10:23 AM Tue 20 Oct 2009 GMT
|
|
'Voodoo Chile'
Peter Campbell ©
|
'The Showdown' - Tasmania's newest regatta for all classes of sailing boats - is shaping up as a real winner, with entries flowing in to the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania.
First keelboat to enter for the regatta, to be sailed on the River Derwent over the last weekend of this month - Friday 30 October through to Sunday 1 November, was Lloyd Clark and Andrew Hunn's Farr 40 Voodoo Chile.
Voodoo Chile's entry has been followed by entries from some of Tasmania's most promising young Laser Radial and Laser 4.7 sailors, along with other off-the-beach classes.
Joining Voodoo Chile in some exciting round-the-buoys racing will be the other Farr 40s, Euro Central, POW, Wires and War Games, while strong entries are expected for Divisions 1, 2 and 3 and the 9m class along with Dragons and J24s.
The Friday evening twilight race for keelboats is unique to a regatta in Australia as it will be a full-on race with spinnakers, unlike the opening twilight race of the Crown Series at Bellerive in February which is a non-spinnaker race.
The back-to-back windward/leeward races on the Saturday will be races two and three of the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania's Pennant races for all keelboat divisions and one-design classes.
Lining up in the dinghy classes will be Tasmania's newest champions - Angus Barton from Tamar Yacht Club who won the Laser Radial division at the NSW Youth Championships and members of The Hutchins School team which finished
the champion school at the recent Interdominion Secondary Schools Teams Racing Series in Brisbane.
Tasmanian Sailing Academy coach Richard Scarr is also trying to encourage several top Laser sailors from the mainland to fly over for the weekend, making boats available for them in Hobart.
A big fleet of Sabots is expected as The Showdown will be the final Tasmanian selection series for the National Championships while for the NS14s the regatta will be part of their Traveller's Trophy.
The keelboats will race over windward/leeward centre courses, while the off-the-beach boats will race over courses closer inshore between Battery Point and Nutgrove Beach. The keelboats will sail the one race on Friday afternoon with all classes sailing at least two races on both Saturday and Sunday.
Apart from the racing on the Derwent, the RYCT is catering for families and friends of competitors, with activities and entertainment throughout Saturday and Sunday and into the evenings as crews come ashore.
by Peter Campbell
|
Double Is Pt, QLD
