Rocky end for Trieste

by Peter Campbell on 7 Apr 2004 An unexpected encounter with a rock off Middle Head last Saturday put paid to Trieste’s hopes of winning the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron’s Division 1 Main Series, but at least the damage was less than first expected for owner Peter Versi.

Trieste, a Beneteau 47.7, had gone into the final pointscore race just one point behind Charles Curran’s 60-footer, Sydney, and at the time of the incident, according to her owner/skipper, was well placed to beat the bigger boat on corrected time.

With Trieste’s withdrawal, Sydney went on to win the Division 1 Main Series by five points from Trieste, third overall going to If It Fits (Tim Lloyd). Sydney also won the Spring Series while If It Fits took out the Summer Series, with Trieste gained some compensation by winning the Short Inshore Series from Sydney and If It Fits.

Peter Versi said the grounding happened as Trieste, a Beneteau 47.7, was working to windward close to Middle Head in the light nor’easter. ‘A large wave lifted us up and behind it was a deep trough. As we slid into the trough, the front of the keel jammed into the rock.’

Versi and the crew used the motor to get the yacht off the rock and took the boat up the Parramatta River to be slipped at River Quays.

‘The visible damage is not too bad, but we have had to take off the keel and have the hull assessed for any structural damage the impact might have caused. We also have to take out the mast for checking,’ he said today.

Nevertheless, he is confident Trieste will be ready to cruise north for Hamilton Island Race Week. ‘By then we will have a new 3DL mainsail and other new sails and hope to do well in the Performance Cruising Division in which Beneteau 47.7s finished first, second and third last year,’ Verci added.

Division 2 had Terry and Julie Clarke’s Senta win the Main and Summer Series, taking out the Main Series from Half Hour (Paul Hendreyx) and Kupa Gila (John Anstey). Robert Albert’s Norn won the Spring Series, Gondwana (Peter Edwards) taking out the Short Series.

Gondwana also did well in the Squadron’s offshore events, winning the Main, Spring and Summer Series of the SOR3 Offshore pointscore. SORC2 saw Amante (Dennis Cooper) win the Main, Summer and Spring pointscores, winning the Main from About Time (Julian Farren-Price) and Ellipse (P. Jones and B. Bergin).

Dr John Musgrove, who recently turned 80, enjoyed a great season with his 70-year-old classic 32-footer, Varuna, in Division 3 of the RSYS inshore racing. Varuna won the Main Series from The Groves (Michael Stoven-Bradford & Ken Short) and Bloodhound (A.Rodger.M.Shaw/M.Seymore), also winning the Summer Series and the Short Inshore Series. Bloodhound won the Summer Series.

The Varuna Cup, an annual trophy for the first, second and third placegetters (depending on entries) in each division Main Series pointscore over the season of 2003-2004, mixed fleets and one designs together, will conducted by the Squadron on 10 May.