75 Lower Parriwi Road, The Spit, Mosman NSW 2088
T: (02) 9969 1244 | E: info@mhyc.com.au
Donate here to help upgrade the clubhouse & facilities
            
    

Women’s Keelboat Series Prizegiving

Presentations for the Sydney Harbour Women’s Keelboat Series were held at Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron last night to cap off the five race 2021-2022 series.

Congratulations to Tracy Richardson and the crew of Artemis which claimed the Division 1 win and also to Catherine Rofe who won Division 2 with the Manly YC entry Kaotic.  MHYC boats Kayimai (Liz Charles) and Rumba (Stephanie Cook) both placed 4th in their respective divisions.

Middle Harbour Yacht Club conducted the November race of the Sydney Harbour Women’s Keelboat Series and will host its own Women’s Regatta on May 7.

To view the Sydney Harbour Women’s Keelboat Series results – click here

For more information about the MHYC Women’s Regatta – click here

 

 

 

Photo by Marg Fraser-Martin

Read more: Women’s Keelboat Series Prizegiving

MHYC Special Awards 2021-2022 Now Open

Nominations are now invited for three Special Awards – the Tig Thomas Trophy, the Crew Member of the Year Award and the Jules Trophy for the MHYC Yachtswoman of the Year.

To be eligible for the Tig Thomas Trophy, a Senior, Full, Sailing or Youth member must have competed in a State, National or World Championship, Major Regatta or Major Ocean Race within the last year (1st April 2021 to 31st March 2022).  Candidates can either be nominated by a Senior, Sailing or Full member, or self-nominate.

The Crew Member of the Year 2021-2022 is presented to an esteemed crew member, displaying the characteristics desirable of a MHYC Member, someone other crew members would aspire to emulate, and nominated from a yacht competing in a MHYC Pointscore Series Program.

The Jules Trophy for MHYC Yachtswoman of the Year will be awarded to a member who sails regularly from MHYC, is enthusiastic and active participant in the sport of sailing and shows good seamanship and sportsmanlike conduct.

All nominations must be submitted no later than 5pm on 30th April 2022.  Awards will be announced at the MHYC Annual Prizegiving on Saturday 14th May 2022.

To download the Tig Thomas Trophy Nomination Form – click here​

To download the Crew Member of the Year Nomination Form – click here

To download the Jules Trophy Nomination Form – click here

Read more: MHYC Special Awards 2021-2022 Now Open

SHR winners announced after tough day out 

The downpour drenched all - Andrea Francolini pic

Middle Harbour Yacht Club’s (MHYC) Sydney Harbour Regatta (SHR) concluded this afternoon with winners decided after competitors dealt with big gusty winds, heavy downpours interspersed with a teasing watery sun for a short spell, before the clouds closed over and visibility became limited. 

All courses were sailed on Sydney Harbour today, including the Open IRC and Super 50 fleets. The two divisions started and finished their three races at Watsons Bay. All bar the Super 40s were away on time in a 15-knot breeze, gusting to 18 knots, substantially more than the forecast 10 knots.

The Super 40 start was delayed when Adrian Walters’ Little Nico broached and lost two crew members overboard. This is an experienced owner and crew, so both were crew retrieved quickly and are fine. From there, Walters decided to abandon racing for the day. 

IRC Open

Nine Dragons (Bob Cox) led Keiran Mulcahy’s Soozal by one point, with Mark Hellyer’s Cicero is a further four points behind in third place when they headed to the race course today for two more races. Cox’s win and a second means he is the clear winner by seven points from Cicero. Soozal placed third, a further point behind. It was a delayed gift, as Cox had a birthday on 3 March.

“I’m very happy with our result,” Cox said. “It was a shame a couple of boats from RPAYC couldn’t make it, especially Bushranger, it’s so competitive. It was still very close competition, especially with us and Khaleesi at the bigger end and Soozal at the smaller end. Soozal never gives up.

“It was very shifty today. The windward/leeward races were good to get our crew work sorted out. It’s been good practice for Sail Port Stephens. We’ve had five wins there in the past, and we’re going back to try again,” Cox ended.

Super 50

The new kid on the block, David Doherty (Matador) has carted off first place in the Super 50 division, which also doubles as the first event of the inaugural TP52 Series. Matador beat local boat, Zen (Gordon Ketelbey) to the punch by four points. Matt Donald/Chris Townsend’s Gweilo carried over their third place from yesterday, a further four points in arears.  

Super 40

Revolver’s (Michael Ritchie) fourth place today was enough to give her the series win after she led into the day with two wins. With Little Nico (Adrian Walters) out of the picture, Darryl Hodgkinson moved up to second overall with his Carkeek 40, Victoire, his Race 3 win lifting him up. 

Super 30

Peter Woodhead’s XC3SS trailed BruceTavener’s Ophir coming into the day and Woodhead followed through. Seventh and fourth places gave the local sailor a three-point buffer over Ophir.  

J/70

New NSW J/70 champion, Reg Lord (Juno) has made two on the trot, winning the class at this Sydney Harbour Regatta. Runner up at the Championship, Tim Ryan and his Vamos, made a comeback to finish runner-up here as well. It shows how consistently well these two boats sail.

Adams 10

Tracy Richardson’s Artemis led Brian Lees’ Contentious on countback coming into the day, but Lees bounced back to claim the overall win from Richardson by three points. The competition between the two was thrilling.

“Last time I won, I won an Audi. We’ve won here a couple of times. Looks like we’ve come good again – older and smarter,” Lees said laughing.

“I was pleased to see Tracey do well – she hasn’t been sailing very long. We didn’t find the conditions too hard to handle. On our course the breeze was pretty consistent. It was very tight racing and we had a few close calls. The boats were doing 10 and 11 knots quite a lot of the time.”

Black Adder new Yngling NSW champion

Gary Pearce (Black Adder) had the bit between the teeth, unwilling to relinquish the 2-point lead he carried into the day from Gary Wogas (Karma) in the Yngling NSW Championship. Pearce and crew fired off three more bullets from three races. He claimed the title from Wogas, who scored a trio of second places. Jan Newland’s Yertl held onto third overall, scoring a trio of third places.

Performance Spinnaker Divisions 1 and 2

Peter Sorenson (Advanced Philosophy) kept the pressure on Brendan McAssey’s S1 to win overall by two points, the same margin he led by yesterday. It seemed likely the win would be between the pair – and so it was. Sorro was always going to be the benchmark, but he is still tinkering with his Sydney 38 and changing crew around.

“Rain, wind, it was very unpleasant,” Sorensen commented. “In the second race we got pushed over the line early, had to come back, then broached gybing the spinnaker in 20 knots - and nearly ran into a start boat – not the one for our course though.

“It was a terrific race otherwise,” he said without a hint of sarcasm. “It was very fast. We saw 32 knots, but generally it was under 25, it was coming and going.”

Sorensen owed his success, he said, “To changing the crew around a bit and it worked pretty well,” he said. “I’m pretty pleased with how we went, especially after finishing second to Conspiracy at the Sydney 38 NSW Championship a couple of weeks ago.”

In Division 2, it was unusual to see the Jack Stening/Colin Gunn sailed Stormaway out of the top placings at the end of yesterday, but the pair ‘stormed’ home with third and fourth places to steal the series from under the noses of the rest. Graeme Neuhaus, who sat in second place coming into the day with Crowded Haus, finished the regatta the same way, two points adrift of the victors.

However, neither of the top two won a race today. Simon Oliver’s Odyssey claimed Race 3 and Rumba (Rob Carr/Steph Cook/Kerry Burke) won Race 4.

Performance Spinnaker Division 3 and Non-Spinnaker Division

John Crawford finished the way he started. Innamincka led the Beth Abbott skippered Rapid Transit in Performance Spinnaker Division 3 coming into the day and has won the series from Abbott cleanly, six points separating the pair after a further two races were sailed.

Neither won a race today, those honours went to Dean Dransfield’s Escape (Race 3) and Michael Bleakley’s Scaramouch (Race 4), lifting the two up to third and fourth places overall respectively.

John Crawford came ashore unaware Innamincka had won. “Are you sure? I didn’t think we had that good a day. The weather suited the bigger heavier boats. We’re very happy to win. The forecast was miserable, we got a bit of rain, but nothing horrendous,” he said.

MHYC did a good job with this regatta. Sydney Amateur Sailing Club and RANSA ran our courses and did a good job too.” 

In the Non-Spinnaker division, yesterday’s leader, Sea Change, skippered by charterer, Angus Ekberg, held on to win overall – just. Sixth and third places meant he won on countback from Nathan Lockhart’s Scarborough, which scored fourth and second places today. John De Meur’s Elysium won Race 3 to finish third overall, while the Race 4 win went to Martin Blake/Mark Bothwell’s Sol.

Post-race festivities included a DJ on the beach in front of the Club as crews made the most of a sausage sizzle and drinks, including at the Fever Tree Gin Bar.

The official presentation and prize giving will be held tomorrow (Monday) evening at 1900 hours at Middle Harbour Yacht Club. The Grand Prizes will also be drawn at this time.

Middle Harbour Yacht Club acknowledges the support of Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, Sydney Amateur Sailing Club, Royal Australian Navy Sailing Association, Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club, Manly Yacht Club, Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club and the Sydney Flying Squadron. 

MHYC wishes to thank key sponsors: Club Marine, Robert Oatley Wines, Short Marine, Quality Marine Clothing and Telstra Business Technology Centre.

All information on the Sydney Harbour Regatta, including results at: www.shr.mhyc.com.au  

By Di Pearson, MHYC media

Read more: SHR winners announced after tough day out 

Sail Port Stephens gets underway

A large contingent of MHYC sailors are at Sail Port Stephens this week.  Light breezes and sunny conditions kicked off the week, but the breezes will freshen and plenty of rain is forecast for the remainder of the racing program.  After three days racing in the Commodore's Cup series, Rob Reynolds' Exile has won Division 1 with Austmark, Kayimai and Tempo all in the top ten.  Following a rest day Thursday, the NSW IRC Championships commence on Friday. 

To view the latest results - click here

Thanks to Adventures of a Sailor Girl Nic Douglass for the photos........

 

Read more: Sail Port Stephens gets underway

Sydney Harbour Regatta celebrates women in sailing

Tracy Richardson and her mainly female crew on Artemis
Margaret Fraser-Martin photo

Tuesday 8 March marks International Women’s Day 2022 and here at Middle Harbour Yacht Club (MHYC) this weekend, we salute all females taking part in the Sydney Harbour Regatta (SHR), NSW’s largest keelboat regatta.

Women are involved at all levels in this event, from sailing to race management on and off the water to media boat drivers and protest committee members.

Encouraged by the national authority, Australian Sailing, and clubs around Australia, women’s participation in sailing is growing substantially via specialised programs, learn to sail classes and Women’s regattas.

This weekend there are women spread throughout the classes and divisions. Owner/skippers include Tracy Richardson, owner of the Adams 10 Artemis.  Richardson, the new president of the Adams 10 Association, started sailing only seven years ago. “I turned up to Middle Harbour Yacht Club to try twilight racing on a Thursday night. I loved it – I couldn’t get enough,” she said. “Then my brother-in-law and I bought Artemis in February last year.”

Going into today’s final races, Richardson leads the pointscore, unusual for a relative newcomer racing against those who have been around for years. And the class is super competitive.

In the Yngling keelboat, once an Olympic class, you will find Jan Newland. She is contesting the Yngling NSW Championship and is in a good third place overall coming into the final day.

In Performance Spinnaker racing, one of the largest fleets sailing at the regatta on Sydney Harbour is Lisa Callaghan with her Sydney 38, Mondo. Callaghan is also the President of Manly Sailing Club. Stephanie Cook is the enduring co-owner of Rumba, a Northshore 370. In the same division is Julie Clark, who has entered Senta, a Beneteau First 35.

Cook’s advice for newcomers: “Try twilight sailing at your local yacht club. Most have a list you can put your name on. It’s a great way to see if you like the sport . It’s very friendly, social. You don’t usually need experience to do the twilights and it fits in with most people’s work hours.

“You could also do a competent crew course through your local club’s sailing school. They normally introduce you to boats to race on as part of the deal. “They’re not cheap to buy and run, so you want to know you’re in for the long-term, not just a season.”

Racing aboard Keiran Mulcahy’s Soozal in the IRC Open Class offshore, and currently placed second, is Stacey Jackson. A veteran of 14 Sydney Hobarts, Jackson skippered an all-female crew on Wild Oats X to second overall in the 2018 Hobart. She used that campaign to highlight the high calibre of women sailors. She also has a Volvo Ocean Race behind her.  

An internationally respected yachtswoman, Jackson is a huge advocate of women in sailing and a mentor through the international women’s Magenta Project. She has a vision – and that is to see the day when there is parity in numbers between male and female sailors.

Lisa Wilkinson does mainsheet on husband, Matt’s competitive Farr 30, Foreign Affair. “She’s very good at it – she does a very good job,” says Matt, “She races with us in all inshore events.”

Annie Taylor from the Northern Beaches is a long-time inshore and offshore racer. Taylor sails anything from one-design to small and larger yachts. At the Sydney Harbour Regatta she is in the IRC Racing division aboard Pete Farrugia’s Bullwinkle.

On the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club start crew is another Northern Beaches resident, Rosemary Merrington. She and husband Steve are integral to on-water race management teams at regattas and events Australia wide.

“It’s been at least 15 years and I still enjoy it,” says Merrington, whose interest is highlighted by the Merrington sons, Peter ‘Billy’ and Anthony, who sail at the grand prix level.

Sailing Administrator at MHYC is Catherine Rofe, who is also on the race committee at Manly Yacht Club. Rofe raced aboard the all-female crew aboard Calibre in the Sydney 38 One Design NSW Championship last month. Skippered by Liz Charles, the boat was chartered for them by the Sydney 38 Association which was keen to have more women sailing in the class and perhaps buying into it.

Although the crew had not sailed together on the one-design Sydney 38 before, they finished third on countback in a quality field, indicative of female talent in Australia these days.

“She is all over sailing,” MHYC’s Sailing Manager, David Staley says. “If there’s a race on, J24s, Sydney 38s, whatever, she’ll be there. She’s passionate about sailing and does a great job with us.”

Driving a media boat this weekend is MHYC youth sailing instructor, Jess Longstaff. She coaches the Optimist class and has a background sailing Lasers, Pacers and 420s.

“I started sailing at six or seven through my dad,” Longstaff comments. “I love the different people of all ages I meet, sailing a lot of different boats. I just love being on the water,” says the 18-year-old, who was Sailing Captain at Wenona School.

On the protest committee, the Chairperson is Erica Kirby. She has been involved in umpiring, judging and sits on protest committees for the last 12 years. She is a rarity and says, “I’d love to have more women involved, especially in NSW. I’d advise interested women to get involved in the jury at your local club and see if it appeals. It’s very rewarding - I love travelling to different events.”

MHYC is a champion of women involved in all aspects of sailing. Julie Hodder is a past commodore and remains a respected navigator in offshore racing with 13 Sydney Hobarts on her resume. She has also co-owned grand prix racing yachts. Hodder would usually be sailing at this event but was tied up with a niece’s wedding this weekend.

For all information on the Sydney Harbour Regatta, including results: www.shr.mhyc.com.au   

By Di Pearson, MHYC media

Read more: Sydney Harbour Regatta celebrates women in sailing

Early finish to Flagstaff Marine Twilight Pursuit Series

The Flagstaff Marine Twilight Post-Christmas Pursuit Series has unfortunately come to an early conclusion with racing abandoned on March 31 due to gale warning issued by the BOM.  Congratulations to the Post-Christmas Division winners Zen (Gordon Ketelbey) Div 1, Onya (Andrew Hurt) Div 2, Elysium (John DeMeur) Div 3 and Wild Spirit (Andy Forbes) Div 4.

The early part of the season was affected by Covid and in recent weeks the weather has been the challenge. 8 of the scheduled 24 races in the Flagstaff Marine Twilight Annual Pointscore sadly were abandoned. Winners in the Annual Pointscore were Samarkand (Walter Carpenter) Div 1, Rumba (Rob Carr, Steph Cook & Kerry Burke) Div 2, Expresso (Phil Darling) Div 3 and Cutting Loose (James Kaill) Div 4.

Winners of the Women’s Twilight Series were Gambler (Catherine Thornton-Rofe) Div 1, Artemis (Tracy Richardson) Div 2, Freedom (Louise Richards) Div 3 and Wild Spirit (Katie O’Mara) Div 4.

Despite the reduced number of races it has still been a great season with some fun theme nights and enjoyable sailing.  Many thanks for the support of Graham Raspass and Flagstaff Marine, Robert Oatley Wines and Freedom’s Steve Smith for the Women’s Series.

To view the Flagstaff Marine Twilight Pursuit Post-Christmas Results – click here

To view the Flagstaff Marine Twilight Pursuit Annual Pointscore Results – click here

To view the Women’s Twilight Results – click here

Read more: Early finish to Flagstaff Marine Twilight Pursuit Series

Sydney Harbour Regatta - Fog lifts and rain abates on Day 1 

ORC / PHS Fleets on the Harbour Course - Andrea Francolini photo

The veil of fog lifted just in time for the start of the Sydney Harbour Regatta (SHR) this morning, with racing due to start from 11am on the eight course areas from the Harbour Bridge to Manly on Sydney Harbour. 

A 3-knot breeze meant racing on the IRC Open and Super 50 offshore course was delayed. The AP came down and the Warning Signal replaced it at 11.40am in the Middle Harbour Yacht Club (MHYC) hosted event, now in its 17th year.

IRC Open

Three windward/leeward races sorted out who was best in light airs offshore. Nine Dragons, with MHYC’s Bob Cox at the helm, came out fighting and ended the day with a pair of second places and a win to be one point ahead of Keiran Mulcahy’s Soozal, which scored 1-3-2 results. Mark Hellyer’s Cicero is a further four points adrift in third place.

Super 50

The Super 50 class, comprised solely of TP52s, using the SHR for the opener of a brand-new TP52 series. They sailed on the same offshore windward/leeward course area as the IRC Open fleet with longer beat. Just who will win this inaugural series remains to be seen, but today, the relatively unknown Matador (David Doherty) was teaching the masters a lesson.

Doherty tipped the scales in his favour with a third and a pair of wins to lead Gordon Ketelbey’s Zen by two points. Matt Donald/Chris Townsend’s Gweilo is a further point away in third. 

James Corrie, mainsail trimmer on Matador, explained this afternoon: “We’ve been working on things for a little while now and a couple of combinations are coming together and working out well for us. Everything is starting to gel.

“The racing was close between all of us. The new TP52 series is our focus. David bought the boat from Geoff Boettcher (former Secret Mens Business) 12 months ago. This is his second season in the boat,” he said of Doherty who is new to the grand prix racing scene.

Super 40

Revolver (Michael Ritchie), arriving here on the back of second place at the Pittwater Regatta, won both races from Little Nico (Adrian Walters). “We had a pretty good day. We’re really happy with that. The boat was launched five years ago and it’s taken us that long to get it working the way we want it.

“I think the light conditions suited us. We put ourselves in the right place on the course and our downwind speed helped us, we were able to sail deeper downwind. We were able to hang on upwind, which surprised me, as all the others have square top mains, we have the conventional rig.”

Super 30

The Super 30 class boasts a large and fast fleet of 20 ‘all-sorts’ and shared a race area on the northern section of the Harbour with the Super 40s. Super 30s contested two windward-leeward races followed by a short passage race. Brian Tavener’s Ophir came off best in Race 1, with Guy Irwin’s Clewless? charging home for second, just 21 seconds separating the pair. Tavener reversed the results in Race 2, just 17 seconds between them when the handicaps were applied

It came down to the passage race, which not unexpectedly, changed the shape of the results. The race was won by Peter Woodhead’s XC3SS, which has taken the series lead from Ophir. Clewless? has dropped out of the picture for now after finishing 18th in Race 3.

J/70

New NSW J/70 champion, Reg Lord (Juno), came out firing in the light airs on Sydney Harbour, with a trio of wins, proving he is the one to beat. Andrew Tompson’s Jabberwocky scored 3-2-2 results to claim second place, with three races remaining. Tim Ryan and his Vamos finished second at the NSW Championship, but could not get up enough steam today and is sitting in fourth place.

Adams 10

The Adams 10s raced on the same windward/leeward courses as the J/70s in North Harbour. This class is always a battle to the last. Tracy Richardson’s Artemis finished at the top of the pile after three races. She leads Brian Lees (Contentious), but the two are on equal points.

The lone female in the class here, Richardson only took up sailing seven years ago: “We are excited and pleasantly surprised to be where we are. It’s very close racing, very competitive, but we’ve trained hard and worked to get the boat up to scratch,” she said.

Yngling NSW Championship

Gary Pearce and his Black Adder crew put the rest on notice on the first day of the Yngling NSW Championship. They ended the day with 1-2-1 results. Gary Wogas is in second place with Karma, after scoring 3-1-2 results. Jan Newland’s Yertl is in third place after finishing 2-3-3. This Championship is likely to come down to the wire.

“I’ve been sailing Black Adder for about 10 years,” Pearce said. “The last couple of seasons we’ve been working towards this. Unfortunately, Hamish Jarrett (Miss Pibb, the gun boat of the fleet) couldn’t make it this weekend, so we can’t prove how our performance has improved. We were very pleased with the day though.

“The first race started out around 7 knots and by Race 2, we were getting gusts to 12 knots. It was really nice sailing conditions. Tomorrow we’ll have to sail smart: Get a good start, start on the right side of the course, get the angles right and stay in the breeze downwind,” he said.

Performance Spinnaker Divisions 1 and 2

These two divisions contested two races from start area D. Brendan McAssey’s S1 made the best start to the day, claiming Race 1 in Division 1 from Peter Sorenson’s Advanced Philosophy. It’s no easy feat beating Sorro, the master of many classes. And that being said, it was the return of Sorro when his pair of second places trumped S1’s win and fifth place. Sorro leads.

Twelve seconds decided Division 2s first race and Steve Nash/Paul Stubbs’ Irukandji was the victor from Graeme Neuhaus’ Crowded Haus.Race 2 and Irukandji kept her series lead from Crowded Haus when the two scored second and fourth places respectively.

“A bit unexpected to do so well, but your always hope for the best and give it your best shot. We’ve got a good regular crew and it was very much a team effort. It’s working out well for us,” Nash commented.

“It was light on for breeze in Race 1, so it was a bit easier to sail the second race. It was a short race though, so you had to get a good start, which we did. There was a bit of congestion on the line, with 32 boats, but we all got through it.” 

Performance Spinnaker Division 3 and Non-Spinnaker Division

The two divisions raced on course area C, in the vicinity of Taronga Zoo where the giraffes would have been able to enjoy the view.

John Crawford’s Innaminicka leads the Beth Abbott skippered Rapid Transit in Performance Spinnaker Division 3 by six points, following Crawford’s two wins. John Vickery’s Windsong is in third place going into tomorrow’s final races.

Meanwhile, in Non-Spinnaker, Angus Ekberg’s Sea Change has the upper hand over Larki Missiris’ Molon Labe -  meaning ‘come and take them’, which is what Missiris usually does on the race course. Sea Change is just three points ahead, so who knows what the final outcome will be tomorrow.

This afternoon and into the evening, crews were kicking back on the beach in front of the Club for a sausage sizzle and drinks and relaxing post-race music, not to mention the Fever Tree Gin Bar. 

Middle Harbour Yacht Club acknowledges the support of Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, Sydney Amateur Sailing Club, Royal Australian Navy Sailing Association, Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club, Manly Yacht Club, Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club and the Sydney Flying Squadron.   Our thanks go to key sponsors: Club Marine, Robert Oatley Wines, Short Marine, Quality Marine Clothing and Telstra Business Technology Centre.

All information on the Sydney Harbour Regatta, including results at: www.shr.mhyc.com.au  

By Di Pearson, MHYC media

Read more: Sydney Harbour Regatta - Fog lifts and rain abates on Day 1 

Fresh breezes for Combined Clubs Series

MRX claimed the ORC and IRC wins in Division 2 today

The final round of the Sydney Harbour Combined Clubs Inshore Series, conducted today by MHYC, incorporated races of the MHYC Inshore Series.  A fresh to strong southerly made for some lively racing and good interclub competition with MHYC boats featuring strongly in the results.

In the MHYC series, winners were Khaleesi (Sandy Farquharson & Rob Aldis) Div 1 IRC & ORC, Advanced Philosophy (Peter Sorensen) Div 1 PHS, MRX (Geoff Pearson) Div 2 IRC & ORC, Rumba (Rob Carr, Steph Cook & Kerry Burke) Div 2 PHS, Innamincka (John Crawford) Div 3 ORC & J/24 One Design, Waterborne Again (Marc Tromp) Div 3 PHS and Contentious (Brian Lees) Adams 10 One Design & PHS.

In the Combined Clubs race for Division 1, Khaleesi was 1st IRC, Kukukerchu (David Ross) was 2nd PHS and Advanced Philosophy was 2nd IRC and 3rd PHS.  In Division 2, MRX was 1st ORC and 3rd PHS, Wailea (Neil Padden) was 2nd IRC and 3rd ORC, Contentious was 2nd on PHS.  In Division 3, Innamincka was 1st on ORC.

In the Combined Clubs Overall Series Score, Rumba have won Division 2 on PHS and placed 3rd on IRC, also in Div 2 Wailea placed 2nd on ORC and IRC.  Advanced Philosophy finished 2nd on IRC in Div 1.

Next Saturday is the final race for the MHYC 2021-2022 Pointscore for the Inshore Divisions and Adams 10 fleet and next Sunday is the final round of the Sydney Harbour Womens Keelboat Series with the Manly Women's Challenge.

To view the MHYC Inshore Division Results - click here

To view the MHYC Adams 10 CCIS Results - click here

To view the Combined Clubs Inshore Series Results - click here

Photos thanks to Marg Fraser-Martin.......

Read more: Fresh breezes for Combined Clubs Series

Fast boats and gun sailors set to ignite big battles at Sydney Harbour Regatta

InfoTrack and InfoTrack Go will be up against each other - Andrea Francolini pic

Over two days  next weekend, a mass of boats of varying designs and size will provide a blaze of colour on the race courses from the Opera House to Manly on Sydney Harbour and on offshore courses, for NSW’s largest keelboat event, the Sydney Harbour Regatta (SHR).

Middle Harbour Yacht Club (MHYC) organisers are ready. They are looking forward to welcoming competitors to the 17th edition of their regatta, which marks the start of autumn racing in NSW.

The Super 50 class includes notable TP52s. Two-time Sydney Hobart winner, Quest (Craig Neil) is joined by 2019 second placegetter, Gweilo (Matt Donald/Chris Townsend), along with Matador (David Doherty), Koa (Andy Kearnan/Peter Wrigley) and local chance Zen, owned by Gordon Ketelbey, an ardent one-design sailor with runs on the board across various classes.

Neil has used the SHR to announce: “We are in the process of forming a TP52 Association. The plan is to run five regattas per year and the Sydney Harbour Regatta is the first. It’ll be good to kick off the series at Middle Harbour. TP owners are looking forward to it. Some will be missing this time for  a variety of reasons, but we expect 10 or so in the future.”

Quest’s owner says the Corinthian rule has been altered. “Before, each boat was allowed one professional sailor, then a point taken away for each subsequent pro. Now, a point will be returned for those boats that include youth sailors in their crew. We want to encourage the class to invest time in young sailors. Zen already does that,” he said. “We’ll have Will Sargent and Jake Meddell aboard Quest.”

An eclectic mix of go-fast boats in the Super 40s includes Adrian Walters’ Shaw 11, Little Nico and  Michael Ritchie’s 38ft lightweight daysailer, Revolver. Designed by his father, Bruce Ritchie, Revolver recently placed second at the Pittwater Regatta. At the SHR it will face a trio of MC38s; InfoTrack (Christian Beck), InfoTrack Go (John Ahern) and LawConnect (Rachel Williams) among others.

Beck is best known for his super maxi, LawConnect; second over the line in the 2021 Sydney Hobart. The other two other MC38s are to be skippered by two executives from Beck’s companies and will be crewed by recognizable sailing names.

Triple Olympian Karyn Gojnich is well-known to the regatta, usually competing in the Yngling, the class she represented Australia in at the 2008 Beijing Games. She switched to the J/70, which is a blossoming class boasting quality sailors in an extremely competitive fleet these days.

“Unfortunately, I can’t be there this time, but The Jackal is entered and Sara Ladd will be skipper. Most of the Sydney boats have committed to the regatta, including the top two from our NSW Championship in January,” Gojnich said of Juno (Reg Lord) and Vamos (Tim Ryan).

“The regatta will be a good warm-up for the Victorian Championship the following weekend and the Nationals being held in Sydney over Easter,” she ended.

A host of other boats across multiple classes and divisions are also taking part.

Grand prizes on offer:

The winners and placegetters in each eligible class or division, upon attendance and check in at the regatta prizegiving ceremony, go in the draw for some major prizes. 

First placed boats have a chance of winning a Mercedes weekend drive experience and two nights’ accommodation at the Mercure Resort Hunter Valley Gardens for two along with a Ross & Whitcroft Quality Marine Clothing Merchandise voucher valued at $1,500. Second and third placed boats are in the running for distillery experiences and Ross & Whitcroft Quality Marine Clothing Merchandise vouchers. 

Individual crew members are also eligible for a Ross & Whitcroft Quality Marine Clothing prize.

Middle Harbour Yacht Club acknowledges the support of Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, Sydney Amateur Sailing Club, Royal Australian Navy Sailing Association, Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club, Manly Yacht Club, Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club and the Sydney Flying Squadron, without we could not run this regatta. 

Our thanks go to key sponsors: Club Marine, Robert Oatley Wines, Short Marine, Quality Marine Clothing and Telstra Business Technology Centre.

The early entry fee has been extended and entries close on 3 March, so be quick and enter now at: www.shr.mhyc.com.au  

By Di Pearson, MHYC media - 26 Feb 2022

Read more: Fast boats and gun sailors set to ignite big battles at Sydney Harbour Regatta

Debut MC38 helm takes out shortened MC38 Act 2

Pete Cummings stepped onto the MC38 InfoTrack for the first time in Act 2 and helmed the boat to a brilliant shortened series victory on a busy Sydney Harbour.

Christian Beck’s InfoTrack, from Middle Harbour Yacht Club, pipped Marcus Blackmore’s Hooligan, from the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, by a point across four races. Results from day one stood after day two’s grim conditions failed to yield a single point.

Cummings, who grew up sailing on Lake Macquarie and has enjoyed a lifetime of ocean and class racing, said he had to suppress his normal helming instincts and just follow the crew’s instructions.

“It was a great thrill and a privilege to be asked by Christian to drive his boat,” Cummings said. “The MCs are fantastic – very responsive and powerful and you can feel the guys constantly working the boat, particularly in light and variable winds. I was completely confident with the skill level on the boat and just had to listen; it all worked like magic. Sneeze and you’d lose two places though!”

Navigating around multiple club fleets, replica 18-footers, the JJ Giltinan 18ft Championship, dinghies, party boats and a container ship was not for the faint-hearted. “There were more boats on the harbour, both competitors and general activity, than we’ve seen since pre-Covid times,” Cruising Yacht Club of Australia race officer Steve Kidson said. “The last two races we had competitors through going our finish line - in both directions! It was hectic.”

Tactician for the second-placed Hooligan, Ben Lamb, said Marcus is really getting the hang of driving with wheels as opposed to a tiller: “It’s a big change – we feel it will be a good improvement moving forward. My favourite moment of the weekend was winning race three after an average start. Generally we weren’t having the best starts, but the crew morale made me relax and able to grind us back through the fleet. Everyone’s positive and that makes the guys sail the boat at 100% and allows me to loosen up and see the breeze.”

Another third overall for Ginger, including two bullets, shows Leslie Green’s CYCA team are building nicely for the 2022 MC38 season made up of six acts between Sydney Harbour and Pittwater, a potential fleet appearance at Hamilton Island Race Week in August and an Australian Championship in November. See the full schedule

Kidson said Saturday’s first two races went ahead in light ESE winds and in the latter part of race two the breeze clocked around to the northeast at 8-12 knots and the course was shifted to run the fleet up to Steele Point at Vaucluse. 

Sunday March 13 started with crews AP’d ashore while Kidson kept an eye on the wind observations. The fleet of eight boats eventually lined up at 1330 hours in NNE 7-8 knots but on the first downwind run a 40-50 degree shift preceded a fizzle-out, leaving Saturday’s scores the winning set of numbers.

Middle Harbour Yacht Club will host Act 3 of the MC38 season May 14-15 on Sydney Harbour.

Full results

Day one action, video thanks to Tilly McKnight

Read more: Debut MC38 helm takes out shortened MC38 Act 2

Nutcracker claims the Farr 40 NSW Championship 2022

The Farr 40 class completed their NSW Championships at Middle Harbour Yacht Club this weekend.

With little breeze and lumpy seas the fleet chose to move inshore on day one of the event. Rob Davis continued his winning form on Nutcracker after taking out the One Design Trophy last month. Conditions proved challenging with the Race Committee needing to change the course three times with heavily fluctuating breeze, but did well to get the four races away. By th end of the day Nutcracker was leading on 5 points after claiming 3 wins over the line. With only 1 point between the rest of the fleet the challenge was on for the second day.

Nutcracker dominated the fleet on day 2 with a straiight four bullets from four races in a building nor easterly breeze for a convincing win on 9 points. Jeff Carter  pulled in front of the rest of the fleet

on Edake with a second place in each race to take out the silver spot with 22 points followed by Patrick Delaney on Bluetack with 28 points.

For full results click here

Photos coutesy of © Marg Fraser Martin 

For more photos click here

       

 

 

Read more: Nutcracker claims the Farr 40 NSW Championship 2022