Land Rover Winter Series- Perfect Day on Water

by Jennifer Crooks, CYCA Media on 1 Jun 2014 Land Rover Winter Series 2013 - The seasonal change has come and Winter is officially here but storm clouds did not deter the 120 competitors in Race five of the Land Rover Winter Series from having what they described as perfect sailing conditions in the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia organised race.

'I had the boat cleaned this morning and it made the world of difference,' Ian Arthy said, owner of the Beneteau Oceanis 311 Jublilee, that won Division K today.

'We were the first boat off in our division and we weren’t headed all day. It was a perfect day’s sail – 10-12 knots of breeze, no rain and good crew work.'

Great White (Ann and Bob Penty’s Beneteau Oceanis 41) finished second with Star Ferry (John Conroy’s Cruising Adams 10) third. Star Ferry is one point clear of Stormy Petrel (Kevin O’Shea) in the overall series pointscore with Monkey Business (Paul Glynn) third a further three points behind.

Competing in his first Winter Series with his Beneteau 33.7 Double Dutch, Paul Tanner came away with a win in Division G from Hornblower (Steve Sweeney’s Bonbridge 27) and Itchy (Will Northam and Jamie Watson’s Etchells).

'It was pretty perfect for us today – we had our number 1 headsail and full main set-up and 10-15 knots of breeze. Conditions were spot on for how we sail and I’m absolutely ecstatic to win,' Tanner said

'On the first downwind leg we stuffed up our spinnaker set and I thought we’d lost the race then. On the second leg we managed to overtake Nemesis and then as we came around Shark Island, we were able to get over the top of Hornblower.'

Double Dutch was named by her original owners who were both Dutch and were relative sailing newbies at the time and understanding the language of sailing was 'a bit like Double Dutch' and so the name stuck!

Itchy holds a four point lead in the Division G series pointscore from Velocity (Rob Armstrong) and Noakes White (Peter Langman).

Race Officer Denis Thompson got the fleet away on time, on their respective course A, in an 8-10 knot northerly breeze with clouds dotting the skyline but no rain. The breeze hung in all day and reached up to 15 knots towards the end of the afternoon.

'It’s a pleasant day on water with boats beating up the Harbour…I think crews are in for a really good sail,' Thompson said early on.

'It was a great race with enough breeze but there were some big shifts,' reported Antony Sweetapple, owner of Quetzalcoatl, that won Division C.

'There was lots of focus to pick the shifts and knocks in the breeze. The crew really gelled today with good communication and great trimming.

'Tactically, conditions suited us – we were able to sneak up on our fellow competitors and then overtake them. It was nice to get ahead of Scarlett O’Hara – we’ve had a good tussle with them all series.

'We struggled to get into some form early on in the series but it all came together today for us,' Sweetapple concluded. Akela (Alan Mather’s Jutson 40) finished second to Quetzalcoatl with Scarlett O’Hara (Robert Skol’s 30 Square Metre) third.

Arch Rival (Steve Connors’ Jones 40) holds a seven point lead over Scarlett O’Hara with Akela a further four points adrift in the series pointscore.

Double delight for Carats n Kilos owner John Santifort – he won Division E and walked away with the keys to the Range Rover Evoque for a week.

'It was sensationally good fun - the wind suited the boat. My son is starting to get into sailing and we’re really enjoying sailing together. Plus winning is great fun,' Santifort said.

'I love sailing in the Land Rover Winter Series – it’s a really good mix in our division. You know where you are in the fleet at all times, know what to expect at mark roundings and in the heavier conditions we can pull time out of the skiff style boats in our division.

'My son Martin said he wanted to win the car but can’t drive it as he’s still on P-plates. I’ll have to take him on a long drive to make up for it!' Santifort added. Crusader (Jonathon Green’s Melges 32) was second to Carats n Kilos with Clewless? (Guy and Lachlan Irwin’s Cape 31) third.

Greg Maughan’s Syonara, winner of Division F, was the lucky winner of the Noakes Group Lift and Stand package.

Other divisional winners today were: Division A1 – Brindabella (Jim Cooney); Division A2 – Edake (Jeff Carter); Division B – Ariel (Ron Forster); Division D – Crosshaven (Justin Pelly and Sean Rahilly); Division J1 – Holy Cow! (John and Kim Clinton) and Division J2 – Inkonkoni (Arthur Lane).

With five of the ten race-series having been completed overall series divisional pointscore leaders are: Division A1 – Quest (Bob Steel); Division A2 – Kirribilli (Andrew Chapman); Division B – Next (Richard Holstein); Division C – Arch Rival (Steve Connors); Division D – Soundtrack (John Amos); Division E – Hick-Up (Bill Ure); Division F – Salona (Pacific Sailing School); Division G – Itchy (Will Northam and Jamie Watson); Division J1 – Hanni (Mike Champion); Division J2 – Baltic Lady (Niel Burling) and Division K – Star Ferry (John Conroy)

The Land Rover Winter Series pointscore continues next Sunday, 8 Full Results