Back to back winners prepare for another wet race track

by Lisa Ratcliff on 8 Mar 2009
Doug McGain has done it again, claiming top honours in the J24 division at Middle Harbour Yacht Club’s Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta with Code Violation for the second year running.

In training for the class’ world championship in May, today’s top billing is a definite confidence booster for McGain and his Middle Harbour Yacht Club crew who found plenty of form in the moderate to fresh sou’easter out of Double Bay.

Code Violation scored back to back wins in the final two races of the six race series to sneak a point ahead of Stephen Girdis’ J24 Convicts Revenge (CYCA) when the final pointscore was tallied.

'Today’s breeze was a lot more solid than yesterday. We came together well with no mistakes,' said McGain this evening.

Girdis made an impressive return to the class following an extended break. 'Stephen’s been out of the class for a couple of seasons. It was good to have a familiar face out there pushing us all the way,' added McGain.

Another of last year’s divisional winners will have a second shot at winning the major regatta prize, this time the brand new Audi Q5 compact SUV. Last year Ben Nossiter won an Audi A4 1.8 TFSI multitronic sedan following the Audi Final Challenge and tomorrow two of his crew will take to a forecast wet track at Oran Park Raceway, thanks to Sirius’ overall win in the hotly contested Adams 10 division.

Nossiter’s two winning drivers from 2008, crewmembers Shane McKeown and Brendan Murphy, will attempt to secure a second Audi for Nossiter, father of Olympic Finn and America’s Cup sailor Anthony ‘Nocka’ Nossiter who is in Melbourne preparing for the Audi Etchells World Championship which start tomorrow.

Sailing on the same Sydney Heads course area as the Adams 10s were the Farr 30’s, formerly known as Mumm 30s until a worldwide re-brand last year.

Reigning Farr 30 world champion Guy Stening, from the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron, reached optimum performance with his Farr 30 Optimum, his worst result one second from six races.

'The regatta was so well organised, the guys on the race committee vessel were great with quick start turnarounds for the three fleets starting off the same line,' said Stening, who rates himself with a chance for tomorrow’s Oran Park stoush - when tillers and wheels will be swapped for the wheel of an Audi S5 4.2 V8 sports coupe.

Stening is preparing for the class’ national titles in a fortnight and to defend his crown at the upcoming Farr 30 world championship, likely to be held in Italy in October.

Apart from the record entries, Principal Race Officer John Hurley was delighted with the growth in the one design classes, three more joining the already impressive Audi Sydney Harbour fleet line up for the first time.

'As well as the highest level IRC fleet we’ve once again had a lot of grassroots support, particularly from the large PHS fleet.

'We will continue to fine-tune going forward to make sure all the stakeholders from the Sydney Combined Clubs are well catered for.

'If the regatta continues the way it is, we may have to look at a further two course areas, which is a great problem to have,' Hurley added.

As well as the support of seven other Sydney based yacht clubs, logistically MHYC has relied heavily on a huge team of volunteers. At least 100 on water volunteers and twice that onshore, looking after everything from driving spectator boats to selling sausages, kept the thousands of competitors fed, watered and well looked after on the race track.

'Audi is the largest corporate sponsor of sailing in Australia. Their partnership with MHYC has ensured this event, already one of the largest keel boat regattas in Australia, is continually growing,' added MHYC Commodore Martin Hill.

For full results for every division go to www.audisydneyharbourregatta.com