10:10 AM Sat 6 Feb 2010 GMT
Yachting Victoria's Club Marine Series for Day Four, Saturday February 6, was always set to have a good breeze by the time the afternoon arrived on a sunny Port Phillip. What occurred in the morning for the Division Zero Race was a little over expectations, at around 12 to 15 knots and it just kept building from there. In fact, all the way to 35knot gusts and with it, 2.5 to 3 metre peaks in the seas that came in sets of threes.
For that first race of the day, Cougar II won in IRC, with Living Doll second and Shogun third. The two TPs were duelling it all the way and on the last gybe as they came into the finish from opposing sides of the course, it looked like Shogun had done enough to pass Cougar, who had a round-up just as the boats crossed in what must have been more like 20 knots, by that stage. After the finish, Alan Whiteley of Cougar said, 'Glad to get out of that one in front. We had a winch issue and then with Shogun wrapping the kite, we've just skipped home.'
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Indeed with building breezes and seas, it was going to be a tough day. Terra Firma retired from the first race and did not re-appear. Living Doll joined the growing list of retirees and did not make the start of the second race. Shogun may well wish they had not partaken in the afternoon's fun, after a touch-up with the pin end buoy. After screaming past the bottom mark with kite issues, Shogun also then retired from race two, once the kite had finally been brought aboard.
Cougar did well all day and with no competition, she got around the course at a more comfortable pressure level and sailed well. She won race two in IRC, with Veloce second and XLR8 third. As a result of their great day, Cougar are now clear leaders in the series, over Calm and Veloce.
As Division One got underway things really began to get interesting. The last boat over the start line was a good few minutes behind the front row. Smooth Criminal hit the Committee Boat and retired, then First Musketeer joined that ever-expanding list. Allegresse did a great job of coming back into port with no engine and no damage to anything. The kinds of boats you would expect to do well in the testing times, did just that. Just A Minor Hick Up took out IRC, AMS and Event Handicap for the day. They came down well in front of the fleet and stayed there for the remainder of the race. Reverie was the second boat back down, with Lou Abrahams' Challenge next and another Sydney 38, Sierra Chainsaw, right on their transom.
Peter Coleman, JAMHU's skipper was pretty thrilled back at the host club's clubhouse - Royal Brighton Yacht Club. 'We got the gun comfortably, which is great! It shows what can happen when 10 people sail together for 10 years and don't make many mistakes anymore', he said, paying deference to his crew and their great work, in the process. 'The boats that have the same crew every race was really evident out there today', Peter finished by saying.
IRC placings for the day in Division One were, Just a Minor Hick Up, Executive Decision and Reverie. AMS results were JAMHU, Executive Decision and Reverie. EHC was JAMHU, INSX and Stampede. Executive Decision also leads the series across all three systems, as well.
Over on the other course for Divisions Two and Three, which was closer to the beach in the East, you would have expected it to be a fair amount calmer, given the wind direction. This was not necessarily true and as they all came back up to the top mark to do their last lap and ultimately go on to the finish, the breeze climbed well in to the low 30s and the waves got quite short and as these are the smaller vessels, relatively large and exceptionally wet. More than a few crews went through the finish and commented on the high work rate of the day.
Nearing the cessation of racing, Wavelength approached the line on Starboard tack and had to go back over to gain more height. A bullet hit her at the same time and Peter Smith went straight into the water, without touching a thing. He was quickly retrieved by the media boat, all OK and was delighted to be on any boat really, as he was concerned by the number of finishers approaching his general area.
In the end, Apache took Division Two IRC from Surprise and Top Gun. Surprise still retains the series lead, however. Apache also took Div2 AMS over Top Gun and a very drenched crew aboard, Flying Fox. Mystery took the EHC prize, from Apache and Salamander III. Godzilla leads the series in AMS and EHC, still.
For Division Three, Intrusion got the IRC win, from Double Malt and Red Dog. She also holds the series lead. In AMS, Rhiannon won over Double Malt and Spellbound and has the series lead there.
It was a marvellous day's racing. One that is sure to have sailmakers very happy. No doubt all will be back for Day Five of the Club Marine Series on February 20, complete with repaired sails, cuts and bruises from their day of fresh to frightening breezes on Melbourne's Port Phillip.
by John Curnow
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