Balance wins second IRC Racer/Cruiser Div

by Peter Campbell on 25 Nov 2007 Paul Clitheroe, the well known media finance and investment commentator and his 'corinthian' crew, today sailed his Sydney 47 Cruiser Racer Balance to an impressive victory in the second race of the IRC Racer/Cruiser division at the Savills 30th annual Short Ocean Racing Championship.

Early in the week, Clitheroe was full of praise for Middle Harbour Yacht Club's innovative move in introducing two passage races for club racing boats and their crews not enthusiastic or suitable for multi-race windward/leeward competition.

The result was an entry of 40 boats for the IRC and PHS Racer/Cruiser divisions, on Saturday sailing a 20 nautical mile race to Coogee and back, today sailing a similar distance offshore to a seamark some four miles east of Long Reef. Starts and finishes were in the harbour.

Balance, from the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, got an excellent start and sailed well on the leg out to the Long Reef outer mark, sailing under a cutter rig of staysail and yankee headsail and maintained a good position on the reach back to the harbour to win on IRC corrected time.

For Clitheroe, this type of racing was of more value for this Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race campaign than six windward/leeward races over short courses. He is also very proud of the fact that Balance, like his previous boats, has a totally amateur crew.

On corrected time Balance won today's race from Scooter, Queenslander Peter Harburg's MBD-designed custom 66-footer, previously raced by Sean Langman as AAPT. Third on corrected time was Andrew Short's maxi Andrew Short Marine Brindabella.

Scooter took line honours today after ASM Brindabella broke the start and lost more than four minutes returning to restart after being boxed in by other boats at the windward end of the start line north of Shark Island.

Nevertheless, ASM Brindabella, from the CYCA, won the Savills SORC regatta having taken out the line and handicap double on Saturday.

The Jutson 79, another entrant for this year's Rolex Sydney Hobart, finished with 4 points from a first and a third, well clear of Middle Harbour Yacht Club's immediate past commodore Ian Box, whose X442 Toy Box, which finished with 7.5 points from an equal third and a fourth placing on corrected time.

Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club past commodore Richard Hudson sailed his IC 45 Pretty Woman into third place on 8.5 points with an equal third yesterday and a fifth today. She too is on the entry list for Hobart.

Another RPAYC yacht, Cloud Nine Ron Hayden's Jeanneau Sunfast 43 won the PHS Racer/Cruiser division, following up on yesterday's third with a second today behind Middle Harbour Yacht Club's Union, a Bavaria Match 42 skippered by Bruce Ritchie.

Cloud Nine finished on 5 points, well clear of another Alfreds boat, The Real Thing, an ID35 skippered by Garry Holder which had a 4-5 score for 9 points. Third overall in the PHS division went to David Pescud's Lyons 54 Sailors with disAbilities which scored 13 points from 2-11 placings.

Pescud took third place on a countback from the Sydney Amateur Sailing Club's Disko Trooper, an Adams 10 cruising class boat skippered by Jules Hall which also finished with 13 points after a 9-2 series.