Planet X and Myfanwy share the honours on Port Esperance

by Peter Campbell on 13 Apr 2009 Consistent sailing allowed Adrian Marsh’s Mottle 33 Myfanwy to take out the Huon Tasmanian Salmon Series at the 2009 Huon Tasmanian Salmon Port Esperance Regatta.

Mick Rowley’s Planet X team won the two final races, the Little Watch Shop Skippers Dinghy Race and the prestigious Driftwood William Jackson Memorial Cup. Planet X also took out the Athol Walter Huon Valley Challenge Trophy for the best performing boat in the three historic Huon regattas, Port Huon, Cygnet and Port Esperance.

Light winds on Sunday again meant the postponement of the Skippers Dinghy Race until 10.00 am, something appreciated by many of the crews who had enjoyed the festivities the night before. Twelve one design Pacer dinghies allowed for close racing with Planet X’s dinghy winning from those of Myfanwy and Pat Hyman’s Insatiable.

After a quick lunch the keel-boats lined up for the start of the 62nd William Jackson Memorial Cup. PRO Jeremy Firth delayed the start for ten minutes until the breeze settled down into a puffy 5-15 knot westerly. Peter Masterton’s Rhumun got the hole shot at the start in front of many significantly bigger yachts.

Sally Rattle’s Archie was first to the windward mark and lead the three laps to take the gun at the finish. An encounter with one of the marks slowed their progress though not as much as David O’Neill’s True Blue which snagged the ground tackle of the windward mark and was held up for some minutes.

Planet X finished shortly after Archie which was enough to take corrected time honours and the trophy by 31 seconds from the A35 with Insatiable third.

The Classic and Cruising Race saw another close battle between boats separated by two centuries.

Noel Doepel’s Aotea built in the late 1800’s crossed the line 20 seconds behind Derek Stoneman’s 21st Century Jeanneau Ariadne’s Clew. Corrected time honours went however to David Golding’s couta boat Pelican from Ariadne’s Clew and Peter Manthorpe’s intriguing catboat Trim.

Myfanwy won the Huon Tasmanian Salmon series from Planet X on a countback from Scott Sharp’s Lease of Life in third.

Alexsandrs Price in the Sabot Priceless blitzed the fleet in the Boat Sales Tasmania yardstick dinghy series at the 2009 Huon Tasmanian Salmon Port Esperance Regatta.

Thirty boats competed in the five race event with Priceless having a score-card of 1,3,1,1,8. Ironically Alexsandrs’ worst performance was in Race 5, the BK Price Trophy named in honour of his great-grandfather.

Two races were sailed on the last day of the regatta. Race 4 began in a light south-westerly which shifted south easterly on lap two making for two reaching legs rather than a windward return. Even so Priceless was able to maintain boatspeed such that faster dinghies such as the Sabres and NS14’s could not get far enough away. Priceless won yardstick corrected time by a minute from Justin Barr’s Tasar Liquid Fix.

Liquid Fix had revenge in the BK Price Trophy race sponsored by Tasmanian Private Realty with Justin Barr defending his 2008 win, that time in an OK dinghy. Matt Westland’s Sabre Alchemy took second from the Sabre of John Genders.

Matt Westland, recent winner of the Tasmanian Sabre titles and top ten finisher in the 2009 Nationals was a comfortable winner of the Elwick Hotel Sabre Series. John Cooper in Runninumuck took second from John Genders in third.