Shogun in a race with the clock to get to Sail Port Stephens

by Jody O'brien on 6 Apr 2010 Since dropping their mast just over five weeks ago, the Shogun team have been working overtime to get a new rig and be on the start line for the Yachting NSW IRC Championship at Sail Port Stephens, 12-18 April.

A brand new mast has been made by NZ Rigging, and 25 metres of gleaming brand new carbon fibre is on a cargo ship at Port Kembla, south of Sydney, waiting to be unloaded.

NZ Rigging took on the project with very short lead time at very short notice, and were able to produce the goods in record time.

The moment the precious cargo can be lifted from the ship and clears customs, it will be action stations for Owner Rob Hanna, Shogun's Boat Manager Jamie 'Nudge' Bennett and crew, but it initially might be a case of 'hurry up then wait' with some traffic regulations potentially causing the pause button to be switched on.

'With the mast being 25 metres in length, there are restrictions surrounding transiting it through Sydney traffic in daylight hours, so we could be a little time strung by this, but we'll take each hour as it comes' said Hanna.

The assembly will take place at Sydney City Marine, where the mast will be stepped and the rig tuned by representatives from NZ Rigging, ready for Rob and about half of the regular crew to take the TP52 for a test sail on Sydney Harbour.

Once everything is in order, Shogun will venture north to test the waters of the Port Stephens Marine Park over three days of pure windward leeward action.

Hanna is happy with the progress made so far of getting the boat back in the water and he's looking forward to Sail Port Stephens 2010.

'We competed in the event in 2009 in the smaller Shogun and really enjoyed it – good quality racing in a very enjoyable location – it'll be a great hit out for the new rig' he said.

'I spend a bit of time in Port Stephens over the course of a year through business interests, so it's nice to come and enjoy it as a visitor – I think it's a beautiful part of Australia' said Hanna.

'I really like the feel of the regatta and think that it's got great potential to continue to grow and be one of the regattas that everyone will have on their list to do every year' he said.

'The restaurants are good, there are great places to stay and the sailing is good – obviously three important factors that make for an enjoyable regatta' Hanna said.

The Shogun crew come from all over the country, with a guy from Perth, a few from Sydney and the rest from Victoria.

Without too much conflict with club racing calendars, it's a great time of the year for all of them, in an easy spot to get to, by road from Sydney it's around three hours, and there's direct flights from Melbourne to Newcastle every day on Jetstar and Virgin Blue.

For the biggest boat in the IRC fleet, there are six newcomers to the Shogun crew – all of them looking forward to the 3 days of racing in the Port Stephens Marine Park.

'Quite a few of our new guys have never sailed in Port Stephens before – they've sailed past it on a number of offshore races, but never competed there' said Hanna.

Bennett, who is responsible for getting the TP52 from one end of the east coast to the other across the course of the year, also rates the regatta highly.

'We wouldn't miss this regatta for the world' said Bennett.
'We had a fantastic time last year –on and off the water, we really enjoy everything about the event' he said.

Shogun will be one of 83 boats who will be in the running to win a trip for two to Croatia in 2011 with Mariner Boating Holidays – for every race they start, they will score an entry in the draw to with the Croatian experience, valued at $15,000.

The question will be, amongst a crew of 15..., how will that prize be split...?

'Owner's choice' said Hanna with a chuckle.