Australia Day regatta overall
by Peter Campbell on 27 Jan 2015
Wraith of Odin racing in the 179th Australia Day regatta. - Australia Day Regatta 2015 John Jeremy
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Australia Day regatta - Wraith of Odin contested five early Sydney Hobart ocean races, the first in 1952. Yesterday, more than 65 years later, the 60-foot ketch yesterday won the Division 1 (Classic Yachts) race at the 179th Australia Day on Sydney Harbour.
Skippered by owner Keith Glover and carrying her original sail number ‘CYCA 55’, Wraith of Odin finished second around the course to Nigel Stoke’s Fidelis, the 66-foot line honours winner of the 1966 Sydney Hobart.
On corrected time Wraith of Odin won the non-spinnaker race from John Sturrock’s Eudoria and Bill Loader’s Wathara, a Dublin Bay 24. A fleet of 11 sailed in Division 1 (Classic, non-spinnaker), including other former ocean racing yachts as Fidelis, Vittoria, Mr Christian and Southerly.
Wraith of Odin was built in 1949-50 in the Forster-Tuncurry area of Northern New South Wales by highly regarded master builder Alf Johansson for Dr Brian O’Brien from Sydney, to a design by the famous US yacht designer John Alden of Boston.
Brien and Dagmar O’Brien had sailed their earlier yacht, Conella, in the second Sydney Hobart Race in 1946 but were forced to retire from the race. However, it gave Mrs O’Brien the honour of being one of the first two women to sail in the now famous race, the other being Jane (Jenny) Tate from Hobart who sailed with her husband Horrie on Active.
Dagmar O’Brien sailed several more races with her husband on Wraith of Odin, even taking their three year old son Raud on the Sydney Hobart.
Almost 50 years later, as only the second owner, Keith Glover bought Wraith of Odin from Dagmar O’Brien’s and has lovingly restored the classic ketch, the work being done by Ken and Colin Beashel in Elvina Bay.
Since owning Wraith of Odin, Glover has sailed her across the Tasman to contest the 2010 famous Oceanridge Auckland Anniversary Regatta Race, New Zealand’s oldest nautical event.
The Australian yacht won the Division 1 trophy by just one second from the classic racing yacht Rainbow, owned and sailed by Brad Butterworth, the Kiwi America’s Cup sailor. Wraith of Odin went to win the series, believed to be the first Australian yacht to achieve this.
A fleet of almost 80 keelboats contested the 179th Australia Day Regatta, Australia’s oldest nautical event on what could only be described as a ‘gloomy’ day with heavy cloud, rain showers and only light to moderate winds on Sydney Harbour.
The Division 2 (Classic non-spinnaker) race went to Reverie, John Barclay and Nigel Berlyn's gaff cutter, from the Ranger class boat Cherub (P Scott and M Pearse), third place on corrected time going to Anonyma II (Tony Curtis) which took fastest time.
In the fleet was Kelpie, the 122-year-old classic cutter skippered by Merrin Maple-Brown, which placed ninth on corrected time. Kelpie is thought to be the oldest Australian-built yacht still racing actively in the nation.
Brindabella, arguably still the best remembered as line honours winner of a Sydney Hobart, got the gun in Division 3 (spinnaker) but placed last on corrected time. Two women helmed the first two boats on corrected time with the 8-metre class Defiance, skippered by Nicole Shrimpton winning from Wine-Dark Sea, steered by Sarah Godard-Jones. Third place went to Charles Curran’s Sydney.
Division 4 (spinnaker) went to Yknot (Stephen Brady) from Hick-Up (Bill Ure) and James (Ray Entwistle) while Division 5 (spinnaker) saw the Yngling Black Adder, skippered by Gary Pearse, score an outright win, taking corrected time by just 16 seconds from Yertle (Jan Newland), third place going to Hornblower (Steve Sweeney).
Division 6 (non-spinnaker) went to Commercial Point Finance, a Sydney 38 skippered by Larki Missiris, second place to Bruce Dickson’s Norske and third to Chris Sligar’s Very Tasty.
Division 7 (non-spinnaker) saw a win for Mid Wicket (David Kinsey) from Magic (Chris Manion), third going to John Conroy’s Star Ferry, while in Division 8 (non-spinnaker) Primary Wave, skippered by Stephen McGrath, won a closely fought race for line and handicap honours from Tempus Fugt (Ian Forbes). Third place went to Kotero (Bob Walker).
The short ocean race segment of the 179th Australia Day Regatta for the City of Sydney Sesquicentenary Trophy (handicap) and the Geoff Lee Trophy (line honours) was also the first post-Christmas race in the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s two summer series, the Ocean Pointscore and the Grant Thornton Short Ocean Pointscore).
Sailing in a freshening southerly breeze, Michael Cranitch’s Triton took line honours, but Tony Kirby’s state-of-the-art Ker 46 Patrice had a double handicap victory in the Ocean Pointscore, winning the IRC Division from About Time (Julian Farren-Price) and Triton, and taking the ORCi Division from About Time and Paul Clitheroe’s Balance.
Under PHS scoring the race went to Nev and Jo Blair’s Beneteau 47.7, Sports Bar, from Patrice and Chancellor (Edward Tooher).
In the Grant Thornton Short Ocean Pointscore fleet, Crusader (Jonathan Green) won the PHS Division 1 from Minerva (Tim Cox) and Stormaway (J Stening/C Gunn) third place going to Justadash (Philip Dash) which also took IRC honours, winning from Michael Cranitch’s Triton and Stormaway.
In PHS Division 2 Crosshaven (Justin Pelly and Sean Rahilly) won from Amante (Dennis Cooper) and Soundtrack (John Amos).
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