Long, long finish to BMW Sydney Winter Series

by Peter Campbell on 9 Jul 2006 The 2006 BMW Sydney Winter Series pointscore sailed slowly - very slowly, in fact - to an end today on the Harbour as fickle winter winds went up and down in strength, here and there and everywhere in direction.

When the time limit ran out at 4.30pm, five-and-a-half hours after the first boats started, more than 40 yachts were still struggling to cross the finish line or had retired.

CYCA race officials shortened courses for only three divisions, hoping to give most yachts a fair race to decide the pointscores, with only a handful of points to decide the overall winners in most divisions. Unfortunately, the winds of winter did not help their decision.

While it was a great day to be afloat, warm and sunny, for the sailors it was frustrating, with the breeze swinging from southwest to west, even northwest, but dying away completely at critical stages, leaving many boats stranded going nowhere.

The closest race to decide the overall winner was in Division F, where the Balmain Sailing Club entrant Umbakumba, the Sonata 8 owned by Dawn Murray and David Stenhouse, just held out backmarker Carnaval, CYCA member Bernie Van't Hof's Santana 30, in a tense finish to get the gun by just 55 seconds.

The two boats, the only finishers in Division F, had gone into the final race equal on points, and in a test of endurance neither finished until after 4pm.

In Division A, Denis O'Neil's Iain Murray-designed harbour racer Atomic came from the back of the fleet to win the final race in Division A and clinch her second successive BMW Winter Series overall victory. Second overall in provisional placings went to Geoff Morgan and Andrew Banks’ Davidson 56 You're Hired, third overall Dick Cawse's Cawse/Lyons 60 Vanguard.

In Division B, a second place for Gordon Anderson’s Beneteau 47.7 Sintara was sufficient to win the pointscore from today's race winner, Nips-N-Tux, Howard de Torres' IMX 40. Play Stations Portable, Dean Harrigan's Beneteau 53S5 placed third today to take third overall.

Game Set, Stephen Roach's Bavaria Match 38 finished sixth today to win Division C by just one point from Sommerbreeze, CYCA Past Commodore Hans Sommer's Northshore 350SL which finished second today. Third place overall was Bear Necessity, Andrew and Pauline's Dally's new C&C 45 which finished third today behind Sommerbreeze and Superfine (George Wauldhausen).

Scarlett O'Hara, Robert Skol's International 30 sq metre sloop went in to today's final BMW Sydney Winter Series pointscore race with a handy lead and a consistent scorecard in Division D. So a 14th place still enabled Scarlett O'Hara to take Division D overall from MRX, Jon Short and Miles Bastick's Farr 34, third overall going to today's winner, Doug Sturrock's Townson 36, Windflyt.

One of the clearest winning margins of the BMW Sydney Winter Series was that of the Mumm 36 Georgia Express (Ian and Jean Guanaria) in Division E.

Georgia Express’s worst placing in 10 races has been a sixth, and a fourth today gave her a winning margin of 11 points from Tojo Never Made It To Darwin, the International 11m One Design owned by Wayne Keavy and Robert Bryden. Third place overall went to the Mumm 30 London Calling (Stuart Bancroft).

CYCA director John Walton, skippering his Beneteau 44.7 Vivacite, won the non-spinnaker Division J today with a fourth place behind Baltic Lady (Neil Burling, Apres Vous (John Griffin) and Stormy Petrel (Kevin O’Shea). Wings Three (Paul Billingham) finished second in the overall pointscore, third going to Chancellor (Ted Tooher).

The closely contested Division K, another non-spinnaker division, saw Phillip Denison's New Zealand-built Cavalier 39 Gusto take out the pointscore by just two points from Hubcap, Herman Heiligers' Beneteau 31, third place overall going to today's winner Privateer, Bill Mirow's Beneteau 34.5.


Sail No Yacht Owner / Skipper Elapsed Time Place
2 Atomic Denis O'Neil 3:03:40 1
60000 Loki Stephen Ainsworth 3:07:35 2
6377 Vanguard Dick Cawse 3:06:40 3

Division B
Sail No Yacht Owner / Skipper Elapsed Time Place
5995 Nips-n-Tux Howard de Torres 2:16:35 1
9990 Sintara Gordon Anderson 2:14:00 2
6363 Play Station Portable Dean Harrigan 2:10:28 3

Division C
Sail No Yacht Owner / Skipper Elapsed Time Place
9900 Superfine George Waldthausen 4:52:07 1
700 Sommerbreeze Hans Sommer 4:42:36 2
6584 Bear Necessity Andrew & Pauline Dally 4:44:52 3

Division D
Sail No Yacht Owner / Skipper Elapsed Time Place
8484 Windflyt Doug Sturrock 2:22:58 1
5164 Pendragon Andrew Cochrane 2:20:35 2
4960 MRX Jon Short & Miles Bastick 2:23:48 3

Division E
Sail No Yacht Owner / Skipper Elapsed Time Place
PH 3000 London Calling Stuart Bancroft 3:39:46 1
1 Vivace Peter Sorensen 3:39:23 2
6552 Sweet Chariot Ray Entwhistle 4:32:32 3

Division F
Sail No Yacht Owner / Skipper Elapsed Time Place
3064 Umbakumba Dawn Murray/David Stenhouse 4:37:46 1
3040 Carnaval Bernie Van't Hof 4:27:41 2
1381 Moonraker David Preston

Division G
Sail No Yacht Owner / Skipper Elapsed Time
6448 Carats'n'Kilos John Santifort 2:50:24 1
57 WalterTurnbull (cas) Matt Owen 3:08:01 2
4557 Excess Michael Cherry 3:14:17 3

Division J
Sail No Yacht Owner / Skipper Elapsed Time Place
6467 Baltic Lady Neil Burling 2:53:38 1
A 70 Apres Vous John Griffin 2:56:14 2
508 Stormy Petrel Kevin O'Shea 2:51:34 3

Division K
Sail No Yacht Owner / Skipper Elapsed Time Place
609 Quetzal Brian Clayton 2:58:20 1
3790 Tickalara David Livermore 3:11:43 2
3976 Gusto Phillip Denison 2:48:52 3

Sydney 38 Division
Sail No Yacht Owner / Skipper Elapsed Time Place
7600 Utopia John Messenger 3:27:13 1
6155 Champagne Henriot Peter Goldsworthy 3:31:12 2
7027 Estate Master Martin & Lisa Hill 3:33:54 3