Hobart Combined Clubs Long Race Series Race 2 - Great day for Sailient
by Nick Hutton 5 Nov 2022 08:34 EST
5 November 2022
Ian Snape's Sailient warming up for the TasPorts Maria Island Race with a win on Saturday © Peter Watson
Ian Snape's Cookson 12 Sailient had a stellar day on Saturday in her last hit out before next Friday's TasPorts Maria Island Race with a win in Group 1 PHS, runner up to the Calvert-sailed Intrigue in IRC and third behind Intrigue and Ian Johnston's Zephyr Insurance Masters in ORC.
The Farr-designed, New Zealand-built Cookson 40-footer is the complete racing package and joins sistership Mark Bayles and Andrew Sinclair's Kraken 42S as a powerful addition to the Hobart racing fleet.
The Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania race management team sent Group 1 to a mark in Storm Bay over a 35 nautical mile course, while Group 2 sailed the 28 nm course to Yellow Bluff on the eastern side of Bruny Island. Group 3 raced to a mark in Bull Bay, a 25 nm round trip.
Starting in three waves from 10:00 the fleet set off in a 10-knot south-easterly breeze and made steady but unspectacular progress to their respective turning marks. As the day wore on the south-easterly grew into a proper sea breeze around 18 to 20 knots, giving the fleet a classic downwind slide home.
Gary Smith's Fork in the Road took line honours in four hours, 45 minutes followed by Sailient ten minutes behind and Chris Sheehan's Assagai a further two minutes astern.
In Group 2, Peter and Karen Davis' Jiyuu, took the PHS/ORC double with Ambrose Coad's The Dog House winning IRC. Ron Akhurst's Lock on Wood stood up for second on PHS with the Dog House in third. Stewart Geeves Footloose and Justin Barr's Rumbeat filled the minor placings in ORC.
Group 3 was won by Astrolabe (Peter Bosworth) from Steve Mannering's Camlet Way and Ben Morgan's Joie de Vie.