Please select your home edition
Edition
V-DRY-X

Combined Clubs Summer Pennant Race: Wild day for River Derwent sailing

by Peter Campbell 27 Oct 2018 04:00 PDT 27 October 2018
Zephyr sailed an excellent race in heavy weather conditions such as she did in the Channel Race © Peter Watson

A near galeforce sou'-wester came roaring up the River Derwent at more than 30 knots this afternoon, playing havoc with the Combined Clubs Summer Pennant race, with a man overboard (MOB) situation, a dismasting and other gear damage that forced five yachts to retire.

It was a bleak day for yacht racing, with the SW consistently over 30 knots whipping the river into a mass of white caps, rain showers cut visibility, and the temperature hovering between 10 and 11 degrees (it felt like 4.5).

The skippers of two of the veteran yachts of the Hobart fleet, Doctor Who (Rod Jackman) and Intrigue (Don Calvert) were among the few to carry small spinnakers back to the finish, and they came out winners on corrected time.

A crew member of Madness fell overboard as the Mumm 36 was surfing back up the river under spinnaker to the finish, but prompt action by skipper Gavin Adamson and other crew saw him quickly retrieved without any harm.

As Madness motored back to the Royal Yacht Club of the Tasmania the sodden crewman was checked out by a fellow crew member, a nurse, and quickly recovered back ashore.

Chris Sheehan's Young 88 Saga was dismasted after the backstay broke on a spinnaker reach between Blackmans Bay and Ralphs Bay, with the crew guiding the disabled boat into a sheltered bay near White Rocks to recover the rig and sails before motoring back to Bellerive Yacht Club.

Other boats forced to retire were Crusader, Mischief and Groove, all returning to their moorings without assistance.

Wisely, Bellerive Yacht Club race officers decided that in view of the forecast of a strong south-westerly change it would be prudent to keep the fleet within the river, sailing shorter courses than a full day race.

While the front runners sailed the course in just over three hours, it was two-and-a-half hours before the last boat finished.

Divisions 1, 2 and 3 were sent to Blackmans Bay, then across the river to Ralphs Bay and back to Blackmans Bay, a distance of 28 nautical miles. Division 4 was sent on a 19 nautical mile course to Pigeon Holes and Blackmans Bay.

Nevertheless, competitors had "a lot on", to quote Shaun Tiedemann, skipper of Philosopher.

BYC sailing manager Tony Garrett described conditions as "certainly a test of good crew work and sound gear....with skippers reporting consistent 30 knots down the river."

"Although it was a square run to the finish, few of the boats elected to carry spinnakers....Oskana (Mike Pritchard) took line honours under mainsail only, apparently after having some problems with their headsail or halyard," Garrett added.

Crew member Gordon Clark of Division 3 entrant Frontline reported "We copped 40 knots approaching the finish!"

For Doctor Who, race two of the Combined Clubs Summer Pennant was another great result, with the former Sydney Hobart winner taking out both the IRC and PHS categories of Division 1, while Intrigue took first place under AMS scoring.

In IRC, Doctor Who won by just 11 seconds from Intrigue, third place going to Zephyr (Ian Johnston). In PHS, Zephyr placed second, Intrigue third.

Zephyr, a Farr 41mx, sailed an outstanding race, also placing second to Intrigue in Division 1 AMS, with Philosopher (Shaun Tiedemann) third.

In Division 2, Justin Barr's Rumbeat won both IRC and PHS, winning IRC from Wings Three (Peter Haros) and Frontline (Ian Snape).

Ian Stewart's Northshore 38 Southern Star took out the AMS category from Wings Three and Frontline.

In Division 3, there was a great duel between Young 88s, at least until Saga was dismasted. On corrected time Steve Chau's Young Lion won on IRC, but Young One (N Mills/J Nibbs) won both AMS and PHS.

Young Lion won IRC from Moonshadow (Anthony Ellis) and Footloose (Stewart Geeves). Young One won AMS from Young Lion and Moonshadow and in PHS again won from Young Lion, third place going to Trouble (Mark Millhouse).

Division 4 was decided on PHS handicaps with Camlet Way (Stephen Mannering) winning from Innovator (Smith & Aberley) and Wayatih (Allan Morgan).

Related Articles

Admiral's Cup Tom Hicks Thursday Photo Gallery
He is always ready to capture Solent action Tom Hicks is always ready to capture Solent action, and the Admiral's Cup naturally delivered. These shots are from Thursday 24th July 2025. Posted today at 9:27 am
WASZP Games 2025 Day 4 Photo Gallery
A snapshot of the day by Mark Jardine It was a case of grabbing the wind and sunshine while it lasted on Day 4 of the 2025 WASZP Games, and each of the fleets got a bit of racing in before the rain started to fall and the breeze died away. Posted today at 6:35 am
Admiral's Cup Inshore Racing Day 3
Youth, grit and glory define inshore battle The final day of inshore racing at the 2025 Admiral's Cup delivered high drama, high stakes and no shortage of action, especially at race starts. Three intense races pushed crews to the limit and completed the six-race inshore series. Posted today at 4:58 am
WASZP Games 2025 Day 4
The Weymouth weather continued to keep the fleet guessing The Weymouth weather continued to keep the fleet guessing, with the northerly breeze hanging in the early forecast before giving way to a westerly build. Posted today at 4:38 am
Admiral's Cup Paul Wyeth Thursday Photo Gallery
The battle points ahead of the Fastnet race intense The six-race inshore series has now been completed with an unstable northerly, swinging to the west later. The starts were particularly intense as the teams battled for points ahead of the Fastnet, and Paul Wyeth was on hand to capture the action. Posted today at 4:18 am
Catalyst 45: Project Render delivery voyage
Catalyst 45 proved its versatility, and seaworthiness completing a 1,100nm Pacific Ocean voyage. While better known as an America's Cup tender, the Catalyst 45 proved the versatility, and seaworthiness of the design completing a 1,290nm Pacific Ocean delivery voyage to Fiji. Here's the story... Posted on 24 Jul
O'pen Skiff World Championship in Japan
Team USA delivers a solid performance Five US sailors traveled to Nishinomiya, Japan for six days of challenging conditions, hot temperatures, and world class sailing. USA sailor Lucas Doran was in third place in the U17 fleet before the final day of racing. Posted on 24 Jul
Admirals Cup: Day 4 - All hanging on the Fastnet.
The end of the beginning of the 2025 Admirals' Cup. Rán runs aground - claims redress. Today marked the End of the Beginning of the 2025 Admirals' Cup with the conclusion of Inshore racing on what is known as the "Central Solent". The Baltic teams' TP52 Rán hit a sandbank and has claimed redress. Posted on 24 Jul
Less than 48 hours to Rolex Fastnet Race
Battle lines are being drawn up Battle lines are being drawn up for the RORC's centenary Rolex Fastnet Race. As the final day of Admiral's Cup inshore racing took place in the Solent, so several yachts due to take part in Saturday's main event were out training. Posted on 24 Jul
Transpac 2025: Seconds apart after 2,280 miles
For decades, the Transpacific Yacht Club has sought to make racing as fair as possible for all boats The Offshore Racing Rule's (ORR) Forecast Time Correction Factor (F-TCF) rating system, used in this year's Transpac race from Los Angeles to Honolulu, resulted in exceptionally close results. Posted on 24 Jul
Rooster 2025Maritimo M50Barton Marine Pipe Glands