Classic Yacht regatta hits the spot

by Bob Ross on 16 Apr 2012 The Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club’s inaugural Classic Yacht Regatta, for one-design classes more than 30 years old, was a resounding success, agreed competitors and club officers alike.

The regatta grew from the need to save the NSW championship for the Hood 23 class from extinction. For many years, this was the club’s most successful yearly event. It was keenly contested with hot-shots from other classes recruited to crews and so it became known as the 'Intergalactics'.

However in recent years, numbers dwindled to the point where the event was facing extinction, says NSW class president Col Hubbard.

The RPEYC was also anxious to boost the sailing side of its activities. The Dragon and Soling classes, which in the 1960s and 1970s occupied moorings opposite the clubhouse in Felix Bay on Sydney Harbour, have moved off to the hard-standing areas of other clubs.

A few Hood 23s remained but no longer raced as a class in harbour club events. So the club decided to invite other veteran one-design classes, racing as 'orphans' in handicap fleets, to join in a regatta.

Individual classes would get scratch and handicap prizes while racing among similar boats in a championship atmosphere.

The club moved some of the boats in its mooring area around to give visitors use of moorings close to shore.

Ironically, the regatta had the biggest entry in the Hood 23 class, with 11 boats; some of them steered by skippers from other classes. There were four J24s, four Folkboats, three Clansmen and two Compass 28s.

Richard Staines’ well-sailed Esquisse II from the Royal Australian Naval Sailing Association won the NSW Hood 23 championship with the impressive scoreline of 1-1-1-1-2-2 placings for six points from Brotherhood (Tony Craven, RANSA), nine points and Red Riding Hood (Rob Croucher, Cronulla Sailing Club), 15.

Wildfire (Brett Hudson) won the J24s, Alicia (Andrew McPherson) the Folkboats; Moer Lina (Joost Kerdijk) the Compass 28s and Bonnie Lassie (Roger Gray), the Clansmen.

The regatta was sailed in light winds on two consecutive Sundays, March 25 and April 1, with a mix of windward-leeward course and long harbour races. Classes could elect the format they wanted. While the J24, Folkboat and Hood 23 classes chose to sail five windward-leewards and a concluding harbour race, the Clansman class opted for two windward leewards and two harbour races. The Compass 28s just sailed two harbour races.

'Whatever the classes wanted to do, we put in the program,' said RPEYC Vice Commodore Sean Kirkjian. 'The Compasses elected to sail non-spinnaker.'

Kirkjian, who is president of the NSW J24 association and could have sailed, instead led the on-water race management team.

'It’s about growing the club as well as the racing,' he said. 'It was very much a test event this year and we would like to build it from here. This is just the start.

'The feedback I am getting is the spirit of it has been great and we are hoping that will grow.'

As an example of that spirit; there was confusion in the first race when one of the two Compasses set a spinnaker in what was supposed to be a non-spinnaker division.

Kirkjian in a chasing patrol boat pointed out the error and also gained the agreement of the other Compass to have a re-start. 'And they did, which showed the spirit of the event; and it’s good,' he said.

Every boat entered received a commemorative bulkhead plaque and complimentary lanyards and crews packed the back lawn of the Edwards for the presentation barbecue; just as in the old days of the 'Intergalactics'.

Visiting boats came from Manly, Balmain, Middle Harbour and Cronulla while a crew from Metung in Victoria, skippered by Graeme Aldersea, raced a chartered boat.

Rob Croucher’s crew on the Hood 23 Red Riding Hood, from Cronulla Sailing Club, had a marathon sail on the first Sunday of the regatta. An outboard motor failure the day before delayed departure from Port Hacking until 4.30am.

Three and three-quarter hours later they reached Sydney Harbour to finish third in the first race. – Bob Ross for the Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club.