Combined Club Summer Pennant Race: Young Lion roars on river in Tasmania
by Peter Campbell 30 Mar 2019 03:48 PDT
Young Lion, Steve Chau's Young 88 had an almost unbeaten season under IRC - Combined Club Summer Pennant Race 2019 © Peter Campbell
Derwent Sailing Squadron Commodore Steve Chau today sailed his Young 88 Young Lion to victory in the final race of Division 3 IRC of the Combined Clubs Summer Pennant, scoring an outstanding eighth win out of nine races over the season.
Young Lion also won the Division 3 AMS pennant, finishing second in the final race, but with five wins over the season.
The evergreen Young 88 designs in Division 3 dominated results over the summer with Stewart Geeves' Footloose taking out the PHS pennant
Young Lion joined the veteran Division 1 yacht Doctor Who, Roger Jackman's Davidson 52, skippered by son Rod, and Division 2's Wings Three (Peter Haros) in winning two handicap pennant for the 2018-19 summer season which attracted 53 entries, including a record 28 yachts with IRC ratings.
"We were looking over a shoulder all the time for Don Calvert in Intrigue," commented Doctor Who tactician Phil Jackman, with the Davidson 62 enjoying the fresh westerly breeze to finish fourth in fleet, Intrigue eighth.
As a tribute to owner Roger Jackman, the crew pulled up off his Sandy Bay waterside home to hoist the mainsail. It proved a good luck move.
On corrected times in the final race, just 31 seconds separated the two contenders for IRC honours, with Intrigue placing second and Doctor Who third in the Division 1 IRC category race yesterday, won by Crusader (Scott Sharp).
It wasn't enough and Doctor Who won both the IRC and PHS handicap categories from Intrigue and Heatwave (Matthew Keal).
However, Intrigue's second to Jeff Cordell's Mumm 36, B&G Advantage in the AMS category, was sufficient to give the Castro 40 that summer pennant from B&G Advantage and Heatwave.
In Division 2, Peter Haros' Wings Three, a Northshore 38, clinched both the AMS and IRC pennants with a last race win, with the PHS pennant going to another Northshore 38, Ian Stewart's Southern Swordfish.
In Division 4, just half a point separated Astrolabe (Peter Bosworth) and Camlet Way (Stephen Mannering) for the summer pennant after Camlet Way won the final race with Astrolabe eighth on handicap.