Derwent Sailing Squadron Winter Series – Senior sailor’s hat-trick

by Peter Campbell on 21 Jun 2015 Derwent Sailing Squadron Winter Series – Hobart’s senior sailor, 87-year-old Tom Kirkland, today completed a hat-trick of winter race wins on the River Derwent, steering Ragtime to a handicap victory.

Kirkland, who has been racing yachts on the Derwent for almost 60 years, won the opening race in division three of the DSS Winter Series in late May and repeated that performance today on the second day of racing.

Last Sunday, Ragtime won the opening race in the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania’s Winter Series, the club where Kirkland has been a member since 1958.

The retired medico races Ragtime in the winter races run by the DSS and the RYCT and also competes in the Combined Clubs summer pennant racing.

The Winter Solstice was certainly here today, with the Hobart’s temperature during the morning race ranging from just 5-9º C with a seven to 10 knot NW breeze coming off the snow-capped Mount Wellington. The sun rose at 7.42am and set at 4.43 pm, making it Hobart’s shortest day of sunlight, but at least it was sunny throughout.

Ragtime won division three today by just five seconds on corrected time from Serenity (Graham Hall) and Off-Piste (Paul Einoder). Serenity had the fastest time.

Tasmanian-designed Eliza scored an impressive win for owner Kevin Jacobson in division one, the Fred Barrett-created Mungral 35 sailing above her rating to beat line honours winner War Games, Wayne Banks-Smith’s Farr 40. Third place on corrected time went to Gary Cripps’ consistent Sydney 38, Ciao Baby II.

The New Zealand designed and production built Young 88, Graeme Harrington’s Young 88 Vasco won division two on corrected time from Rousabout (Derek Inglis) and Hornet (Neville Georgeson). Rousabout led the fleet home from Vasco, but the Young 88’s lower rating gave her first place on handicap.

With a steady breeze on the eastern shore of the Derwent, the DSS ran three windward/leeward races for the SB20 winter series, producing three different one-design winners and three different PHS handicap winners.

Phil Reid, who is heading to Lake Garda in northern Italy shortly to contest the SB20 world championships, took out one-design and handicap honours in the first race. Sailing Mind Games, Reid won comfortably from Brainwave (Scott Brain) and Anonymous (Steve Henley), also taking first place on corrected time from Big Ted (Alice Grubb) and Nautilus Marine Insurance (Hughie Lewis)

In the second race, Hughie Lewis also scored a double, steering Nautilus Marine Insurance across the finish line 14 seconds ahead of Hypertronics (Stephen Catchpool) with Brainwave just two seconds further astern. On handicap, Nautilus Marine won from Big Ted and Realemedia (Diana Reale).

Scott Brain was the third one-design winner of the day, beating Anonymous across the line by 16 seconds, with one second to Hypertronics. Realemedia won the race on handicap from Pez (Hunt Gore) and Brainwave.

Overall, Brainwave was the top SB20 on the day with a one-design scorecard of 3-1-5 while Nautilus Marine had the best handicap scorecard of 3-1-5.