Final Day of Commodores Cup gets rave reviews from Sail Port Stephens

by Jody O'Brien on 23 Apr 2009
The Commodores Cup concluded late Wednesday at Sail Port Stephens, with a collection of happy faces on all boats, from a 65 foot racer cruiser from Middle Harbour Yacht Club to a local competitor on a 27 foot cruiser racer from Port Stephens Yacht Club.

The flexibility of race area for the regatta allows for Race committee decisions to be made at the start of the day that invariably result in plenty of smiles and positive sailing experiences all round at the end of the day.

With a large swell in vicinity of five metres still running offshore, Principal Race Officer Denis Thompson colluded with local knowledge and designed a special inshore course to adapt to the conditions – with a good long reach, run and work incorporated to take in the spectacular sights and scenery of the Port Stephens Marine Park.

The race started with light breeze against an outgoing tide, which at one stage, saw 18 foot skiff living legend, Anthony 'Jack' Young from SLAM (who are the official clothing partner of Sail Port Stephens) actually facing the wrong way on Patrice Six in a bit of a drifter with fleet bearing down on him..but before things could get too pear shaped, the breeze kicked in and the fleet, including Jack, were off in the direction of Shoal Bay Resort and Spa.

Taking in the eastern end of the Bay, where American troops were hospitalised during the second World War, the 2008 Rolex Sydney to Hobart winner – Quest, complete with a family friendly partners and kids crew on board for the day, was first round the mark, and the TP 52 was never really challenged for line honours beyond this point....
But with smart sailing, a few clever tactics and some cunning moves, the remainder of fleet certainly got plenty of opportunity to make some good tactical gains on the front runners for a spot in the handicap honours.

The 20 strong fleet got some lovely breeze midway through the race, reaching past Peppers Anchorage- going around Middle Island before coming back onto the breeze and working up to a laid mark in Salamander Bay – with quite a few boats choosing to give their spinnakers a bit of fresh air on their run downhill towards All Seasons Salamander Shores.

Predictably, Bob Steele’s Quest had well and truly broken away from the fleet by this stage and crossed the line first – but at the bottom mark, everyone else sheeted on and with a hard work back to the start finish line off d’Albora Marina, Race 3 of the Commodores Cup concluded with Flyblown, a Melges 32 owned by local builder Mick Hinchey, took the handicap prize for the day.

For full results of race 3 go to:
http://topyachtsoftware.com/results/2009/sps/series/com-cup/03RGrp1.htm

Since its inception, Sail Port Stephens has had invaluable resource support from Business Port Stephens, an initiative of Port Stephens Council, and the inaugural group of Foundation Partners in Nelson Bay Diggers, All Seasons Salamander Shores, Peppers Anchorage and Shoal Bay Resort and Spa have, even in tough economic times, all continued to believe in the long term vision for the regatta and what it brings to the region.

International sailing clothing brand, SLAM, continue their support as the Official Clothing supplier, and d’Albora Marina are a great partner with their on-site support and special deals for regatta participants.

Newcomers to the Supporting Partner group for 2009 include Wild Oats Wines as the Official Wine Partner of the Regatta and Tooheys New White Stag – full strength low carb beer, as the Official Beer of the event.
International Paints are also participating in this year’s event, through the International Paints Magic Moment of the Day – a daily award for outstanding achievement and human feats -good or bad during racing.

Check out daily updates at www.sailportstephens.com.au