Top of the Bay Regatta
by Peter Campbell on 14 Mar 2005
Top of the Bay spinnakers Teri Dodds
http://www.teridodds.com
Peter Coleman’s Hick 39, Just a Minor Hickup, did just that on today’s second day of the Top of the Bay Regatta, organised by Royal Brighton Yacht Club on Melbourne’s Port Phillip, but at the expense of the series leaders in the premier IRC Division A fleet.
The 39-footer, designed primarily for short-handed sailing, notched up a third and a first and heats three and four of the Port Phillip Regatta after withdrawing from this weekend’s Bass Strait Race from Melbourne to Grassy on King Island because of radio problems.
After two mediocre results in Saturday’s light winds, Just a Minor a Hickup revelled in the fresh 15-18 knot breezes on the Bay today to record excellent corrected times results in IRC Division A.
However, John Paterson’s Corel 45, Rush, and Steven and Mary Chiodo’s Sydney 47CR, Gomez, still share the IRC Division A pointscore lead on 7 points, well clear of Alan Woodward’s Beneteau 40.7, Reverie, which is on 14 points.
After yesterday’s light weather racing, the fleet today started in a 15-20 knot northerly breeze which suddenly disappeared as a 15-20 knot southerly change moved up the way, reversing the planned courses.
The breeze settled down for the second race of the day, race four of the regatta, with Rush continuing to dominate line honours but unable to hold her time, with Just a Minor Hickup winning from the consistent Gomez.
Other yachts to do well in the freshening breeze were Trivial Pursuit, skippered by Melbourne veteran yachtsman John Mooney, in winning IRC Division B, and Highland Ceilidh (Geoff Pettingill) in taking out PHD Division B.
Going into to tomorrow (Monday’s) final race, around Royal Brighton Yacht Club’s fixed marks, Rush and Gomez are equal first on 7 points in IRC Division A, while Rush leads PHD Division A on 7 points from Under Capricorn (Bedlington/Ward) and Reverie (Alan Woodward) both on 16 points.
In AMS Division A, Reverie has 10 points on the board, with Rush on 11 points, Under Capricorn 14 and Just a Minor Hickup sharing fourth place on 17 points with Peter Blake’s Kontrol.
Whitehorse Bindaroo (David Peile) leads IRC Division B with three winds and a third also heads AMS Division B with three wins and a fifth.
In the PHD Division B, Highland Ceilidh (Geoff Pettingill) has a commanding points lead from Savage (W. Williams) and Galaxy (A. Burns).
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