Melbourne to Port Fairy - My Galley Rules

by John Curnow on 1 Apr 2010
The Ocean Racing Club of Victoria's, 135nm Melbourne to Port Fairy race would seem to be a race of strategy and tactics of whether to go inshore along the Surfcoast which holds towns with names like Torquay, Anglesea and Apollo Bay or offshore for any new breeze that may arrive. Tidetech, one of the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria sponsors, have got the Bass Strait tidal information arranged and even done so at a cracking price. At just $19 for two days of information, it has been widely taken up.

So what about the wind, then? ORCV Rear Commodore, Simon Dryden, was '... pleased to see a good, strong 19 boat fleet. They should have a building breeze, which will help kick them a long a bit, after their mild start. The 0400hrs start is designed to have them exiting Port Phillip Heads on a slack water ebb, so the stream heading out will carry them along, as well. A lot of crews are in Queenscliff already, getting a nap in before the racing gets underway.'

Presently, Friday looks to have '... good consistent Southerly breezes of around 10 to 15 knots, with the emphasis on seabreezes around the coast. As Saturday approaches, the situation does get somewhat softer', Simon said.
On current thinking, it should be Extasea that goes after their chance for both a Line Honours and IRC win. They're good sailors, their DK46 rates well, are former Offshore Champions and in the lighter stuff, should be able to get enough of a break on the opposition.

Two local boats from the Port Fairy Yacht Club are attending, Chikara and Running Wild. The former could feature in the performance handicap stakes, whilst the latter was an earlier Extasea and their local knowledge for near that tricky little finish, could see them sneak in for a good result.

It is also good to see that the boat very affectionately referred to as, ‘The Bus' (aka Bacardi), will be out to play. She should know her way there, just like sniffer dogs to contraband at airports.

Another ORCV sponsor, McConaghy, have put one of their sensation carbon fibre wheels up as a prize for the season winner in the performance handicap class. With just the two races to go in the season now, it would seem that the first crew to get two of the McConaghy winner's flags, would be a bit of a monty for the carbon fibre wheel. Pretty Woman may well do that with this Melbourne to Port Fairy race. Sailing onboard Pretty Woman, is Royal Brighton Yacht Club Commodore, John Spencer. He's very excited and said, 'Why wouldn't I be. I'm going ocean racing. Yes, we're in with a chance to get that wheel and this race is certainly going to be interesting with currents and whether the inshore or offshore idea works best.' He was also very non-committal on where they'd be dining in Port Fairy, merely indicating that they'd '... found a gem of a place last year and booked it, so they would be the only ones there.'

The weather does not seem to offer enough for Chikara Outlaw, presently, but you certainly wouldn't want to rule them out. They have made it clear that they would like the McConaghy wheel, after they one their first flag in the previous event, the Melbourne to King Island race on March 6.

Another vessel that holds one McConaghy flag already is Ingenue, who are also known for their unbelievable culinary delights during voyages. In a case of what seems like My Galley Rules, David James is taking Ingenue with a crew of people seeking to gain more experience, while usual two-handed partner, Rosie Collahan, is going to be the mentor for Jo Harpur on Spirit of Freya. This boat has just had a new prop shaft installed in time to go racing and it will be Jo's first race as skipper, since having completed the ORCV's last Latitude Series. This is the course designed to take you from inshore racing to blue water travel.

This battle of the galleys may well end up being the highlight of what would appear to be a fairly soft race and that could well be fascinating.