Hobart Combined Clubs Winter Series - Preview
by Peter Campbell 22 Aug 2020 19:20 NZST
Temptation is representing Australia's southernmost yacht Club, Port Esperance Sailing Club at Dover, in the Winter Series on the River Derwent © Colleen Darcey
Most Tasmanian sailors will agree it can be very cold at times competing in the Combined Clubs Winter Series on Hobart's River Derwent, with the temperature under 10 degrees (feeling like 5 degrees) on most Sunday morning race days so far.
In fact, the forecast for tomorrow (Sunday) is just 5-10 degrees all day and possibly wet.
However, for husband-and-wife crew on Just Jones, Jess Miller and Anne Hellie, sailing on David Wyatt's Farr 1104, Just Jones, it probably feels more like summer.
Jess and Anne are back in Hobart after spending last summer months working in Antarctica, Jess managing fuel supplies, Anne as environmental scientist. Just Jones owner/skipper David Wyatt, also has worked in the Antarctic, as a geologist.
The performances of the Bellerive Yacht Club-based Just Jones so far in the Winter Series has probably lifted the temperatures of her crew of three married couples: Wyatt and his wife, Cynthia Dodd, Jess Miller and Anne Hellie, and Andrew and Mandy Olding.
Jones Jones heads the leader board in Division 3 with placings of 2-3-6 on corrected time so far, but the competition in the Division fleet of 18 boats is close going into Sunday's race four of the scheduled six-race series.
Just Jones has 11 points on the board, Steve Chau's Young 88, Young Lion has 13 points, Phil Reid's SB20, Mind Games is on 14 points, Chris Sheehan's Saga, also a Young 88 is on 15 points. Trouble, Dave WIllans' Masram 30, Trouble is a close fifth on 17 points.
Halfway through the Winter Series, Oskana (from Michael Pritchard) leads Division 1 by one point from Whistler (Drew Latham), in Division 2, Zephyr (Ian Johnston) is four points clear of The Dog House (Ambrose Coad) while in Division 4 Another Toy (Michael Kennedy) is just two points ahead of Motley (Stephan Lubach).
Bellerive Yacht Club is conducting this Sunday's Combined Clubs Winter Series race, with mid-river starts and finishes, starting from 9.40am.