Four-way tie in Combined Clubs Harbour Race Series

by Peter Campbell on 24 Mar 2013 Derwent Sailing Squadron needed to exercise countbacks of placings over the seven race post-Christmas Harbour Series to decide the pennant winners.

Four Group 1 yachts, all from Bellerive Yacht Club - Masquerade, Mem, Tas Paints and Host Plus Executive - ended the post-Christmas Harbour Series on the same net points with Tony Harman’s Masquerade coming from fourth in standings to take the series on a countback.

Masquerade excelled on the final day, with a first and a second on corrected time, to win the PHS pennant from season-long pointscore leader Mem (Paul Boutchard) and Tas Paints (Ian Stewart).

Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania’s Don Calvert’s Intrigue maintained her remarkable 28 year pennant winning record by taking out both the Group 1 AMS and IRC handicap categories, winning AMS from Host Plus Executive (Jeff Cordell) and Mem, and the IRC category from Host Plus Executive and Martela (Tony Williams).

In Group 2, Derwent Sailing Squadron’s Hot August Night (Nat Morgan) won on a countback from the RYCT boat Rousabout (Graham Inglis), with Just in Time (Mick Sheehan, BYC) third overall. Hot August Night and Rousabout each had a win today.

Racing over the windward/leeward courses saw winning margins of seconds on corrected time for Group 1, Group 2 and across the line between the Farr 40 one-design class yachts.

Champion RYCT skipper Stephen Boyes stamped his authority on the Farr 40 class, with two straight wins in Wired, finishing the series five points clear of War Games (Wayne Banks-Smith, DSS) and six points ahead of Voodoo Chile (Lloyd Clark, RYCT).

Bellerive Yacht Club commodore John Mills also had an emphatic final win in Group 4 with Total Lock Alarms, taking line and handicap honours to win the series by four points from Eliza (Kevin Jacobson, BYC) with one point to veteran John Hunn, skippering Atilla from the DSS.

Group 4 went right down to the line with Derwent Sailing Squadron past commodore Peter Bugg winning the series by just one point from RYCT member Greg Rowlings in Another Toy. Only two points back was Alibi (Rod Williams).

Another Toy, a J24 excelled in the light and variable winds, winning the final race, with Don’t Bugg Me in fourth place on corrected time.