Monday, 16th January 2017
Day one of the 2017 SYC Regatta was met with wintery-like conditions with a few squalls, strong winds reaching up to 40 knots and a few bands of rain rolling through. This saw all one day events that were scheduled for just the Saturday abandoned those competing in the AMS and IRC Victorian Championships which included the Super 11 AMS scoring set for a big day on Sunday.
Peter Taylor, Race Officer for the AMS and IRC course and his team of highly skilled volunteers were met with a challenging task on Sunday morning with next to no wind. The goal was to get four races in for the AMS and IRC course but this wasn’t going to an easy task with a fickle 4 knot breeze for the first race that dropped in strength.
Race one saw PP1 skippered by Cameron Dale over early and consequently scored UFD despite finishing across the line in first place and ahead on corrected time. Rod Warren and the team of Joust were the eventual winners of race one winning in both AMS and IRC divisions.
The remaining three races to be sailed were done so in varying conditions with the breeze eventually increasing to 6-8 knots by the last race with some heavily oscillating conditions all day. In the AMS division, PP1 dominated the field sailing exceptionally well and crossed the line first in the last three races to come away with three bullets after their UFD in race one. However, in a no exclusions series where competitors must carry all races, the UFD proved extremely damaging to PP1’s series score having to carry 16 points in addition to her three first places. The eventual winner of the AMS division, Scarlet Runner, skippered by Rob Date proved that consistency is key. A series score consisting of a pair of seconds, a third and a fourth sealed the deal for the Adams 10, Scarlet Runner. Murray Mackay, skipper of Doesn’t Matter, sailed into second overall, also proving that consistency plays a big part. Closely behind Doesn’t Matter and rounding off the podium was the Mollison family in their Sydney 38, Sierra Chainsaw.
It was a similar story for the IRC division, with the team of Scarlet Runner powering home once more with two firsts and two seconds to finish a clear 8 points ahead of Royal Brighton’s Serious Yahoo ably skippered by their Club Captain James Heywood. Doesn’t Matter again landed on the podium finishing in third place, narrowly ahead of INSX and Joust.
The final results of the Super 11 division that was scored in AMS only as part of the 2017 SYC Regatta, were extremely close with one point separating first to third. Rod Warren and the team of Joust finished ahead of PP1 and Smooth Criminal in the closely fought series. Being a much smaller division and with PP1 not carrying as many points from the UFD in race one, she finished a mere one point behind Joust and ahead of Smooth Criminal skippered by Matt Draper on countback with her three firsts.
Regattas like these wouldn’t be possible without the hard work and commitment of our Race Management Volunteers. With a tough job at hand after a blow out on day one, the entire team delivered an exceptional day of racing on Sunday. Thank you once again to the fantastic team of volunteers for your volunteering your time and providing such great racing.
To wrap up what turned out to be a lovely day, Rowan Simpson, Sandringham Yacht Club’s (SYC) Sail Captain, took charge of the presentations and at the conclusion had great delight in reminding all those that were present that SYC will be hosting the Australian Yachting Championships in January 2018 in a similar time frame over a four-day period. With the preparation already underway, the 2018 Australian Yachting Championships is guaranteed to be an event not to miss so make sure to keep mid-January free for 2018!
Full results: https://syc.com.au/raceresults/2016/kbsum/amsirc/series.htm
Photo: Craig Wiley