Bay of Fires Channel Race - Obession awarded first place
by Peter Campbell on 12 Oct 2012
Obsession (M45) soon after the start - Hobart’s Channel Race 2012 Rob Cruse
Bay of Fires Channel Race, hosted by Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania, was held last Sunday. An amended handicap for David Creese’s new racing yacht Obsession has resulted in the new M.A.T. 1245 IRC cruiser/racer being awarded first place in the Group 1, PHS category with David Taylor’s Pisces now second.
Obsession led the 38 boat fleet all the way in the Channel Race, the first of this season’s Combined Club Long Race Series events, but originally was placed third on corrected time to Pisces, a modified and lengthened Sydney 36. Steve Chau’s Sydney 38, Ciao Baby II, was placed third.
The Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania today announced new results for the PHS category, Group 1, placing Obsession first, Pisces second and Ciao Baby II third following dismissal of a protest concerning the change in handicaps.
PHS results for Groups 2 and 3 remain unchanged, with the RYCT also announcing the results for the AMS and IRC rated groups of the Long Race Series.
Group 2 winner on PHS was Neil Snare’s Jigsaw while Julius Szlovic’s Tihany won Group 3 and was also first placed yacht overall under PHS scoring.
Pisces, which returned to racing after modifications to her hull and rig over the winter, gave owner David Taylor some compensation by winning Group 1 under AMS ratings and finishing a close second to Dump Truck (Justin Wells) under IRC ratings.
In the AMS category, the RYCT-based Pisces won from Masquerade, skippered by Bellerive Yacht Club member Tony Harman. Third place went to Wings Three (Peter Haros).
In AMS Group 2, Moonshadow (Anthony Ellis) won from Twitch (Clive Anning) and Xcite (Robin White) while Group 3 AMS winner was Kaiulani (Malcolm Cooper).
Rolex Sydney Hobart entrant Dump Truck, a Ker 11.7, won the IRC Group 1 by just 11 seconds on corrected time from Pisces. Another Sydney Hobart entrant, Tony Williams’ Martela, placed third.
Obsession did not fare so well in the rated divisions, placing seventh on corrected time in both the AMS and IRC group fleets.
The Combined Clubs Long Race Series has drawn 52 entries so far, with further entries expected before the second race on Saturday, October 20. A fleet of 38 boats competed in the Channel Race.
A similar fleet has entered for the Combined Clubs Harbour Series which starts tomorrow on the Derwent.
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