MHYC wins NSW Opti Team Racing Championship
A massive congratulations from all of us at MHYC to Ben, Jacob, Will & Joel for Winning the 2019 NSWIODA Team Racing Championship. Not only did the MHYC team win the championship but they only lost one race!
Get the full account from Ben Crafoord...
1st PLACE FOR MHYC - NSW OPTIMIST TEAMS RACING Sunday 17th November
Last Sunday I was very lucky to be a team member of the MHYC Open optimist teams racing squad along with Jacob Marks, Will Wilkinson and Joel Beashel at the NSW Teams Racing Championships. Originally this event was to be run at Toronto however there was a last minute change to Rose Bay hosted by Cranbrook. The MHYC team had been looking forward to this event for some time and we were very happy to come home with the 1st place trophy and medals. We had a full-on day of racing in very good conditions. There were 6 open teams and 3 intermediate teams. 
We completed in two full round robins, and only lost 1 of our 18 races. Teams Racing is very different to Fleet Racing, you have to work together to make sure you finish in the best combination. We had loads of training leading up to the event and held a few strategy sessions. It was a great day and the team cant wait for next years competition to retain the title.
Signing off from Ben Crafoord
Top entries and still time to come on board Sydney Short Ocean Racing Championship
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A healthy fleet of IRC/ORCi yachts is set to line up in the Premier division at the 42nd running of the Sydney Short Ocean Racing Championship (SSORC), hosted by Middle Harbour Yacht Club (MHYC) over the weekend of 23 and 24 November – and it is not too late to enter.
Among the entries are boats preparing for the upcoming Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, including Ken Holmes’ Beneteau First 45, Dreki Sunnan, John Newbold’s Reichel Pugh 51 Primitive Cool and Soozal, a King 40 recently imported from California into Sydney by Keiran and Elizabeth Mulcahy. The trio will be tested by the rest of the fleet, including defending champions.
Dreki Sunnan is the ‘local hope’, one of six Sydney Hobart entries from MHYC, where she races regularly, while Soozal is new to the Sydney sailing scene.
“Soozal has enjoyed a very successful racing career and is hoping to re-create her winning ways in a highly competitive IRC fleet. She launched in Sydney last week. I’ve only played on her in the Harbour a couple of times, but I sailed her in California. She is the only King 40 built without any budget and is the best racing cruiser around,” Mulcahy says.
“I’ve done the SSORC before though, on Astral,” he said of the yacht he won PHS Division 2 on last year. “She will be waiting at Constitution Dock in Hobart for us in December and we’ll race together at the Australian Yachting Championships in January,” Mulcahy ended.
This will be Soozal’s first major offshore racing experience on Sydney waters in the lead-up to the Hobart. Primitive Cool will have her first Sydney offshore hit out of the year, while Newbold and crew are flying in from Victoria especially for the SSORC, and their boat will be waiting.
The three will be joined by some regulars, although one, Peter Sorensen will be there with his latest boat, the newly named ‘Advanced Philosophy’, a Sydney 38. Division1’s top two from last year, Box Cox’s DK46, Nine Dragons and Darryl Hodgkinson’s Carkeek 40, Victoire, also return.
Meanwhile, the TP52 fleet has been slightly impacted by damage done in the Cabbage Tree Island Race two weekends ago, but defending champion Hooligan, Frantic, Zen, Woteva, Celestial and Gweilo are all confirmed to start when Day 1’s coastal passage race, which is combined with the CYCA Ocean Pointscore, gets underway.
MHYC is generously waiving the late entry fee for the SSORC. The standard fee will apply until entries close at midnight on 20 November - so sign up now.
MHYC expresses its thanks to sponsors: Helly Hansen, Club Marine, Oatley Wines, Short Marine, Vittoria Coffee and Key Sun Zinke for their support.
All information, including Notice of Race and entry: www.ssorc.mhyc.com.au
SSORC Sailing Instructions: click here
Read more: Top entries and still time to come on board Sydney Short Ocean Racing Championship
Centreboard Club Championship - Day One
The first round of the 2019-2020 MHYC Centreboard Club Championship was sunny and mild with a moderate and consistent south-easterly – a perfect way to start racing for the new season.
Ten Optimists, three Club 420s and a 29er were on the water for three races commencing at 2pm. Ben Crafoord took the lead today in the Division 3 Optimist fleet with a 4-1-1 scoreline, only ahead of Jakob Marks on tie-break and with Miles Greenwood in 3rd.
Thankyou to the parents and coaches who assisted with race management and safety . We look forward to the fleet building for the next racing on November 3.
To view the latest results – click here
For more information about Centreboard Racing at MHYC - click here
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Fresh and Fun for Sunday Centreboards
A moderate to fresh and shifty south-easterly provided some challenges for the Optimist and 29er fleets today, the final session of MHYC Centreboard Club Championship before Christmas. There were some fast downhill rides on the Balmoral racetrack, but there was quite a bit of swimming and bailing going on too.
Jake Barnabas claimed two wins in the 29er, with Archie Cropley taking the final race. In the Optimists, Zara Marks was first home in race 7 and Sebastian Wegner claimed the race 8 win. After 9 scheduled races, Jake Barnabas currently leads the 29er pointscore and Zara Marks is on top in the Optimists.
Many thanks to Mark McLeay, Matt Marks and Michael Giffney for race management today.
To view the latest results – click here
For more information about Centreboard Racing at MHYC - click here
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Crowded Farr 40 leaderboard with Outlaw at the top on Day 1
With just one point separating the top four boats, Farr 40 sailing has never been closer and Tom Quick’s Outlaw is regatta leader at the end of day one of the first point score regatta of the season.
PRO, Phil Yeomans sent the fleet offshore for three quick races before the breeze kicked in and exceeded the Class maximum wind speed of 25 knots.
“We had a nice gusty westerly of about 15-20 knots but as predicted, the breeze really kicked in at the end of race three, so we called it a day and headed back to MHYC for an early Dock Party.” Yeomans said.
Three races produced three different winners and current National Champion, Tom Quick and the Outlaw crew are in first place on joint points with Exile in second.
“It was an extremely shifty day, so it’s great to come away being in the lead. It was the first time on our boat for guest Tactician Tom Burton and he did a terrific job. We had four crew changes for this regatta, so I’m really happy to be top of the leaderboard, even if only by a whisker.” Quick said.
Midcoast Boatyard & Marine owner and Newcastle local, Joe de Kock has always expressed his preference to sail offshore and today the Good Form crew were on fire scoring a fourth followed by a third and finished the day off with a win placing them in third place overall, just one point behind regatta leader, Outlaw.
Steve McConaghy was missing from the Farr 40 scene last season, however, returned today as the Main Trimmer on Double Black. Although McConaghy spends most of his time in Asia these days, he is enjoying being back in Australia and sailing with owner Rob Pitts.
“Eighteen months ago I started coaching at the Noahs Sailing Club based in Dongshan. I was at the China Coast Race Week recently when my manager asked me to go to Australia. It was funny because I was wondering whether there might be a Farr 40 regatta on and within half an hour of this thought, Billy Idle (Double Black team manager) called me and offered me a spot.”
Double Black had a great day on the water scoring 2.4.2. A win was in their sights for the last race before things went pear shaped.
McConaghy continued, “We had a bad rounding because the jib came out of the foil and it took a few minutes to get it back into the foil. It was a bit of a disaster and we were forced to go left, when everyone went right. Fortunately, there was big left shift and we had a clear lead. Then the breeze hit hard and the kicker blew out of the cleat and the spinnaker pole skied into the air. We had a massive wipeout but we recovered and got second.”
The scores are tight and tomorrows racing will commence at 11am inside Sydney harbour with up to four races.
The Farr 40 Australian Class is proudly sponsored by Hacer Group.
Results: www.farr40.asn.au/results
Jennie Hughes, Farr 40 Australian Class
Photos: Margaret Fraser-Martin
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Read more: Crowded Farr 40 leaderboard with Outlaw at the top on Day 1
Gentle Thursday Twilight
A warm and sunny afternoon with a gentle easterly breeze made for a very enjoyable twilight sail on Thursday 7 November.
Stewart McGeady and the crew of Gambler claimed the Division 1 win from Zen and Kayimai. In Div 2, Gusto (Angus Grinham) finished 40 seconds ahead of Equinox with Starstruck another 30 seconds astern. Charles Caskey’s Perception led Zeusus and Peach Teats Velocity to the line in Div 3, while Thiseldo (Kevin Bloor) was the first Div 4 boat home ahead of Single Malt and Nashira.
At the half-way point of the Pre-Christmas Twilight Series, Kayimai (Rob Aldis) leads Div 1 on a tie-break from Onya (Andrew Hurt), Eliza (David West) tops Division 2 and Bula (David Lavings) is clear ahead in Div 3. Three boats are on equal points at the top of the Division 4 leader-board, but Kevin Bloor’s Thiseldo leads on tie-break from Nashira (Evan Hodge) and Single Malt (Peter Gilliland).
To view the latest Twilight results – click here
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Saturday Offshore and Inshore
It was another busy Saturday for Middle Harbour sailors and race management teams East and West of Sydney Heads with the Harbour Trek Feature Event, this year held in memory of Giff Clinton, and day one of the Farr 40 One Design Regatta. The MHYC Ocean Series also continued today in conjunction with the CYCA Short Ocean Pointscore race conducted by Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron.
It was warm and sunny with a moderate westerly freshening as the day progressed. Gusts up to 30 knots were experienced on the harbour by mid-afternoon.
In the Farr 40s, Phil Yeomans and his team completed three races in the Manly Circle before conditions became too challenging. Tom and Allan Quick’s Outlaw, Rob Reynolds’ Exile and Jo de Kock’s Good Form each took a race win today. Outlaw is the series leader on tie-break from Exile with Good Form and Double Black (Rob Pitts) just one point behind. Four inshore races are scheduled for tomorrow to conclude the regatta.
To view the latest Farr 40 results – click here
The Harbour Trek was sailed in memory of long time club member and race management volunteer Gifford Clinton who passed away in June. Mitch Miller, Andrew Gunton and the crew of Rock Solid were the first Division 1 boat home, leading Anitra May (Dion Hart) and Farr N Away (Graeme & Chris Lee). The winner of Division 2 was Mike Gallagher’s Galan from Innamincka (Lexi Schwartzkopf) and Astoria (Sam Jackson).
To view the results for Giff Clinton’s Harbour Trek – click here
The MHYC Ocean Series fleet had a lively afternoon offshore with numerous changes in direction and varying strength. In Division 1, Walter Carpenter’s Samarkand took the win on IRC from Kayimai (Rob Aldis) and Nine Dragons (Bob Cox). On PHS, it was Kayimai and Samarkand ahead of Toy Box 2 (Ian Box). Stormaway (Jack Stening / Colin Gunn) were the first Division 2 boat on both IRC and PHS, ahead of Wailea (Neil Padden) and Rumba (Kerry Burke / Rob Carr / Stephanie Cook) on IRC and ahead of Rumba 2nd and Wailea 3rd on PHS.
To view the Ocean Series results– click here
Harbour Trek photos by Marg Fraser-Martin….
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Farr 40 photos by Marg Fraser-Martin….
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Giant Steps Charity Race a great success
The Giant Steps Sailing Regatta was held at MHYC yesterday with some exciting sailing conditions with winds gusting up to 20 knots.
This terrific event was established to provide companies with a unique opportunity for entertaining or team building while raising funds for children with autism. Twenty Two boat in three division participated in the event with many corporates returning again from last year. The yachts headed off for a passage race around the harbour incorporating Fort Denison.
First across the line was Rumba, in Division 3, with Balance and Co staff on board. Second place in Division 3 went to Pindimara and Tula in 3rd place. In Division I it was the TP52 KOA that got the gun with Buildline on board followed by Lend Lease Bouryges Westconnex on Wot Eva in 2nd place and Little Nico 3rd with crew from VSL 2.
In Division 2 The Count took out 1st place with crew from Giant Steps and VSL 1 followed by The Tony Moffat Team on Zen in 2nd place and Samarkand in 3rd with a group from GHD.
Congratulation to all participants, with a special thanks to the skippers that generously donated their boats for this worthy cause.
For full results click here
For more information on the great work done by Giant Steps click here
For more photos click here Photos courtesy of Marg Fraser-Martin
Challenging Twilight Racing on Thursday
There was a breezy and gusty westerly for Race 2 of the Middle Harbour Twilight and first race of the Women's Twilight Series. 28 boats took on the challenging conditions, with massive wind shifts, gusts and lulls in Middle Harbour and beating back across The Sound in a westerly up to 30 knots.
In the Twilight Pre-Christmas Pointscore, Rob Aldis' Kayimai was the first Division 1 boat home ahead of Wailea (Neil Padden) and TSA Management (Tony Levett). David West and the crew of Eliza claimed the Division 2 win from No Friends (Geoff Charters) and Gusto (Angus Grinham). Grahame Jackson and the GJLaw N Mocean team claimed their first race win, beating home Freedom (Stephen Smith) and Plan B (Warren Lesnie). Harry Brigden's Chowringhee was the best of Division 4, ahead of Single Malt (Peter Gilliland) and Cutting Loose (Tim Kaill).
Liz Charles was at the helm of Kayimai to claim the Division 1 prize for the Women's Twilight. Tracey Richardson topped Division 2 on the Adams 10 No Friends and Amanda Hicks steered Peach Teats Velocity to the Division 3 win.
There was plenty of fun back ashore with music by Rick Herbert and a selection of great curries by Dan and Sarah with crews enjoying the food and a few drinks on the beach in the lead-up to the prizegiving. Peter Portanger was the winner of the SailPass member lucky draw tonight.
To view the Pre Christmas Twilight results - click here
To view the Women's Twilight results - click here
Thankyou Marg Fraser-Martin for the photos......
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Double Black wins first Farr 40 pointscore regatta of season at MHYC
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The final four races of the One Design Trophy were held between Obelisk and Watsons Bay on a sensational day on Sydney Harbour where Rob Pitts and the Double Black crew won their first Farr 40 regatta.
Today was a special day for Pitts, who joined the Class five years ago and has never missed a regatta. The newly appointed Australian Class President was elated with the result.
“We are so happy to win our first regatta. I want to say a massive thank you to my mate Billy Idle for joining me on this journey. Billy works so hard on our boat and puts in a huge amount of time finding crew and organising logistics. I simply couldn’t do it without him, and I dedicate this win to him.”
What was supposed to be the last race of the day was abandoned due to a wind shift which didn’t allow the course axis to be changed within the time frame. Double Black were leading this race and had the win set in their sites. It was meant to be and the classy team backed up and secured the win in the last race.
Pitts continued, “We thought we had it and were a little deflated when the race was abandoned. Kudos to my awesome crew for regrouping and winning that last race, which was the decider, as there was nothing in it for the top three.”
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Gordon Ketelbey booked a last minute flight to Japan to watch the Wallabies play in the Rugby World Cup. He left Zen in the extremely capable hands of his trusty substitute skipper Clare Costanzo, who put together a youth team including Finn Alexander and Louis Schofield who recently won the Youth Nationals in Match Racing.
The average age of the Zen crew this weekend was 24 and the young team had a blinder today scoring 2.1.2 and were awarded Boat of the Day.
At this afternoon’s presentation, Rob Pitts paid tribute to Jeff Carter and team Edake on their Corinthian World Title and presented the trophy, just delivered from Long Beach, California. The trophy will live at Middle Harbour Yacht Club until the Sydney Worlds in November 2020.
Special thanks to Middle Harbour Yacht Club, our fabulous PRO Phil Yeomans and his wonderful team on the Committee boat for a top weekend of sailing.
Next stop Newcastle on 16 & 17 November 2019.
The Farr 40 Australian Class is proudly sponsored by Hacer Group.
Results: www.farr40.asn.au/results
By Jennie Hughes - Farr 40 Australian Class
Read more: Double Black wins first Farr 40 pointscore regatta of season at MHYC
Yacht Sales Australia Wednesday Non-Spinnaker Series
MHYC's Yacht Sales Australia Wednesday Non-Spinnaker Series 1 has now passed the half-way point. A moderate southerly moved east during the afternoon for this week's race, with the course taking the boats toShark Island and then Manly.
Rob Reynolds' Exile was the first Division 1 boat home, ahead of Little Nico (Adrian Walters) and Lazy Dog (Shaun Lane). In Division 2, Lumine Lunae (Kim Darling) took the win from Anitra May (Dion Hart) on debut, with Sirius (Garth Riley) third.
After 7 races, Little Nico leads the Division 1 pointscore and Brian Lees' Contentious is ahead in Division 2.
To view the results - click here
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Read more: Yacht Sales Australia Wednesday Non-Spinnaker Series