Jack Stening & Colin Gunn’s Stormaway, just half a boat length ahead of Georgia Express (Andy Forbes) with Contentious (Brian Lees) third.
Neil Padden’s Wailea claimed the Beneteau Division win from Farr’n Away (Graeme Lee) and Currawong (Graham Raspass). With two wins and a second place in the three race Beneteau Series, Wailea finished 6 points clear of Freedom (Steve Smith) with Farr’n Away third.
To view the Christmas in July results – click here
To view the Beneteau Race Series results – click here
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Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting was held on Wednesday 27 July in the Harbour View Room.
Life Members
Jack Stening and Neil Padden received the honour of Life Member for their long-standing service to the Club at last night’s AGM. Jack and Neil were humbled by the honour with both reflecting on the work performed by the many unsung volunteers that make the Club work.
Flag Officers
The new MHYC Flag Officers certified at the AGM and the meeting acknowledged the service to the Club of the retiring Flag Officers, Peter Lewis - Commodore, Geoff Charters - VC Racing, Evan Hodge - VC Cruising and Karen Ewels - Club Captain.
The new MHYC Flag Officers are…
Commodore - Rob Aldis
Vice Commodore Racing - Vacant
Vice Commodore Cruising - Susanna Westling
Vice Commodore Youth - Rob Sangster
Club Captain - Bryan Moore
Sprints in the Winter Sunshine
After a very gloomy couple of weeks, the sun was shining and a moderate south westerly made for some very enjoyable sailing on Saturday. Races 5 and 6 of the Winter Sprint Series were sailed from Spring Cove toward Middle Head.
Tracy Richardson and the crew of Artemis were fast out of the blocks, winning the first race from Stormaway (Jack Stening & Colin Gunn) and Dania (Peter Charteris). With Artemis retiring from the second race with a broken backstay, another Adams 10 rose to the challenge. Brian Lees’ Contentious took the win – again from Stormaway and Dania. Many thanks to RO Toby Gursanscky and the Race Management Team for some great racing.
Next Saturday, July 16, is the Christmas in July Feature Race. Let the Sailing Office know if you are sailing (spinnaker or non-spinnaker) and dig out your Santa Hat and Christmas Costume.
For the Winter Sprints Results - click here
MC38 Swish trumps Act 5
The lottery that is winter sailing in Sydney toyed with the MC38 fleet for act 5 on Sydney Harbour. At the shortened series end, Steven Proud’s Swish held the narrowest margin win over the defending team, Marcus Blackmore’s Hooligan (RPAYC).
A countback separated the top two boats and third place, Shaun Lane and Quentin Stewart’s Lazy Dog (MHYC), was one point off.
Saturday brought biting south-west to south-east winds and rain and Sunday delivered stunning winter sun - a rare sight in Sydney due to La Niña’s firm grip on eastern Australia - but only enough knots to produce a single set of scores.
Middle Harbour Yacht Club race officer Steve Tucker attempted a fifth race but had to abandon when the sou’wester dropped from six to three knots, making it impossible for the one design fleet to sail the course within the time limit.
“Even though there was a smaller number of boats than usual, the best in the fleet were out there - and it was so close,” said the winning skipper. “The guys and girls crewing did a great job and so did Steve and his team, in what were trying circumstances. We all know that holding regattas in Sydney between April and July is a lottery,” Proud added.
Several MC38s are being trucked north for Hamilton Island Race Week, the main reason for this weekend’s smaller fleet.
The full complement will reconvene for act 6 back at Middle Harbour Yacht Club over the weekend of September 17-18.
The culmination of the class’s 2022 season is the three-day Australian Championship which will be hosted by the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron November 4-6.
Lisa Ratcliff
Australian MC38 Association media
Photos by Marg Fraser-Martin
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Combined Clubs Prizegiving
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The prizegiving for the 2021-2022 Sydney Harbour Combined Clubs Summer Series was held at Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron last night. Congratulations to the MHYC boats on the winners podium:
- Advanced Philosophy (Peter Sorenson) – Division 1 IRC 2nd
- Innamincka (John Crawford) – Division 3 ORC 1st
- No Friends (Geoff Charters) – Division 2 PHS 3rd
- Rumba (Rob Carr) – Division 2 PHS 1st, IRC 3rd
- Wailea (Neil Padden) – Division 2 ORC 2nd, IRC 2nd
To view the series results – click here
Women's Pre-Season Sailing Social
You’re invited to Middle Harbour Yacht Club's Women's Pre-Season Sailing Social.
Join us to meet some fellow female sailors, chat sailing, and learn how to get involved in different types of sailing in the upcoming season.
Date: Wednesday 17 August
Time: 6:30 - 8:30pm
Venue: MHYC Harbour View Room
Cost: $20 for members and $25 for non-members
RSVP: By Monday 15 August via TryBooking – click here
The cost includes canapes and a drink on arrival. We hope you can attend and look forward to welcoming you on August 17th!
Hooligan, Swish and Infotrack podium in Pittwater Act 4
The 2021 MC38 season champion and home club team has taken their first scalp for 2022 on Pittwater by four points.
Marcus Blackmore’s Hooligan, sailing for the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, led the nine-boat fleet on day one and consolidated on day two, beating Steve Proud’s Swish and the Indy Beck skippered InfoTrack on overall points.
“The racing was awesome; the level is as high as it’s ever been,” said Hooligan’s tactician Ben Lamb.
Five different winners from seven races and the victor of last month’s Act 3 placing seventh overall shows how quickly results can flip in this class.
Act 4 Full results
Sunday recap thanks to Tilly McKnight Media
On their success Lamb added: “We’ve been sailing as a team for a long time on various boats and it feels like we are a real unit. Marcus did an excellent job driving and leading us this weekend – it’s a pleasure to be on board.”
Saturday’s gusty 15-23 knot winter sou’westers marked Ian Box’s helming debut in the tightknit one design class. Thor’s owner Matt Hanning had work commitments so Box, owner of the Middle Harbour-based XP44 Toy Box 2, stepped in.
“It’s a fun boat to sail - very physical. You need the right team,” Box said. “Yesterday we had plenty on while today was a whole lot easier – and I liked the nice flat water of Pittwater,” added the yachtsman who is more familiar with the swell and chop of Sydney Harbour.
Two MC38s fell foul on Saturday including Thor, a race three withdrawal after their mast was over-jacked.
Shaun Lane and Quentin Stewart’s Lazy Dog retired from race two after losing their hydraulic mast jack, which also sprayed oil around the boat. “We had to bail out of that race and set up a jury rig, then we couldn’t get full tension in the rig so we just hung in there for the rest of the day,” Lane said. “It was fixed overnight and we picked up boat of the day on Sunday. We worked hard for that result – it wasn’t a gift. The fleet is so compressed.”
Proud’s second-placed Swish team, with Billy Sykes calling tactics, is the benchmark for upwind speed according to Lamb. “Swish is sailing really fast and their set-up and upwind boat speed is impressive. Our next goal is to match them upwind.”
Sunday’s cool 6-10 knot southerlies changed the pace for the strong fleet but not the never-ending fight for placings. An incident at the top gate in the final race saw Ginger’s bow sprit end up in Rapid Pay’s cockpit, the two boats tangled briefly until crews separated them. Ginger was fouled by umpire Tom Spithill.
Middle Harbour Yacht Club will host Act 5 of the MC38 season July 23-24 on Sydney Harbour before some of the fleet are trucked to the Whitsundays for Hamilton Island Race Week, August 20-27.
The class’s championship series will then resume from Middle Harbour Yacht Club the weekend of September 17-18.
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/MC38Class
Insta: @mc38aus
Website: https://mc38racing.com/
Lisa Ratcliff - Australian MC38 Association media
Photos by Tilly McKnight Media...
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Read more: Hooligan, Swish and Infotrack podium in Pittwater Act 4