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Combined Clubs Harbour Pennant Series Preview

The Combined Clubs Harbour Pennant Series wraps up on the Derwent on Saturday with Race Day 5 to be conducted by the Bellerive Yacht Club. The first race in today’s program gets underway at 1:30pm.

With a maximum of two races to go in Group 1, Drew Latham’s Whistler and Intrigue, skippered by David Calvert, will fight it out for the Pennants in IRC and ORC Club. Whistler has a four-point lead in IRC while Intrigue has a narrow two-point buffer in ORC Club.

Wayne Banks-Smith’s War Games and Young Magic, owned by Michelle and Paul Boutchard, are currently holding third in the respective divisions, look to be too far back to take the overall wins.

In PHS last week’s Long Race Series giantkiller Heatwave, skippered by Matthew Keal, is holding second by a very narrow margin behind Whistler with Young Magic in third.

The forecast is for light winds so racing will be tight and tactical, making a good start and first windward leg critical for success. A recall for breaking the start could be disastrous.

In Group 2 Jim Thorpe’s Hydrotherapy has a seemingly unassailable lead in ORC Club, but the minor placings are tight. Kevin Jacobson’s Hildr is two points to the good of Peter Haros’ Wings Three and Bryan Walpole’s Invincible, but with a tactically tricky day forecast and discards still to come into play, the lower steps of the podium remain very much in play.

Group 2 PHS is also led comfortably by Hydrotherapy, but as with ORC Club, Wings Three and Hildr are battling out the minors.

In Group 3, Camlet Way, skippered by Steve Mannering, holds a reasonably comfortable series lead with Ian Smith and Dean Aberle’s Innovator second and Peter Bosworth’s Astrolabe in third, swapping places after Innovator took the win in Race 4.

Words and photo: Nick Hutton ... See MoreSee Less

With the Easter Holidays only around the corner, we are getting ready to provide some more learn-to-sail courses at our Discover Sailing Centre in Sandy Bay.

Children aged 7-12 can join The Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania’s Tackers One and Two learn-to-sail programs over the coming Term 1 School Holidays.

The 20-hour courses will be held from 11 – 14 April.

For more info and registration visit our website: www.ryct.org.aRYCT Off The Beachff The Beach ... See MoreSee Less

Heatwave has a day out in final Long Race

Matthew Keal and his crew on Heatwave cleaned up all three Group 1 handicap divisions in Saturday’s final Long Race of the season.

Sailed in tricky, stop – start conditions, Heatwave was able to avoid the majority of the quiet patches and stay in touch with the larger, faster boats in Group 1. The first six boats to cross the line finished inside two minutes of each other after four and a half hours of racing.

Garry Smith’s Fork in the Road took line honours narrowly from Chris Sheehan’s Assagai and Gary Cripps’ Guilty Pleasures VI.

But Heatwave’s brilliance on the day was not enough to seal overall wins, with Ian Johnston’s Zephyr Insurance Masters pipping her for first on countback in PHS. Heatwave finished second overall by a solitary point to the Calverts’ Intrigue in IRC, and third, also one point behind Zephyr Insurance Masters, in ORC Club, a division also won by Intrigue.

Rounding out Group 1 overall handicap divisions was Assagai in third on PHS.

Phil Soley’s Mako took PHS in Group 2 from Peter and Karen Davis’ Jiyuu. Footloose, skippered by Stewart Geeves was third overall.

In Group 2 ORC Club Footloose held on to edge Jiyuu on countback with Mako making a late run for third overall, knocking Justin Barr’s Rumbeat off the podium. In IRC, Footloose once again prevailed from Mako and Ambrose Coad’s The Dog House.

In Group 3 Ian Smith and Dean Aberle sailing Innovator came from third place overall going into Saturday’s race to win overall honours on countback from Peter Bosworth’s Astrolabe, leapfrogging Steve Mannering’s Camlet Way who took third overall in this very tight Group.

Next Saturday is the final Harbour Race of the pennant season. Racing resumes in earnest in May with the DSS Autumn Short Handed series followed by the BYC and DSS/RYCT winter series.

Words: Nick Hutton
Photo: Peter Watson ... See MoreSee Less