sail-world.com -- An awesome day for the Club Marine Series
An awesome day for the Club Marine Series
Thu, 15 Nov 2012
Saturday, November 10, 2012 was the second round of the Club Marine Series on Melbourne’s Port Phillip. It was the stuff that sailing brochures are made of. Wind, together with lashings sunshine, but maybe just a little more warmth would have indeed made it perfect. No problem, however. We'll take it.
David LeRoy, the Principal Race Officer for the Western Course, looked after the racing for Divisions Zero and One. David summed up the day, 'It was a pretty nice day, and it doesn’t get much better than that. The breeze was steady at 175 - 180 degrees and ranged from 10 - 12 knots, increasing to 12 - 14, later in the day. We set a course of 1.6nm and four laps for both Divisions. Everyone had a full day of racing. Div0 completed three races and Div1 put in a solid day's work to get two races under their belt.'
The top place in Division Zero was dominated by Calm 2, who had a perfect score for both International Rule, Club (IRC) and Performance Handicap System (PHS) for each race. Second and third places were shared between Calm, Rush and Veloce in IRC, then Calm, Veloce and XLR8 in the PHS Division. Jason Van Der Slot from Calm 2 was very pleased with the day saying, 'Each week we are going from strength to strength, as we slowly get used to everything. It's starting to come together really well.'
It was also good to see Veloce out today for the first time in this season’s Club Marine Series.
Division One were reminded what the black flag looked like after a general recall on their first start. David raised the black flag to make sure everyone 'behaved themselves' for the next start, but there were still a few who did not heed this warning and received a DSQ for that race as a reward for their transgressions. The first race got under way at 1410hrs in a steady 8-10 knots of breeze. The second race started at 1540hrs, but this time with a slight increase in pressure to say 12-14 knots.
Ikon had a great day’s sailing, managing to remain on the podium for both races across IRC and Australian Measurement System (AMS). Bruce McCraken said, 'The start was pretty congested, especially at the boat end. We had a good time and everything went well. We had some good results, so couldn’t be happier. What a beautiful day to be out there.' Audacious also had a good day, winning the first race of the day in both AMS and IRC. Greg Clinnick was very pleased with this result saying, 'Second over the line and nipping on the heels of Ikon….. you know you’ve done well, but our first focus is always on the other Sydney 38s and who will have bragging rights at the end of the day.' The rest of the podium positions for each of the divisions were shared amongst a number of boats, with Swordfish Trombone, Addiction and Wicked in AMS, along with Wicked and Chutzpah38 in IRC. In PHS, Dark and Stormy and Addiction each had a first for the day, with the other placings being shared by Bombora, Soiree Bleu and Wicked. Greg Sinclair, the Race Officer for Divisions Two and Three said, 'It was a very good day. The racing seemed really close - much closer than the previous round of the Club Marine Series. The first course was set at 185 degrees and 1.4nm. It took about an hour and a half for the boats to finish the first race. The second race was set at 190 degrees and shortened up a little to 1.15nm. This race got underway at 1355hrs for Div2 and 1600hrs for Div3.'
Executive Decision had a cracker of a day, winning both races in AMS and IRC. Congratulations to all on board! After the race, Grant Botica commented, 'We did better than I thought. It’s the first time I have been out on the boat this season and the crew said that I now have to be on the boat, in order for us to win!'
Penfold Audi Sport also had a good day, with two seconds in IRC and a second and a fourth place in AMS. Overall, these results put them in first place by two and four points, respectively, without any drops. David Ellis said following the race, 'What a cracker of a day….. that was awesome! Hughie has owed us that one for a while. The racing was very close and we were very happy to make small gains on those in front. There were lots of good performances.' David also congratulated Grant on his two wins and also complemented Greg Sinclair and his Race Management team, saying, 'He did a sensational job out there, managing two really good races.'
Wind Speed was another boat to have a good day out on the water, with two firsts in Performance Handicap System and a third in IRC in Race Three. Matrix, Longshot, Mrs Overnewton and Reckless all had a share in the other podium places and a tad of the glory.
Once again, the usual suspects were in the places for Division Three. Watermark II was the only boat to remain on the podium for both races in AMS and IRC, with two seconds in AMS and a third and a second in IRC. Nouannie and Wavelength had a first place each in AMS and Intrusion and Skipjack achieved the same in IRC. Luke Reinehr from Intrusion reflected the general consensus, 'Good to be out there on a beautiful Saturday in November, with two good races as well.'
Marg Neesom from Wild Child was very pleased with her day’s racing, 'It’s always good to get the smoke; we had some really good people on board and we are very happy with a first and a third in the Performance Handicap System'.
Many thanks to Sandringham Yacht Club for supplying Boonoorong as the media vessel, which in turn enabled these great photographs to be taken. Cheers to you!
To all those who still want to get involved in this great series, maybe even win a prize, it is not too late to enter. See your club's website for entry details. The Club Marine Series is proudly sponsored by Australia’s largest marine insurer – details and full information about the series can be found at clubmarineseries.com.au
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