Club Marine Series Round 1 on Port Phillip - Fresh to frightening

by John Curnow on 15 Oct 2011 Beginning on October 15, 2011, the Club Marine Series on Melbourne’s Port Phillip is a chance for all of the yachts from the clubs that surround the Bay to come out and regularly compete against each other.

There are seven rounds to the series, which finishes in March of 2012 and each of the clubs take turns in hosting the event.

There are four divisions to account for the varying sizes and styles of yachts and they race across three categories. These are the Australian Measurement System (AMS), Performance Handicap System (PHS) and International Rule, Club (IRC).

Division Zero are the larger vessels, specifically designed for racing. Division One is for vessels predominantly around 40 feet in length and include both production boats and custom built racing machines. They race on a separate course to the other two divisions.

Division Two are predominantly 30-something feet long and a good majority are quite new production boats from many manufacturers. Division Three are smaller boats, but like all the divisions, they are very competitive and given the number of vessels, they tend to congregate around the marks of the course likes bees surrounding the honeycomb.

Greg Fisher, CEO of Club Marine, had this to say about the 2011/12 Club Marine Series. 'We're truly delighted to be involved once again with this wonderful event on Melbourne's Port Phillip over the Summer season. To see around 120 vessels and the 800 crew who sail them on the Bay is a great sight. Over the seven race days the crews experience many different conditions, so it's good to know that the vast majority are also our valued clients and we wish each and every competitor the best of luck in their respective divisions.'

Typical Port Phillip conditions were forecasted. Clocking winds and building in strength from the Nor’west originally, but heading West and then Sou’west as the day went on, building all the time. For the first race of the day, the Division Zero 12noon event, it seemed like it was all on track as the white caps went from just an appearance to all over the course. All of a sudden, the breeze fell away on the second run back towards the Committee Boat, but you had to be quick, for you could see the very next gust coming straight down the course. This stayed and the course was moved from 260 degrees to 230 degrees. The signs were that it was going to stay and as the Division One boats appeared from the other side of the Bay to come and join in the fun, they were greeted by sun, the building breeze and the increasing chop, which had had half an hour or so now to get a hold of the relatively shallow waters of the Bay and create the famous chop the area is so well known for.

Moving over to the Eastern course for the start of Divisions Two and Three, you relished the downwind journey and then, as if to signal the start in a way the gun could not even muster, the wind kicked in beautifully and scooped spray of the 2m swells it had generated and hurled it at the competitors. Torn sails and a certain amount of disarray followed as boats struggled on and even a few retired immediately as they figured their welcome to the season might end up costing them more than just pride.

The breeze went from 12 to 30 knots for the start and then hit 32 as the maximum with the gusts making 35 and by 5pm it was back to much more tolerable mid teens but some rain arrived with it.

The damage and retirements were evenly spread around the divisions. Toecutter 2 racing in Division Two carried on their great efforts in the Winter Series and had a stellar afternoon and showed a very clean pair of heels to the whole fleet as they screamed around and surfed the little 30-footer under her white spinnaker. They won their AMS mantle by four minutes on corrected time over Penfold Audi Sport with her new carbon fibre mast and Top Gun in third. A great effort on the day also saw Toecutter 2 rewarded with a PHS win ahead of Dark Energy who also pushed their boat hard around the track and Audi Penfold Sport.

Audi Penfold Sport did get top honours in IRC with Top Gun and Salamander III, both of which are Adams 10s, taking the minor places.

Division Three usually has boats like Wavelength, Rhiannon and Intrusion on the scoreboard. This time was no different, but Outlaw and Mystery joined them, too. IRC was Wavelength, Intrusion and Footloose, in that order. AMS went to Outlaw with Wavelength and Rhiannon taking the minor places. Outlaw was rewarded for her efforts on the day with a win in PHS, with Sea Eagle and Mystery getting second and third, respectively.

In Division One, IRC, The honours went to Ikon, with Bandit and Chutzpah38 behind them. Ikon also took AMS honours with Swordfish Trombone and Chutzpah38 getting second and third, respectively. To make it a clean sweep with the trifecta, Ikon had to take PHS, which they did by over a minute on corrected time. Addiction and Stampede took the minor places.

For Division Zero, who have two races on each day, IRC is tied at the top between Cadibarra 8 and the TP52, Calm. Scarlet Runner is in second place, with XLR8, third. AMS leaders are Rush and Scarlet Runner with Cadibarra 8 in behind them. Rush and Clam hold top place jointly in PHS, with Cadibarra 8 and Scarlet Runner tied for second and then XLR8 in behind them.

The Royal Yacht Club of Victoria in Williamstown hosted Round One of the Club Marine Series. The Principal Race Officer is David Leroy, who commented, 'The ones who were not so quick to reef had more issues than those who did. Most carried spinnakers and mostly it was without issue. For the greater part of the race we had 23 to 26 knots and it was only the bluster that heralded its arrival that caused a little concern. It would have been nice to have kept the conditions of the morning, but there you go. It was good to have the retiring vessels notify us quickly. I suppose the biggest calamity was seeing Scarlet Runner with her new mainsail torn into pieces and the head of it flying away at the top as a signal of her problems.'

Many thanks to John Williams and Michael Hiatt for providing their tenders to the media crew, thus enabling them to get out on the water.

The Club Marine Series can be found at clubmarineseries.com.au