SOPS victory to AFR Midnight Rambler

by Peter Campbell on 11 Mar 2007 Prominent ocean racing yachtsman and 1998 Sydney Hobart Race winner Ed Psaltis yesterday won his CYCA Short Ocean Pointscore and next weekend is looking confidently towards taking out ‘the big one’, the Blue Water Pointscore.

Skippering the modified Farr 40 One Design AFR Midnight Rambler he owns in partnership with Bob Thomas, Psaltis clinched the SOPS IRC Division 1 with a final race victory off Sydney Heads.

The IRC Division 3 season pointscore went to John Maclurcan’s Illingworth & Primrose-designed Morag Bheag, also with a last race win.

Both AFR Midnight Rambler and Morag Bheag also won their PHS divisions of the SOPS, although all results are provisional until officially confirmed by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia tomorrow.

Sailed in conditions that began with a light eight knot sou’ wester and freshened to a 15 knot sou’easter, AFR Midnight Rambler won yesterday’s IRC Division 1 from Howard De Torres’ IMX 40 Nips N Tux, third place going to Julian Farren-Price’s Cookson 12 About Time.

'We got out in front and were able to pick the shifts correctly to lead the fleet home with a margin big enough to win on corrected time,' Ed Psaltis said back at the CYCA as he and his crew celebrated their Short Ocean Pointscore win.

'Back in 1991, I won Division 2 of the SOPS but this is my first IRC Division 1 victory,' add Psaltis who, in 1998 skippered his previous boat to an overall win in the storm-ravaged 1998 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race.

'Now it’s the big one next weekend – the Blue Water Pointscore – a series I have yet to win,' he added.

Going into the final Blue Water Pointscore race, the Audi Sydney Southport Race starting next Saturday, 24 March, AFR Midnight Rambler is on 11 points, two points behind English yachtsman Chris Bull in his J145 Jazz on 13 points, after one discard. In third place overall is Howard de Torres’ Nips IMX 40 Nips N Tux on 17 points.

The provisional final SOPS IRC Division 1 pointscore saw AFR Midnight Rambler finish with an outstanding season scorecard of 3-2-1.63-1-2-3-1-1-1 for a final 9.63 points after two discards. Second overall went to About Time on12 points and Stickybeak, Robert Sheldon’s Farr 40 OD on 20 points.

Morag Bheag won yesterday’s IRC Division 3 race from Howard Piggott’s Beneteau 34.7 Brilliant, third going to Stormy Petrel (Kevin O’Shea). They finished in the same order overall with Morag Bheag’s season results being 1-1-3-1-1-3-2-2-1 for 9 points after two discards, Brilliant finishing on 12 points, Stormy Petrel on 20 points.

Nips N Tux won yesterday’s final Division 1 SOPS race under PHS handicaps from Cyrene (Michael Selby & Elene Wise), third place going to the Sydney 36CR Amante (Dennis Cooper). Division 3 went to Cool (Philip Odouard) from Big Blue (Bob Penty) and Morag Bheag.

Provisionally, PHS Division 1 overall went to AFR Midnight Rambler on 22.9 points, despite placing 10th on corrected time in the final race.

Nips N Tux’s win yesterday clinched second place overall on 27 points, Amante’s third place yesterday lifting her to third overall on 31 points, just one point ahead of Black Adder (Stephen Thomas) with one more point to Stickybeak (Robert Sheldon).

Morag Bheag comfortably won PHS Division 3 pointscore overall with 19 points from Big Blue on 24 points and Brilliant with 27 points, followed by Cool which won the last three races over the series.