Wife outsails husband in historic Australia Day Regatta win

by Peter Campbell on 26 Jan 2009
In what must be a unique result in the 173 year history of the Australia Day Regatta on Sydney Harbour, yachtswoman Beverley Bevis today outsailed her husband Fred to win the Classic Yachts division of the historic regatta.

Beverley Bevis skippeed Tio Hia, her 26-foot gaff-rigged Port Phillip net boat built in 1938 and restored after being found as a derelict hull on Melbourne’s Marybynong River.

Fred Bevis helmed Warana, his classic 31-foot Burmudan rigged sloop built in 1930 of New Zealand kauri.

Both are members of Sydney Amateur Sailing Club, with Fred a past commodore and current honorary treasurer of the 173rd Australia Day Regatta management committee.

'It’s going to be a real domestic match on the water,' Fred said before today’s 173rd Australia Day Regatta. And so it seemed, with Warana finishing 10th across the line with Tio Hia just two places and just under three minutes astern.

On corrected time, however, Beverley Bevis beat husband Fred by 2 minutes 18 second, with third place going to Antara, skippered by wellknown ABC radio ‘spin doctor’ commentator Ian Kortlang.

The Classic Yachts attracted the second largest fleet of the 173rd Australia Day Regatta which saw 108 keelboats, plus historical and modern 18-footers, race in a 10-12 knot southerly breeze on a overcast but hot and humid day.
A further 35 yachts competed in the Australia Day Regatta short ocean race from Sydney Harbour to Botany Bay and return, replicating the course taken by the First Fleet when it moved from its original landfall north to the more suitable Port Jackson.

Enjoying historic status with the Classic Yachts division was the Gaffers division for ‘yachts that hoist a spar’, with first place going to Onenone, skippered by wellknown yacht broker Brendan Hunt.. Runner-up was Ranger, skippered by 83-year-old Bill Gale, one of two octogenarians racing on Australia Day, third going to John Crawford’s Vanity.

The other 83-year-old racing today, Gordon Ingate in his Inernational Dragon class yacht Whim, finished out of a place in Division 2, won by Hick-Up (Bill Ure).

Other winners in the 173rd Australia Day Regatta on the Harbour today were Nocturne (Gerard Kesby) in Division 1, Hornblower (Peter Campbell/Steve Sweeney) in Division 3, The Tavern (Ian, Shane & Jean Guanaria) in Division 1 Non-spinnaker, Slips (David Kinsey – Sailability) in Division 2 Non-spinnaker and Control Plus (Daniel Marlay) in the International Yngling class.

Provisional winner of the City of Sydney Sesquicentenial Cup for the overall PHS winner of the race to Botany Bay and return is St Hilliers Quest, skippered by Tim Casey, with a corrected time in PHS Division 1 of the CYCA’s Short Ocean Pointscore of 5 hours 16 minutes 50 seconds.

The next best time came from PHS Division 3 winner Stormy Petrel (Kevin O’Shea) with a corrected time of 5 hours 18 minutes 19 seconds.
Under IRC handicaps, Division 1 went to Leslie Green’s Ginger and Division 3 to Brilliant (Howard & Susan Piggott).

The CYCA Ocean Pointscore race was held in conjunction with the Botany Bay race, with the PHS division doing to Imagination (Annette & Robin Hawthorn) while IRC honours went to Andrew Short’s 90-footer Andrew Short Marine Shockwave 5.

ASM Shockwave 5 took line honours in the Botany Bay race to also win the Geoff Lee Trophy for fastest time in this Australia Day Race.