Entires now open for the 2016 Sydney Short Ocean Racing Championships

by Carl Webster on 13 Sep 2016 Entry is open and the Notice of Race is online for the 37th Sydney Short Ocean Racing Championship (SSORC), to be hosted by Middle Harbour Yacht Club on the weekend of November 26 and 27.

The two-day series traditionally opens the summer offshore racing season and is one of the last times owners and crews can test their mettle against rivals and newcomers. It is also the ultimate opportunity to practice for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race each year.

Those contesting IRC, ORCi, PHS and one-design categories are eligible to enter. A varied program is designed to attract the best in the business and opens with a Lion Island and return race. Competitors will need to be wide awake the following day, as a short and sharp windward/leeward course will be followed by a short passage race.

One of the SSORC races will also form part of the MHYC and Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s Ocean Pointscore Series’, so serious competition is anticipated.

For those preferring to stretch their legs on a long Harbour course, the Seven Island Race, to be held on Saturday November 26th, is always a thriller. With a pursuit-style start off MHYC, the yachts then take in some of the famous islands on each side of the Harbour Bridge before the winner gets the gun at the finish line off the Club.

Middle Harbour Yacht Club Commodore, John McCuaig, summed up the event nicely when he said: “This is a great weekend for everyone – whether you are an offshore sailor wanting the challenge of championship racing, or if you prefer the spectacle of inshore harbour racing.

“For some, racing up Harbour and under the Harbour Bridge to Goat Cockatoo, Snapper and Spectacle Islands is special as it’s not often the major clubs use that side of the Bridge for racing. Others just want to enjoy a relaxing drink on the picturesque beach at Middle Harbour Yacht Club – so the SSORC is a favourite,” the Commodore ended.

Competitors and friends are always welcomed back to the friendly atmosphere of MHYC following racing, where they enjoy the relaxed post-race beach party, drinks, sausage sizzle and live entertainment.

To download the Notice of Race and to enter online, visit the event website.