Yachting Victoria Club Marine Series - Day 7

Yachting Victoria Club Marine Series - Day 7 © Alex McKinnon Photography

Yachting Victoria Club Marine Series - Day 7 © Alex McKinnon Photography

The last race of the 2015/16 Club Marine Range and Blue Series was hosted by Hobsons Bay Yacht Club, and like the first and last day of semester at Uni, everyone showed up for class with 134 boats occupying the waters of Port Phillip Bay. Despite the little wind this race was well represented. Everyone knows 'you've got to be in it to win it' and for some boats it came down to this last race day to determine the winners.

Racing today began slowly for Div 0 and 1 with a postponed start due to low winds. After settling further from shore Div 0 and 1 were able to get a clear start and could complete the last race of the season. Light winds meant there was little space for error so it was evident there needed to be a strong strategy in place. Boats that were unable maintain their game plan were further pushed back. 'Terra Firma' seemed to make all the right decisions today as they were first over the line by a solid ten minutes. Following them was 'Primitive Cool', 'Simply Fun' then 'Veloce'. This solid result for 'Terra Firma' boosted them a small amount up the ladder but had more of an effect on 'Veloce' and 'Simply Fun' who consistently scored well over the whole season.

Division 1 saw a highly competitive fleet battle it out on the slow moving battlefield. Irregular attendees, 'Double Black', dominated the light winds winning first over the line by a solid minute with the other Farr 40, 'Nutcracker II', directly behind. 'Joust' had the most consistent scores for this season's Div 1 with each race averaging a 5th place or better in PHS. 'Joust' wont the PHS division, received a 2nd overall in the AMS division and took 3rd place in the IRC division. 'IKON' took first place in both IRC and AMS.

For Div 2 and 3 despite there being the same wind, with maybe slightly more up the top of the bay, racing began on time. The decision to do so had all sailors really focus on their boat positioning and tuning. Midway up the first beat there was a massive wind shift needing race management to adjust the course. Those that picked up on this early positioned themselves strongly and made gains on the first downwind, others had the opportunity later to make up what they had lost when the breeze picked up slightly. For Division 2 the winner of IRC was inevitable as Max Peter's 'Top Gun' earned his IRC win by the previous race. They did however have the chance to move up the ladder in AMS but instead used today's race as their drop for the season with a mid-fleet result. For Max, this is his third year winning IRC and he's very pleased with his team's performance:

'Our team has worked hard all season long so it's great to secure another hard earned win. I don't think we had the right rig set up today so we slipped back a lot. Nonetheless, we achieved what we wanted in IRC and came pretty close in AMS. We're looking forward to taking the winter season off and returning again for 2016/17.'

Division 3 had a couple boats emerge from mid fleet to score some impressive results. Michael Pointon's 'Vitesse' scored a win in PHS with Stephen Thompson's 'Espresso' close behind in 2nd. Overall 'Mood Indigo' took the win in PHS, 'Johnny be Goode' took out AMS and Intrusion won in IRC. The S80s and YW Diamonds used the series to also determine the results to determine their Class Champions:

S80 (Handicap) - Mood Indigo - Keith Chatto
S80 (Scratch/Peter Markhams Trophy) - Intrusion -Luke Reinehr
YW Diamonds - Rough Cut - Rae Duncan

The Blue Division saw only 3 boats complete the race with the majority of the division retiring. The three that stuck it out were 'Xenia', 'True Colours' and 'Martini Racing' who also won 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively coming to a near 3 hour race. Overall, Geoff Adam's 'True Colours' won the Blue Division Series using today's score to seal the deal.

The 2016 Club Marine Range and Blue Series has been an amazing effort from the five host clubs HBYC, RMYS, RBYC, RVYC and SYC including their staff and volunteers. Having this regular Summer Series brings over 130 boats racing on Port Phillip Bay – a great spectacle especially for the public. It also brings near 800 sailors together which ultimately promotes sailing as the social and engaging sport it is.

A huge thank you goes out to the Race Officers for the season: Rowan Simpson, Peter Taylor, Glen Taylor and David LeRoy along with the many volunteers who assisted them. You may have also noticed the great pictures taken over the course of the season by Alex McKinnon- a huge thank you goes out to her. Please visit her website if you wish to purchase any of these pictures for yourself. Finally, we wish to thank our sponsor Club Marine Insurance for supporting this event and making it possible for everyone to enjoy.

We hope you enjoyed the season and hope to see you back next year for the 2016/17 Club Marine Range and Blue Series.

Full results at www.clubmarineseries.com.au