Please select your home edition
Edition
Henri-Lloyd Dynamic Range

The Showdown – Spectacular racing on the Derwent

by Peter Campbell on 6 Nov 2011
Our Toy powers across the finish line in SB3 class - The Showdown 2011 Rob Cruse
The Showdown annual spring regatta, hosted by the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania, was held from 4th to 6th November on the River Derwent.

They didn’t win the major trophies, but Hobart’s fleet of Farr 40s certainly turned on a spectacle of one-design racing in yesterday’s final day of the event.


Voodoo Chile, helmed by Andrew Hunn, got the gun by just one second from POW, skippered by Craig Clifford, in the first race of the day, with a 16-18 knot northerly breeze giving the crews an exhilarating spinnaker run to the finish. Only ten second astern came Wired (Stephen Boyes).

Voodoo Chile also finished first across the line in race two, but this time it was Wired in second place, nine seconds astern, with POW just three seconds astern as the three big boats powered to the line in a slightly softer breeze.

The four Farr 40s from the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania raced against some of Hobart’s best racer/cruiser yachts in Division 1 of The Showdown, but couldn’t hold their time on handicap with overall regatta wins going to Tas Paints and Intrigue.


Tas Paints, a Mumm 36 skippered by Ian Stewart from Bellerive Yacht Club, sailed an outstanding regatta, finishing first and second in today’s second day of race for a total score of 15 points in Division 1 PHS results. Second place went to Andrew Sutherland’s Farr 37 Silver Mist, third to Voodoo Chile which did have one win on corrected time, race four on Saturday, during the regatta, as did POW which won race five yesterday.

Intrigue, Don Calvert’s 26 year old former Admiral’s Cup campaigner, won Division 1 under AMS rating handicaps by just one point from Rolex Sydney Hobart campaigner Whistler (David Rees) and Tas Paints.

Intrigue finished The Showdown with three wins and three thirds under AMS scoring, Whistler had a first, four seconds and a fourth place.

Division 2 went to Wildfire (Malcolm Robertson) while in Division 3, Another Toy (Greg Rowlings) took the series by just two points from Street Car (Peter Bingham).


In the International Dragon class, Aquila, skippered by Jock Young won yesterday’s two final races after missing the earlier races because of family commitments. However, the series went to Nick Rogers, helming Karabos IX, who had four wins and two seconds over the weekend.

The SB3 sports boats turned on some spectacular racing, and a couple of collisions, with Brett Cooper sailing Our Toy to overall victory with four wins, a second and last race ninth.

Sailing with the eight SB3s was the Thomson 8 sports boat WA Cromarty Engineering, skippered by Steve Harrison from Port Esperance Sailing Club at Dover. This fast boat finished second overall, but finished a costly last place in the first race yesterday when its spinnaker went ‘trawling’ behind the boat.

Our Toy won the division with 15 points, WA Cromarty Engineering finished second on 23 while Derwent Sailing Squadron Vice Commodore Steve Chau sailed Ciao Baby III into third overall on 26 Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania website

Armstrong 728x90 - Wing FG Board Range - BOTTOMSwitch One DesignNorth Sails Loft 57 Podcast

Related Articles

Aussies hunt 'Ashes on Water' win
The BONDS Flying Roos are looking to bounce back with a vengeance in Portsmouth Fresh off a bruising weekend in New York, the BONDS Flying Roos are looking to bounce back with a vengeance as they take on long time rivals Great Britain in their home waters at the Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix, held in Portsmouth.
Posted today at 9:27 pm
4 Ultim rocketships to contest Rolex Fastnet Race
The giant 32m long by 23m wide flying trimarans are taking part in the 100th anniversary edition While the 50ft flying catamarans competing at SailGP Portsmouth this weekend will be impressive, charging out of the opposite western end of the Solent will be giant 32m long by 23m wide flying Ultim trimarans taking part in the 100th anniversary edition.
Posted today at 6:45 pm
SailGP comes to Portsmouth!
We speak to the sailors ahead of the weekend The Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix | Portsmouth takes place this weekend, with the 12 teams competing in F50 catamarans close to the waterfront, where a massive grandstand has been built for the spectators.
Posted today at 5:41 pm
SailGP: No practice racing at Portsmouth
The Practice Race was a fizzer, however the future of the SailGP fleet development was revealed. The scheduled Practice Day failed to fire at SailGP Portsmouth, after the forecast, admittedly light, breeze failed to male an appearance. The self propelled start marks were making a much better speed than the F50s.
Posted today at 4:14 pm
Elite Training at New Sailing Centre
Canash Beach, St Vincent, hosts international sailors The SVG Sailing Association held a successful High Performance Race Training Clinic, at the newly established High Performance Centre at Canash Beach, St Vincent. The four-day event ran from July 13th to 16th.
Posted today at 1:51 pm
McIntyre Mini Globe Race Leg 3 Preview
The race to South Africa starts from Vuda Marina Fiji on 26th July In a world-first sailing challenge, 15 solo sailors from eight countries are navigating identical 5.8-meter (19-foot) self-built plywood yachts around the globe— The fleet has enjoyed a five week stopover in Fiji at the end of Leg 2.
Posted today at 1:26 pm
Third time Finn World No.1 for Alessandro Marega
Maintaining the top spot in the Finn World Ranking List Italy's Alessandro Marega maintains the top spot in the Finn World Ranking List for the third consecutive release. He remains World No. 1 with an 80-point lead over France's Laurent Hay.
Posted today at 1:18 pm
World Sailing Nations Cup to make grand return
After a seven-year hiatus, World Sailing has officially opened the bid process for host cities After a seven-year hiatus, the World Sailing Nations Cup, the ultimate event to crown the world's top match-racing nations, is making its much-anticipated return.
Posted today at 9:08 am
2025 WASZP Pre-Games in Weymouth Day 2
A classic British summer's day as sailors launched beneath a blanket of grey cloud and drizzle The second day of the WASZP Pre-Games served up a classic British summer's day as sailors launched beneath a blanket of grey cloud and with a hug of fresh drizzle.
Posted today at 5:25 am
Moth take a big step forward at Garda Worlds
The just concluded Int Moth Worlds at Lake Garda, Italy were technically much more complex than NZ The just concluded Int Moth Worlds at Lake Garda, Italy were technically much more complex than the 2024 World Championship, held just six months ago in New Zealand.
Posted on 17 Jul