A Blue Sky and a Shining Sea for Day 3 of the Sydney 38 Intergalactics

by Simon Reffold on 5 Oct 2003 The last day of the Sydney 38 Intergalactics was hard fought for all crews. Sailed in a building Nor Easterly there was plenty of work to do, especially at the front of the pack where at least seven boats were close enough in points to all have a chance of finishing the regatta on the Podium.

Race 7

The first race was in a solid 12-14 knot breeze. Off the start the fleet split - for a while it looked like those boats who went left were favoured but a late right shift put the right hand boats in front, with Peter McNamara's AMI Jade rounding first - followed closely by Chris Way's Easy Tiger, London Tavern, Acuity and Shining Sea. An impressive downwind run saw the Tavern move into first place with tactician Tracks Gordon positioning the boat well to cleanly overtake both Easy Tiger and Jade.

The next beat again saw a couple of boats take a flyer out to the left, but the consistent top pack looked to the right middle and maintained their relative positions.

There was an incident at the top mark with Acuity trying to squeak into the top mark on the port lay and infringing Shining Sea who were on Starbord. This was settled later in mediation with Acuity taking a three point penalty for the race.

The big finisher was Easy Tiger whose regatta has improved dramatically from their woeful first day. After a great run they just pipped AMI Jade on the line to finish in second place behind London Tavern with Acuity and Shining Sea finishing off the top five.

1. London Tavern 2. Easy Tiger 3. AMI Jade 4. Acuity 5. Shining Sea 6. Blue Sky 7. Pitch Black 8. Wadadli 9. Uncensored 10. The Bigger Picture 11. Stonybroke 12. Bashful

Race 8

With the pressure building through 16 knots now sails were changed and another clean start saw most of the pack head off right again. There were a few place changes but in the increasing pressure Shining Sea showed the fleet a clean pair of heels to round well in front of AMI Jade who were then close to Easy Tiger, Pitch Black and Uncensored.

With the increasing pressure the run was exciting and first, second and third consolidated their positions. However Uncensored had an issue with a crew member falling overboard and they lost a couple of places dropping back to 9th.

Rounding the bottom mark in 6th, Blue Sky showed their excellent form to move up two place on the beat and eased back a luckless Easy Tiger who dropped five places. The gods were certainly not smiling on The Bigger Picture who had halyard problems around the bottom mark and had to retire from the race.

It was a pleasant change for Gordon Kettleby and the Wadadli team to finish in the top five in this race. A long time Sydney 38 One Design owner Gordon had struggled a little in this regatta but showed some promise today of things to come.

1. Shining Sea 2. AMI Jade 3. Pitch Black 4. Blue Sky 5. Wadadli 6. London Tavern 7. Acuity 8. Easy Tiger 9. Uncensored 10. Stonybroke 11. Bashful 12. The Bigger Picture (DNF)

Race 9

The wind was now pumping in at 20-24 knots still from the Nor East. Michael Hill's Blue Sky was holding the overall lead with Steve Kulmar's return to form putting him within striking distance with just four points separating them.

The battle of the tactician with these two boats was interesting with two Australia's top young sailors in Katie Spithill (Blue Sky) and Michael Dunstan (Shining Sea) calling the shots for their respective owners. Both these talented young sailors have a great deal of silverware in their cabinets already and were keenly looking to add the Intergalactics to their long list of trophies. The minor placings were also up for grabs - Pitch Black, AMI Jade and London Tavern all with a chance.

A clear start won, by London Tavern with Shining Sea close saw the top boats again favouring the right to middle of the track. Shining Sea rounded the mark first and never lost this position for the rest of the race. Tavern were four boat lengths back followed by Acuity and Blue Sky with Jade 5th.

The run was a thriller, plenty of pressure had Blue Sky and Wadadli both teeter on the edge of control. At this stage Stonybroke was having an excellent race in 7th, close on the heels of Uncensored - but lost out at the bottom mark to move back to 8th as Pitch Black surfed (even in flat water) past them.

The last beat was all Shining Sea, until a late charge from Justin Lambeth's London Tavern pushed them right onto Shining Sea's Hip at the top mark. Some aggressive downwind sailing from both boats had Tavern moving up the ladder but never had enough to pass Shining Sea who ultimately won the race.

However they did not win the regatta as Blue Sky maintained their impressive consistency over the course of the Regatta. They moved up past Acuity on the last beat and held that position to finish 3rd and to win the regatta by two points from Shining Sea.

Further back in the pack the racing was equally as aggressive, Jade just hung on to their 5th spot with Uncensored trying all but ultimately failing to pass and finishing 6th.

1. Shining Sea 2. London Tavern 3. Blue Sky 4. Acuity 5. AMI Jade 6. Uncensored 7. Pitch Black 8. Wadadli 9. Easy Tiger 10. Stonybroke 11. The Bigger Picture 12. Bashful

Regatta Wrap-up

Whilst there were nine races in total there were no drops in this regatta. the format was designed to reward consistency over the course of the Event and clearly Michael Hills Blue Sky had that in spades. With a 1,4,2,1,4,6,6,4,3 (31 pts) they sailed a solid and consistent series winning from from Shining Sea with 2,1,3,6,11,3,5,1,1 (33 pts).

Certainly Martin Thompson from Sydney Yachts would have helped keep the wheels on, but the crew are proving themselves as a capable team that will need to be watched by the top boats in the future.

Overall the regatta has been a tremendous success. Sensational close racing from the front to the back of the fleet with everyone having their own little tussles. The winds have been kind with a great range of pressure testing everyone's boat handling and tactical skills.

Impressive too, has been the spirit of the racing. Over the 12 boats we have counted only seven professional sailors across the total 108 competitors yet the level of sailing is incredibly high on all boats.

There was only one protest which was resolved amicably and no real incidents that might have necessitated them. Any infringements that were committed were exonerated by the respective boats doing their turns. Combine this with the great sense of camaraderie on shore and you have the reason why so many people are choosing Sydney 38 One Design yachts over the other options.

Special thanks goes again to Denis Thompson and the RPAYC race management team who have done a great job on the water and to the many people who helped out with Mark laying duties, selling T-Shirts, BBQing and the many other tasks you find during a regatta. A Very special mention to Ian McAndrew and Maria Murphy in the Marina Office whose hospitality throughout the regatta was fantastic. And finally, of course to our sponsors:

Our thanks go to our Regatta Sponsors - Peppers Anchorage Port Stephens, The Anchorage Marina, Brokenwood Wines and Performance Boating Services

Final Results:

1) Blue Sky 31pts 2) Shining Sea 33pts 3) London Tavern 41pts 4) AMI Jade42pts 5) Pitch Black 43pts 6) Acuity 48pts 7) Uncensored 53pts 8) Easy Tiger 73pts 9) Wadadli 77pts 10) The Bigger Picture 87pts 11) Stonybroke 89pts 12) Bashful 96pts