Please select your home edition
Edition
A+T Instruments 2024 Leaderboard

Sail Port Stephens Passage Series Day 3

by Sail Port Stephens Media 17 Apr 2024 17:51 PDT 15-20 April 2024
Sail Port Stephens Passage Series Day 3 - Kookaburra Div 3 winner © Promocean Media

By day three in regattas the cobwebs have been shaken-off, the crew dynamics are coming together and the muscle memory of putting-in an optimum tack or bear-away set should be kicking in.

And that's pretty much how it panned out on Day 3 of the Sail Port Stephens Passage Series, which got under way in brilliant sunshine after the fleet waited for the nor'easter to fill in. It made the first leg out to Cabbage Tree Island an upwind beat.

In Division 1, Adrian Walters' well-known Shaw 11 metre Little Nico and R/P 52 Virago made the most of the 10-knot breeze funnelling through the waterway's spectacular sentinels, Tomaree and Yacaaba Heads, and capitalised further as the breeze built on subsequent figure-of-eight legs around Little and Boondelbah Islands. It ended with a glamour spinnaker run back into the Bay and westwards to the finish.

Little Nico, considered by many as being a high-performance benchmark on any course, clocked 12-15 knots with its asymmetric up on the final run. Owner Adrian Walters, while pleased with the day's results, admitted he'd appreciate more of the wind gods' fickle favours.

"The more it blows the better we, and the boat, like it," he agreed. While the Shaw 11's hooting top speed of 24.3 knots on Sydney Harbour is impressive enough, Walters says the pocket rocket's big strength is its ability to maintain high averages.

And he acknowledges his boat is a bit of a crowd favourite: "As we were reaching along we saw the guys on the cruising boats doing six knots giving us a wave, they seemed to be enjoying watching us do it," he laughs.

Little Nico's elapsed time of 2 hours 38 minutes 39 seconds secured it the Division 1 handicap win from Virago, while Noel Cornish's always immaculate Farr 40 Indi returned to the podium in third.

In Division 2, Peter Farrugia's Bull 9000 Bullwinkle built on a good start near the pin end and had caught some of the bigger Div 1 boats by the second lap around the islands. "We had a fantastic day - it was great to go outside," he recounted.

"It made-up for the past two days that had been a bit frustrating for us," he added. "We're having a great time here and it's not all about the results, though it's nice to get one. One of the best things is how people who are new to sailing are enjoying it so much," he enthused.

Sea Hawk improved one on the previous day's third place to hold-off Justin Mitchell's Adams 10 Rant & Rave, a Sail Port Stephens regular, by just five seconds on corrected time.

Ralf Moller and his mates from the Avalon Sailing Club on Pittwater have Ralf's Hanse 400 Kookaburra nicely tuned and used their big A1 to full advantage for a win in Division 3.

"The boat is very well set-up and also goes extremely well upwind," he says. "Today really suited us and we've been even goose-winging the kite as we don't have a symmetrical," he revealed.

Forever Young from the Royal Motor Yacht Club and Ataraxia II from the Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club also found the conditions to their liking with second and third respectively.

In Division 4 Antony Henderson and his crew on his Salona 35 Split notched two bullets in a row, while in the Non-Spinnaker Division Allsail Leeward had good reason to celebrate with a win after consecutive seconds on the first days.

With a lay today, crews rocked-on at the Sail Port Stephens Street Party last night, with an eclectic set courtesy of Newcastle trio Love that Hat. Racing resumes tomorrow in a building southerly up to 17 knots and predicted rain, re-setting the racing dial for the final two days.

Sail Port Stephens is supported by the NSW Government via its tourism agency Destination NSW, Port Stephens Council, Pantaenius Australia and subsidiary sponsors.

Full results available here.

For more information visit event website: www.sailportstephens.com.au.

Related Articles

America's Cup: The Blitz of Statements
Various parties associated with the America's Cup released statements calling for more transparency Various parties associated with the America's Cup released statements calling for more transparency in the America's Cup. Emirates Team New Zealand responded by releasing what is tagged as the Final Draft of the Protocol. Posted today at 4:31 am
IMA Maxi Europeans overall
Bella Mente successfully defends her IMA European Championship title The 20 remaining yachts competing in the IMA Maxi European Championship, organised by the Circolo del Remo e della Vela Italia in conjunction with the International Maxi Association, took part in a final coastal race today in a 8-14 knot southwesterly. Posted on 22 May
Cape Horn Hall of Fame nominations close by 30 May
Public nominations open for just a little longer The International Association of Cape Horners (IACH) is calling for nominations for new inductees to the Cape Horn Hall of Fame. Posted on 22 May
America's Cup: Emirates Team NZ respond
Emirates Team New Zealand has responded to the statements sent overnight (NZT) Emirates Team New Zealand has responded to the statements sent overnight by two Challenger teams calling for more transparency in the negotiations over the Protocol and venue for the 38th Match. Posted on 22 May
World Foiling Congress 2025 concludes
Event attracted top industry leaders, experts, and stakeholders The second edition of the World Foiling Congress took place this week at Palazzo della Borsa in Genova (Italy), attracting top industry leaders, experts, and stakeholders from across the global Foiling Community. Posted on 22 May
J/70 UK Grand Slam 2 at Royal Southern Yacht Club
7 races for the North Sails May Regatta Having suffered through some tough conditions in Grand Slam 1, the forecasts were looking hopeful for the second event of the UK J/70 Season. As we got closer to the event it was anyone's guess as to how the racing would pan out. Posted on 22 May
6mR Worlds return to Seawanhaka Corinthian YC
Oyster Bay and Long Island Sound are renowned as some of the best sailing waters in the world Founded in 1871 and located on Oyster Bay, New York, SCYC is America's oldest yacht club and its association with the Sixes goes right back to the class's foundation in 1907. Posted on 22 May
Steering the Course kicks off to #AccelerateAction
World Sailing's global women's sailing festival gets under way soon The 2025 edition of Steering the Course, World Sailing's global women's sailing festival, gets under way on 23 May with a week-long focus on #AccelerateAction in support of this year's International Women's Day theme. Posted on 22 May
IMA Maxi Europeans Inshore Series overall
Bella Mente by Hap Fauth crowned the Champion 2025 in Sorrento With the overall victory of Bella Mente, owned by American Hap Fauth and skippered by Terry Hutchinson, the curtain falls on the Tre Golfi Sailing Week 2025. Posted on 22 May
Solo McIntyre Mini Globe Race - 18,000 miles to go
Pirates, squalls, and paradise found The McIntyre Mini Globe Race fleet has officially fallen under the spell of the South Pacific—a place where dreams of palm-fringed beaches collide with the reality of torrential rain, viscous squalls, Loud lightening, questionable dinghy landings. Posted on 22 May
Vaikobi 2024 DecemberTrofeo Princesa Sofía Mallorca 2025Armstrong 728x90 - A-Wing XPS - BOTTOM