Hobart Combined Clubs Summer Pennant Series - Race 5 Preview
by Jane Austin 3 Dec 2020 21:47 PST
5 December 2020
Intrigue on the run to the finish line on the River Derwent © Jane Austin
The competition is heating up in the Combined Clubs Summer Pennant Sailing Series with the leaders starting to settle in across the four Divisions.
Midnight Rambler (Ed Psaltis) leads Division 1 on IRC on 6 points and AMS on 5 points with Intrigue (Don Calvert) in second place on both handicap categories, with 14 and 9 points respectively. Intrigue is leading on performance handicap on 19 points, 3 points ahead of Fork in the Road (Gary Smith).
Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania Vice Commodore and long-term member of the Intrigue crew, Ross Mannering, is impressed with the level of competition in the series. "Everyone is enjoying the sailing. The racing is very competitive, so we all have to be on our game to guarantee a top result on the water," said Mannering.
Intrigue is in a strong position halfway through the series and is looking to take advantage of any opportunity to pull back a few points from Midnight Rambler. "We have had a few crew changes with new members settling into their roles on the boat, but we are sailing consistently and we know that we will be even more competitive in the post-Christmas lighter airs, which suit our boat better," said Mannering.
Frontline (Ian Snape) continues to lead Division Two on IRC and performance handicap, while Southern Swordfish (Ian Stewart) leads on AMS.
In Division Three, Young Lion (Steve Chau) and Footloose (Stewart Geeves) are sitting in first and second place respectively on IRC and AMS, while Miss Conduct (Brian Fleming) leads on performance. Kindred Spirit (Peter Alcock) leads Division Four on 13 points from Astrolabe (Peter Bosworth) on 14 points.
A northerly breeze of 10 to 20 knots is forecast for Saturday's early afternoon start.