Sail Port Stephens - Margaret Rintoul V wins game of stop start

by Di Pearson on 17 Apr 2010 After a protracted battle with Don Algie’s Storm 2 (Qld) in Race two of the Performance Cruising Division at Sail Port Stephens, Graham Buckeridge’s Margaret Rintoul V (NSW) has come away with a second line honours victory in the shortened Passage Race today and has taken the lead of the series.

Jim Thomas’ Dance With Waves, with three-time Olympian Nicky Bethwaite navigating, won the race from Margaret Rintoul V and is now in second place overall.

The fleet got away in a light easterly under yet another swarm but overcast day on Salamander Bay at Port Stephens – relax mode in breezes as light as a good sponge cake would be the best way to describe the start off the breakwater at D’Albora Marina at 12.30pm.

Once again the course took in some of the spectacular scenery and islands of Port Stephens and competitors struggled with the stop-start nature of the light and shifty race, but you couldn’t complain about scenery or the warmth of the day.

Margaret Rintoul V’s navigator, Julie Hodder, said the two big boats tracked each other around the course switching the lead as they went. Rintoul led Algie’s beautifully appointed Warwick 66 cruiser/racer out of the Bay.

Division one started five minutes before Division two, but it took the smaller yachts a matter of minutes to catch up with Division one and the two were soon mixed in together.

Hodder said of the Division one race: “We only beat Storm by around 30 seconds – we had a gybing duel all the way home. It’s really exciting having Storm here as they makes more of a race having two similar sized boats. They led us around Boondaba Island but we caught them up again.”

Although light easterlies were predicted for the day, Hodder said winds were between 180-200 degrees for the majority of the race then went around to the east again. “We sailed the angles and that’s probably what won us the race. Storm sailed deeper. Our crew work was great today – especially through the many spinnaker gybes we did.”

Troy Dillon took his life in his own hands today, allowing two sailing media types aboard his CMist, but still managed a fifth place.

Ocean Magazine’s Anthony ‘Dancing Queen’ Twibill and Australian Sailing’s Roger ‘Funnyman’ McMillan joined the crew for the light-air race. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but they were a great help – really on the ball despite their late night antics,” owner/skipper Dillon apologised.

Prominent in the early stages of Division two was yesterday’s overall winner, the little Elliott seven, ‘Nervous’, owned by Port Stephens Yacht Club member Matt Bonser. Dwarfed in size by her rivals, this is never-the-less a very well-sailed yacht and has managed to hold her lead of the series with a solid second place today.

The winner of today’s Race two was She’s the One, Michael Kirby’s NSX38, with Craig Tucker’s X332 Exalte third, making it a trifecta for Port Stephens Yacht Club – go the locals!

However, it was a painfully slow exit from the Bay for both divisions, a bit like watching paint dry!

Racing concludes tomorrow with a Passage Race starting off Nelson Bay at 11:10am.

For further information go to: www.sailportstephens.com.au