6:02 AM Sun 1 Nov 2009 GMT
Consistent sailing paid dividends for Hobart yachtsman Andrew Sutherland in The Showdown regatta sailed over the weekend on the River Derwent, winning both the AMS and PHS handicaps categories in Division 1 with his Farr 37, Silver Mist.
Silver Mist, a Farr 37, clinched victory in the newly introduced AMS (Australian Measurement System) with two wins on corrected time today, following earlier placings of 2-1-2-2.
It was a well-deserved success, as Sutherland and Silver Mist are among the most regular supporters of keelboat racing on the Derwent, including being among the disappointingly small number that contested The Showdown in comparison to the 147 off-the-beach classes from around the State that took part.
Fellow competitor Don Calvert, who won the IRC handicap category in his evergreen Intrigue, strongly criticised other keelboat owners for not supporting the regatta. "It has been a superbly organised regatta designed to meet the requests of yacht owners for a regatta at this time of the year, yet the support from them was most disappointing," the former international yachtsman said.
"On the other hand, I am delighted that we have the young crews of nearly 150 off-the-beach boats here at the Royal Yacht Club Yacht of Tasmania," added Calvert, whose grandson Jock Calvert sailed his Sabot, Loose Cannon in the regatta.
Despite light winds in the morning, Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania race officers completed most of the scheduled racing, including the eight races for the Sabot class, the all-important final series to select the State's top twelve Sabots for the Australian Championships at Gosford, NSW, over the Christmas-New Year period.
Silver Mist won the AMS category from Intrigue and Stephen Chau's Ciao Baby II and the PHS (Performance) category from Mojo Rising (Nick Cole) and Caio Baby II. Intrigue took out the IRC (International Rule) category from Ciao Baby II and Silver Mist).
Stephen Boyes in Wired took out the Farr 40 division with four wins, a second and a third with racing much closer than the final results would indicate. In fact, the first race day saw only four seconds between Lloyd Clark and Andrew Hunn's Voodoo Chile and Wired.
Division 4 went to Julius Szolvik, skippering Tifany to five wins and a second while Leander II (Stephen Job) won the Dragon class.
by Peter Campbell
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Manly, QLD
