Flinders Islet Race at Cruising Yacht Club of Australia - Day 1
by Cruising Yacht Club of Australia 21 Sep 2019 14:12 HKT
Thity-two teams jostled for start positioning in the fresh 10-15 knot nor' easter - Flinders Islet Race 2019 © Cruising Yacht Club of Australia
A crisp 10-15 knot nor' easter met the 32 competitors at the start of this year's Flinders Islet Race - the second of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia's Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore Series.
Setting off from Point Piper and strategically tacking up Sydney Harbour, teams pounded around South Head in bumpy conditions before setting spinnakers and making for Flinders Islet some 46 nautical miles south-west.
David Griffith and Rupert Henry's JV62 Chinese Whisper were able to make the most of the tactical start, clearing Sydney Harbour well ahead of closest rival David Gotze's RP63 No Limit. But it was TP52 Zen, owned by Gordon Ketelbey, who really shone at the start, also managing to beat-out the larger No Limit before they made open water.
The five remaining TP52s, Ichi Ban, Gweilo, Koa, Celestial and Quest made up the rest of the front-runners, closely followed by Cookson 50 About Time and Rogers 46 Smuggler.
"it's going to be a great downwind sail to Flinders Islet. Coming back will be a different story though!" said Smuggler crew India Howard.
Howard, a CYCA Youth Sailing Academy sailor, also fresh from winning the John Messenger Women's Math Racing Regatta earlier this month, went on to sum up Smuggler's ambition well:
"We're here to have fun, and we're here to win, we're always here to win!"
A strong fleet of five teams aboard the offshore-experienced Sydney class, as well as eight ocean-racing stalwart Beneteau Firsts, are now hunkering down for their own battles within these competitive classes - while also keeping their eyes firmly locked on the overall win prize.
After rounding Flinders Islet off Wollongong, teams will beat north-east making for the finish line in Sydney Harbour, ever mindful of conventionally-ballasted race record set by competitor Koa in 2017.
Flinders Islet Race teams can be followed live via the yacht tracker on the dedicated Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore Series website. Photo and video will also be shared across the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia's socials including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and you can keep up with the conversation by using and following #AudiCentreSydneyBWPS.