A wet day for Newcastle to Port Stephens Fleet

by Jody Ellem on 20 Apr 2008 A 14 strong fleet of boats has finished the Newcastle to Port Stephens Yacht Race in Nelson Bay today with four hours between the first and last finisher.

The race, hosted by Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club (NCYC), began in Newcastle Harbour at 9am, with the first boat crossing the finish line out the front of d’Albora Marina just before 2pm.

In group A - Funnel Web, a distinctively yellow Hicks 50 from NCYC took line honours under a big yellow spinnaker, followed by Typhoon, a Farr 39.5, also from NCYC and crewed by a collection of sailors from Newcastle and Lake Macquarie.

Representing the local Port Stephens club , the Mumm 30 'Rumbo' was 3rd, followed by Bushranger, from Sydney’s northern beaches.

The Benetau 40.7, launched in 2004, is on her first 'away game' having been raced solely in twilight sailing at Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club at Pittwater and in Benetau regattas up until her entry in the inaugural Sail Port Stephens event.

Premier Cru, an Archambault 40, owned by well known Newcastle businessman, Keith Stronach was next in, followed by Anger Management.

In B Division, line honours went to Long Time Dead, 2nd place to Closing Time, 3rd Full Frontal, 4th One for the Road, 5th Kahoona , 6th Moet , 7th Saga and 8th spot to Tamarillo.
The winners on handicap are as follows;

IRC Division
1. Bushranger
2. Rumbo
3.Typhoon
4. AngerManagement
5. Premier Cru
6. Long time dead
7. One for the Road

PHS Group A
1. Funnel Web
2. Bushranger
3. Rumbo
4. Typhoon
5. Premier Cru
6. Anger Management

PHS Group B
1. Saga
2. Long Time Dead
3. Closing time
4. Full Frontal
5. One for the road
6. Kahoona
7. Moet
8. Tamarillo

The weather provided a bit of everything in the 25 mile feeder race for boats competing in Sail Port Stephens, with everything ranging from bobbing along doing 1 or 2 knots to wind gusts of up to 15 knots at times for some boats, tempered with torrential downpours of rain and the occasional burst of sunshine and blue sky.

Racing for the Commodores Cup begins tomorrow as Sail Port Stephens officially kicks off, with the racing early to mid week placing a big emphasis on fun – as the social calendar reflects with plenty of off water activity, starting with sunset cocktails on Monday night, twilight canapés on Tuesday and and concluding with the Cup presentation early Wednesday evening.

A rest day on Thursday gets everyone fresh again for racing to start on Friday with the NSW IRC Offshore State Titles, and PHS Racing inside the Bay across the Anzac Day Long Weekend. A number of well known IRC boats will be racing for the title of State Champion, including Limit and Patrice Six, both from the CYCA in Sydney. The sailing and more social fun continues with a 'Beach Party' at the SLAM Skiff Bar at Shoal Bay on Friday night and a Pirates of the Caribbean Soiree at Nelson Bay Diggers on Saturday night.

For more information go to www.sailportstephens.com.au