Magic day on Sydney Harbour Australia Day Regatta

by Peter Campbell on 28 Jan 2008 There is no other description. It was a magic day on Sydney Harbour as thousands of Australians celebrated their National Day afloat, including more than 800 sailors crewing some 120 yachts and skiffs that contested the 172nd Australia Day Regatta.

The warm and sunny day drew an estimated 2500 leisure craft, powerboats of all kinds,ferries, fire tugs, square-rigged tall ships, racing yachts and skiffs, even a P&O liner, on to the magnificent harbour that 220 years ago saw the First Fleet sail into Farm Cove.

The Regatta yacht fleet was the largest in recent years and, particularly pleasing to the Australia Day Regatta Management Committee, was the number of boats that had not raced before in this historic regatta.

The festivities afloat began in the morning with the spectacular Ferrython, followed by the Parade of Sail. Then a total of 96 boats set sail in the 172nd Australia Day Regatta from near the Regatta flagship, HMAS Kanimbla.

A light east-nor’easter gave the fleet a testing beat to windward down the western shore of the harbour followed by a reach down the eastern shore into Rose Bay, finally a run under spinnakers, or poled-out headsails in the non-spinnaker division, past Shark Island to the finish, again near the Flagship.

Over the harbour, an RAAF FA-118 fighter jet made spectacular and low level passes and vertical climbs, followed by a dramatic aerobatic display by the RAAF Roulettes.

Aboard Kanimbla, Regatta President Sir James Hardy entertained the Regatta sponsors, Commonwealth Bank Private, Defence Force chiefs, civic leaders and yacht club commodores to lunch.

Biggest fleet of the 172nd Australia Day Regatta was the Classic Yacht Division with 18 starters and, as such, the winner also receives the H C Dangar Memorial Sponsor’s Trophy as well as the Centenary of Federation Medal, first won back in 1901.

The winner of the Classic Yacht Division was John Barclay & retired Read Admiral Nigel Berlyn’s gaff-rigger Reverie, with John at the helm.

Designed by English naval architect Maurice Griffiths, Reverie started life as a bilge keeler designed for the shoal waters of England’s east coast and with a Bermudan rig.

The current owners gave her a single keel and a gaff rig, the result being a comfortable cruising boat that goes exceptionally well close reaching and downwind – as was proved today.

Runner-up on handicap to Reverie was Gumleaf (Orion Alderton), 3rd place going to Philip Kinsella’s ‘couta boat Sylvia, 4th place to that veteran of Sydney Harbour, Bill Gale in Ranger.

Another veteran winner today was Gordon Ingate, the rising 82-year-old Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron member who recently won the prestigious Prince Philip Cup for International Dragon class yachts in Hobart. He is believed to be the oldest yachtsman ever to win an Australian national sailing championship.

Today he was at the helm of the International 5.5 metre class yacht Paladin in scoring a handicap win from Pam (Peter McDonald) and Baragoola (David de Coster). Pam took fastest time.

The 1966 Sydney Hobart Race line honours winner Fidelis outsailed the fleet in Non-Spinnaker Division 1 to take the line and handicap double.

Adding further nostalgia to the Regatta were the eight Historical Skiffs, replicas of the some of the spectacular 18-footers that raced on Sydney Harbour in the 1920s and 1930s.

Identified by the same emblems on their mainsails and crew rugby shirts as the original skiffs, they turned on a close race, with honours going to Mistake, helmed by colourful Irish international yachtsman and America’s Cup helmsman Harold Cudmore, a devotee of the historical skiffs.

It took the little Beneteau 31.7 Velocity 6 hours and 10 minutes to sail the 172nd Australia Day Regatta short ocean race from Sydney south to Botany Bay and return – but it was well worth the effort!

Velocity, owned by Cruising Yacht Club of Australia members Brian and Sandra Carrick, is the provisional winner of the prestigious City of Sydney Sesquicentenary Trophy, the major trophy for the traditional Australia Day ocean race.

The Geoff Lee Line Honours Trophy went to Andrew Short’s maxi Toyota Aurion V6, the former Brindabella, which sailed the course in 3 hours 45 minutes and 52 seconds, beating Dick Cawse’s Vanguard home by just under 10 minutes.

Conducted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia as part of the 172nd Australia Day Regatta, the race was also the first Short Ocean Point Score and Ocean Point Score races of 2008, attracting 58 starters of which more than 40 were entered for the 172nd Australia Day Regatta.

Winner of the City of Sydney Cup is the boat with the lowest PHS corrected time in both the SOPS and OPS fleets, provided that it has also been specifically entered for the 172nd Australia Day Regatta.