Audi IRC Australian Championship - Mother ship shootin' for success

by Lisa Ratcliff on 19 Apr 2014 2014 Audi IRC Australian Championships - Called the ‘mother ship’ because it’s 'mum’s boat' is a Beneteau 40.7 called Schouten Passage racing in the division with the most entries at the Audi IRC Australian Championship being contested off Newcastle. At the series halfway point this morning they were well-placed, second overall in division C.

High-pressure race conditions test the mettle of every crew, none more than a family combination. Dad Rob, mum Jan and son Will entered the family boat, named after a passage of water on the Tasmanian east coast, and they joke openly about the interesting dynamics aboard.

'Will had to be grounded twice yesterday,' kidded crewman Troy Poulsen who has raced with the two Howard sons, Richard and Will, since the glory days of one of the region’s more infamous boats – Anthony Paterson’s Tow Truck.

Richard couldn’t join the Schouten Passage crew weekend for very good reason. He’s the CEO of the organising club, Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club, and has spent months working with the club’s board, staff and volunteers to prepare for what is a coup for Australia’s youngest yacht club.

Jan Howard married into sailing when she hooked up with Rob, a fellow Taswegian who made his start in dinghies. She figured she couldn’t beat ‘em so joined em’ and in 1995 become the first woman to reach 10 Sydney Hobart races, a celebrated milestone. Her final Hobart in 2006 was her 14th.

The former teacher occasionally has to put on her special voice, when the language gets too colourful. 'When Rob and the two boys are on board and there is a major meltdown I feel like swimming ashore from embarrassment. There certainly are some good family discussions.

The boys were bitten by the bug from creation. Jan was pregnant with Richie when she did the 1980 Sydney Hobart race aboard Bacardi and since the early 2000s combinations of Howards have raced south in the famous bluewater classic many times.

Richard returned to his Tasmanian heritage when he lived in the state for a time and last year he joined the crew of Hobart based Farr 40 Voodoo Chile. Younger brother Will’s last serious gig was on Ed Psaltis’ AFR Midnight Rambler with Tom Barker, the bowman on Schouten Passage for this weekend’s pinnacle Australian IRC handicap yachting event.

Tom’s had a checkered past with the media and prefers not to be quoted apart from moaning that he’s too old to be the bowman. 'After Thursday’s three races we had to put him to bed,' mentions Jan.

Mark Langford, the not-as-famous brother of Kyle Langford who was mainsheet trimmer for Oracle Team USA’s successful America’s Cup defence, is on the crew as is Laser sailor Mark Skelton, Tom Kinsey, a Wedgetail pilot from the UK based at the RAAF base at Williamtown, and Carlee Foxe, a member of the Newcastle ‘skirts’ (nothing to do with outlaw motor cycle gangs).

Jan Howard has gathered a team of Newcastle women sailors together called ‘the skirts’, and they are taking the mighty Beneteau 40.7 to Airlie Beach Race Week in August. From there the Howards will deliver the boat to Hamilton Island to be joined by Richard and Will plus family friends for Audi Hamilton Island Race Week.

Rob says it all turns to custard when all four are on the boat. Jan is already referring to their northern regattas as a 'one-off'.

The old saying ‘the family that play together, stay together’ is going on trial once more.

Audi IRC Australian Championships 2014 complete results:



 

Series Results [IRC Div A] for DivA up to Race 6 (Drops = 1)

Place	Ties	Sail Num	Boat Name	Skipper	From	Sers Score	Race 6	Race 5	Race 4	Race 3	Race 2	Race 1
1		IVB1997	TEAM BEAU GESTE	Karl Kwok	RHKYC	5.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	[2.0]	1.0
2		360	PATRICE	Tony Kirby	CYCA	11.0	2.0	[5.0]	4.0	2.0	1.0	2.0
3		52002	QUEST	Bob Steel	CYCA	14.0	3.0	3.0	2.0	[4.0]	3.0	3.0
4		AUS01	ICHI BAN	Matt Allen	CYCA	20.0	4.0	4.0	5.0	3.0	4.0	[8.0F]
5		5200	COUGAR 11	Anthony Lyall	RYCT	22.0	6.0	2.0	3.0	6.0	[6.0]	5.0
6		421	CELESTIAL	Sam Haynes	CYCA	25.0	5.0	6.0	[6.0]	5.0	5.0	4.0
7		GBR5211L	FRANTIC	Michael Martin	NCYC	35.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	8.0C	[8.0F]	6.0

Series Results [IRC Div B] for DivB up to Race 6 (Drops = 1)

Place	Ties	Sail Num	Boat Name	Skipper	From	Sers Score	Race 6	Race 5	Race 4	Race 3	Race 2	Race 1
1		18889	NINE DRAGONS	Bob Cox	MHYC	6.0	1.0	1.0	1.0	[3.0]	1.0	2.0
2		46	EXILE	Rob Reynolds	MHYC	9.0	2.0	2.0	2.0	[4.7I]	2.0	1.0
3		H1010	IKON	Bruce McCraken	HBYC	18.0	[9.0]	6.0	5.0	1.0	3.0	3.0
4		65007	ELENA NOVA	Andrew Pearson	MHYC	24.0	4.0	5.0	4.0	[8.0]	7.0	4.0
5		M242	STORAGE KING WALLOP	Peter Hewson	RMYC/LMYC	25.0	3.0	4.0	7.0	5.0	6.0	[7.0]
6		11011	ANGER MANAGEMENT	Phil Arnall	NCYC	28.0	5.0	[9.0]	3.0	6.0	8.0	6.0
7		AUS5077	LONG TIME DEAD	Matthew Fensom	NCYC	29.0	7.0	3.0	9.0	[9.0]	5.0	5.0
8		33345	BLACK SHEEP	Derek & Martin Shepp	WYC	30.0	6.0	8.0	8.0	4.0	4.0	[9.0]
9		USA40063	PT 73	Tony Lobb	NCYC	36.0	8.0	7.0	6.0	7.0	[9.5]	8.0
10		13413	RHUMB	Ian Humphris	LMYC	49.5	10.0	10.0	10.0	10.0	9.5	[10.0]

Event website

Series Results [IRC Div C] for DivC up to Race 6 (Drops = 1)

Place	Ties	Sail Num	Boat Name	Skipper	From	Sers Score	Race 6	Race 5	Race 4	Race 3	Race 2	Race 1
1		4343	WILD ROSE	Roger Hickman	CYCA	7.0	1.0	2.0	[11.0]	1.0	2.0	1.0
2		7722	JUSTADASH	Philip Dash	MHYC	11.0	2.0	[6.0]	1.0	3.0	1.0	4.0
3		M136	SPIRIT	Ian Bower	LMYC	14.0	3.0	3.0	3.0	2.0	3.0	[6.0]
4		N349	SCHOUTEN PASSAGE	Rob Howard	NCYC	16.0	4.0	4.0	2.0	4.0	[4.0]	2.0
5		6935	L'ALTRA DONNA	Andy Kearnan	CYCA	21.0	5.0	1.0	4.0	6.0	[11.0]	5.0
6		1236	LOCAL HERO	Leigh Dorrington	CYC/MYC	33.5	10.0	[10.0]	8.0	7.0	5.5	3.0
7		8009	OCC. COARSE LANG ONE	Robert Alder	RPAYC	36.5	11.0	5.0	[13.0]	8.0	5.5	7.0
8		5845	BOTANY ACCESS COCOMO	Justin Brownbill	MHYC	37.0	8.0	8.0	[10.0]	5.0	8.0	8.0
9	5.0S	7013	XPRESS	Andrew Parkes	BSC	40.0	9.0	[11.0]	5.0	10.0	7.0	9.0
10		5223	EXCAPADE	Noel Gough	RMYCT/LMYC	40.0	6.0	9.0	6.0	9.0	10.0	[10.0]
11		7100	M	Steve Hatch	RSYS	51.0	7.0	7.0	7.0	15.0C	15.0C	[15.0F]
12		N122	MARTA JEAN	Steve Rae	NCYC	57.0	13.0	[13.0]	12.0	11.0	9.0	12.0
13		N40	ONE FOR THE ROAD	Kym Butler	NCYC	58.0	14.0	[14.0]	9.0	12.0	12.0	11.0
14		N1367	SUMMER SALT	Steve Hassell	NCYC	67.0	12.0	12.0	15.0F	15.0C	[15.0C]	13.0