J/70 Sydney Harbour Winter Series Act 1 at Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron

Sam Hayne's Celestial was the clear winner in the J/70 Sydney Harbour Winter Series Act 1 raced last weekend. It was a challenging weekend for both sailors and the RSYS race management.

Saturday morning was wet and windless. The scheduled start time of 9am was pushed back to 12 noon. The fleet eventually raced in a soft 5 to 8 knots WSW breeze.

RSYS Winter series J70 Act 1 - photo © Will Imlay

Celestial won all three races however was pushed all the way by Tim Ryan's Vamos. Race 3 new J/70 owners Andrew Forbes and Katie O'Mara celebrated a second in their boat Birubi.

Sunday morning racing got away at 9am however the breeze was still very shifty moving from West to WSW/WNW and fluctuating from 8 to 16 knots. Vamos took the win in race 4 followed by Celestial and then Steve Proud's Swish.

RSYS Winter series J70 Act 1 - photo © Will Imlay

Race 5 both Vamos and Rod Warren's Victorian crew were recalled at the start. Celestial led around the top mark closely followed by Karyn Gojnich's Jabiru. The game of snakes and ladders continued as gusts randomly landed on the course and it was the three Corinthian boats that finished at the front of the fleet. Jabiru took the win, youth skipper D'Arcy Kemp on Jabberwocky was second and Birubi was third.

The final race of the day Celestial was back in front, followed by Vamos then Swish.

RSYS Winter series J70 Act 1 - photo © Will Imlay

A huge thank you to the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron's David Ross and his race management team of Nicholas Hogg, Warrick Back, Phil Maloney, David Ritchard and Will Imlay who helped provide a great weekend of racing.

The next event for the fleet is Sail Port Stephens May 19-21, 2023. Best of luck to Celestial who is heading to Italy to contest the J70 Corinthian World Cup, Riva di Garda, in early June.

Overall Results: