CYCA Summer Program - New initiatives announced

by Jennifer Crooks on 16 Jul 2013 The Sailing Committee and Board of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) will be introducing a number of new initiatives to the Summer Program for 2013-14, Following a lengthy review of the Summer Program and feedback from competitors.

The first initiative will commence this August with a five race Spring Series being conducted for those boats not making the traditional trek north to compete in the regattas such as Audi Hamilton Island Race Week.

The Spring Series will be raced in Sydney Harbour from 11 August – 8 September each Sunday with a spinnaker and non-spinnaker division should entries permit. A total of 20 boats must be entered for the Series to proceed and entries are now open.

This year the prestigious Blue Water Pointscore Series will include a line honours division. To be eligible for the line honours pointscore boats will also have to enter a handicap division (IRC, PHS or ORCi).

If entries permit, the Sailing Committee will consider having two divisions for each of the Blue Water Pointscore Series (IRC), Tasman Performance Series (PHS division of the Blue Water Pointscore), and Cape Byron Series (ORCi division) as well as combined a division to determine the winner of the Blue Water, Cape Byron and Tasman Series .

This year’s Blue Water Pointscore Series will consist of six races starting with the Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race on 27 July and concluding with the Rolex Sydney Hobart. The Port Hacking Bird Island Race has been re-introduced and will be sailed on 7 December. Syd Fischer holds the race record of 18hours and 26 minutes for the 120 nautical mile race, which he set with Frers designed Ragamuffin in 1976.

For those that enjoy a mixture of passage and windward/leeward style races, a new Combined Pointscore will also be included in the Summer Series 2013-2014 that will consist of three Ocean Pointscore races and three Grant Thornton Short Ocean Races, commencing with the Lion Island Ocean Pointscore race on 21 September.

The Ocean Pointscore Series will also be divisionalised (should sufficient entries be received) with a combined pointscore being used to determine the winner. The same will apply to those competing in the Grant Thornton Short Haul Pointscore Series.

2013 will also herald the re-introduction of the Southern Cross Cup as a club teams racing series. The Southern Cross Cup will consist of four races: the Port Hacking Bird Island Race, the two CYCA Trophy Passage Series races and the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. Three boats will represent each club team with clubs allowed to enter multiple teams.

The CYCA Trophy Series has been reduced to two days of passage racing that will be conducted on 14-15 December.

Commenting on the changes to the CYCA’s Sailing Calendar Commodore Howard Piggott said 'We have developed these initiatives based on feedback received from yacht owners and series participants. I trust that this will provide owners with a number of options to race their boat in the upcoming season.

'I look forward to some spirited inter-club competition with the re-introduction of the Southern Cross Cup and wish all competitors a successful 2013/2014 Summer Series,' Commodore Piggott added.

For entries forms and further details log onto CYCA website.