Yachting WA News

_{2013 Monohull Cock of the Swan Scott Sharpe with YWA President, Denys Pearce}

Champagne Sailing for 50^th Anniversary of Cock of Swan Regatta

In a steady 12 to 15 knots out of the west south west, the combination of foilers, skiffs and catamarans were in for champagne sailing and the host club Perth Dinghy Sailing Club and race officer Tom Burt were ready to go.

With the 49ers away over east for Sail Melbourne, the field was open and the International Moths cleared the fleet with ease. Despite the Moth invasion, the 14’s fleet was quick and most managed to get ahead of the 18 footers and stay there.   A lone wind surfer, Sean Carr worked very hard to get around the course and freely admitted to being exhausted by the end of the day, logging up over 2 hours of hanging on to a sail along the course.

The Tornados and the 18’s were in fine fettle and roundings at Lucky-Smith made for an exhilarating hoist as they got their kites up and steadied for the downwind run. A surprise visitor was Whip it, a Fire Fly 850 catamaran from Nedlands Yacht Club who came out to show her down wind speed under an asymmetric.

The 2013 Cock of the Swan is Moth sailor Scott Sharpe (Zhik) – monohull.

The 2013 Cock of the Swan is Tornado Britz helmed by Paul Raymond and crewed by Steven Smith.  

Instigated by Mr Geoffrey Cohen in 1953 as a result of animated bar discussion as to who was the fastest yacht on the Swan River, two identical perpetual trophies were moulded and are presented annually by Yachting WA.

The distinct Cockerel  trophies were presented by Yachting WA President Denys Pearce and will record the current winners who are new to the prestigious Cock of the Swan Winners Circle.

_{2013 Multihull Cocks of the Swan presented to Steven Smith and Paul Raymond by YWA President, Denys Pearce}

_{Front L to R:  Greg Hancock MOFSC, Paul Ward SOPYC, Bob Kucera FSC, Peter Stallwood FSC President  Ray O’Byrne EFYC,  Graham Croft SYC, Clive Rosser PFSYC, Rod McGregor PDSC, Kevin Owens FSC, David Locke, SOPYC, Basil Twine RFBYC, Roy Richards SOPYC, Tom Burt PDSC, Felix Sainsbury EFYC, Peter Galvin TCYC}

_{Middle:  Brian Wales FSC, Don Davies PFSYC, Rod Sloss PDSC, Don Devine PDSC, Ken Beurteaux EFYC, Norm Beurteaux FSC, John Gorham JBYC, Peter Marshall EFYC, Garry Webb FSC, Rick Oswald MOFSC, Greg Thomas MOFSC, Ann Santry SCYC, Ken Santry SCYC}

_{Back Leslie Devine PDSC, Ray Cowie MBYC, Brad Devine, PDSC, Ian Meiklejohn GBYC, Gary Kerman PDSC, Ken Dean GBYC,  Kerry Lewis HYC, Robert Mason ORSSC, Brent Griffiths HYC, Frank Dalglish SOPYC, Phil Gallagher ORSSC, Ted Court RIYC, Maurice Cooper SOPYC, Ray Rudge EFYC, Tony Sheehan ORSSC, Brian Kerman PDSC, Lance Rock MOFSC, Don Nickels PDSC, Merv Holst SOPYC.}

WA Commodores Mark Time

In a first ever record of WA past and present Commodores, WA Commodores marked time for a photo call to record 30 years of the Commodores Association of WA.

The Commodores Association of WA met for their Annual General Meeting at the Fremantle Sailing Club on the 24^th November 2013. This was followed by a formal dinner to celebrate the first meeting of Commodores which set in progress the formation of the Association thirty years ago on 9th December 1983.

At that inaugural meeting 28 Commodores, current and past, met to consider the proposal put forward by the then Commodore of Mounts Bay Sailing Club, Kevin Owens and John Steffanoni destined to follow Kevin as Commodore of Mounts Bay. There were 34 apologies demonstrating a strong interest in the concept. The objectives formulated at that meeting largely remain in place today. In 1984 there were 41 inaugural financial members.

The recent dinner was attended by 47 Commodores, both current and past, drawn from yacht and sailing Clubs across Western Australia, but predominantly from the local metropolitan clubs. The current financial membership of the association is 75.

Attending this anniversary dinner were Greg Hancock MOFSC, Paul Ward SoPYC and Bob Kucera FSC as the current Commodores of their respective Clubs, and Brent Griffiths HYC, Frank Dalglish SOPYC and Brad Devine PDSC as the Immediate Past Commodores of their respective Clubs.

Also attending were Life Member Kevin Owens FSC, Felix Sainsbury EFYC, Don Davies PFSYC, Ken Beurteaux EFYC, Norm Beurteaux FSC and Rod Sloss PDSC who were inaugural financial members from 1984.

Kevin Owens First President of the Commodores Association 1984, addressed the dinner on the early days of the Association with Peter Stallwood presenting his report for 2013 to the Annual General Meeting.  Kevin Owens and Host Club Commodore Bob Kucera of Fremantle Sailing Club cut the anniversary cake at the dinner following the AGM.

Any Commodores wishing to join should contact Peter Stallwood.

_{Kevin Owens and Bob Kucera cut the celebratory cake}

_{Steel de Breeze in Bali 2013}

Steel de Breeze Impresses at Raja Muda Selangor International Regatta 2013

Conducted by the Royal Selangor Yacht Club the Raja Muda Selangor International Regatta held from 15th - 23rd November 2013 was a huge success for WA Sailors.

After  the successful Wonderful Indonesia Fremantle to Bali Yacht Race and Rally earlier this year, Brian and Lynn De Breeze sailed the myriad islands of the Indonesian archipelago in the company of other entrants. At the conclusion of the rally they sailed to Singapore where they left their yacht  Steele de Breeze in safe care so as to resume at their leisure, regattas and sailing within the Asian region.  

Early in November  Steele de Breeze was collected and sailed up to Port Klang, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia  in readiness for the Raja Muda Yacht Rally. Brian and Lyn along with their crew removed as much of the cruising equipment off the boat as possible to be competitive with the full racing rig boats.  The cruising equipment was then trucked to the next stop.

Four other South of Perth Yacht Club members joined Brian and Lynn to compete in the rally; Phil &  Kate Lammonby and Graham & Heather Monkhouse.

The Raja Muda Selangor International Regatta is a challenging offshore sailing race organised every year by the Royal Selangor Yacht Club in association with the RORC.

It consists of three overnight passage races, 260 miles in total, plus 3 days of harbour racing in Penang and Langkawi.  Additionally there is an attractive social element with regatta dinners almost every night, a rickshaw race and lots of opportunities to socialise.  The onshore activities are just as demanding as the sailing.

Phil Lammonby reported:  The first race from Port Klang to Pangkor some 80 plus sea miles.  Pangkor Island is 8 square km and inhabited by nearly 25 thousand people, mainly fishermen.  Departing at 2pm, winds were favourable during the night except for once when they had to anchor for 1 hour or be pushed backwards with the tide.  Fujun,  one of the  earlier Ichiban yachts were several miles away, however when nearing the finishing line at 04:20hours a shadow of another yacht appeared to our starboard side. It was Fujun. The wind had dropped to a whisper and it was a tussle to the finish withFujun winning by 54 seconds.

The next Leg was from Pangkor to Penang, again a passage of 80 miles with the same result, Fujunfollowed by Steele de Breeze.   In Penang a harbour race was conducted around the cans where we came 3^rd to Fujun and  Sea Bass. The evening entertainment was something to be seen and lots of fun.

The third leg from Penang to Langkawi around 54 miles again 2^nd across the line but third on IRC. A further two around the cans races were held in the bay with a 3^rd   and 2^nd across the line.

All other yachts were impressed with the “cruising couples” (as we were named) performances finishing 3^rd overall in our division on IRC. The final presentation night went well into the early hours of the morning and was the culmination of another very successful Rally.

The event attracts a variety of yachts from top class IRC1 racers to slow classic cruisers dating back over 100 years, all of whom had to cope with unpredictable weather and changing tactics during the nine day mix of races past tropical islands and magnificent scenery.

Steele de Breeze has moved on to Phuket, Thailand to compete in The Phuket King's Cup Regatta starting 2nd December 2013 where three other South of Perth Yacht Club Members will be joining the boat.

The Kiteracing Oceanic Championships at Leighton Beach

Some of the world's most daring kiteracers will be in Perth for the Kiteracing Oceanic Championships at Leighton Beach from 11 to 15 December 2014.

Many competitors will be coming directly from the IKA 2013 World Course Racing Championship held a fortnight ago in China where WA Race Officers Andy Curnow (Mounts Bay Sailing Club)  supported by John and Christina Heydon ( South of  Perth Yacht Club) officiated preparatory to the Perth event. The championships held at Boao on the east coast of Hainan Island were the first Kiteracing world championships for China and attracted over 100 entrants from around the world.

Fourteen Australians participated in China including three WA’s racers, Dale Stanton, Jonathan Keys and Eneour Puill-Stephan.

Impressed with what they experienced in China John Heydon said “Every venue has something different to offer and China put on an excellent show which we are keen to emulate or even better in WA.” 

“A number of the competitors are travelling on to Perth and will I think, be highly impressed with the organisation of the Leighton Beach Championships” .

Versatile WA sailor/Kiteracer Torvar Mirsky spoke this week of the building excitement for the event reporting that the test event held at Leighton Beach on  Sunday 1st December for competitors and Race Officials ran smoothly which  augurs well for an excellent event.

Fifteen WA entrants have been prepped with training from UK’s Steph Bridge (4 times World Kiterace Champion) and Olly Bridge (European Mens Race Champion and World Youth Champion).

The Warren Jones Foundation have provided race gear and presented a Kiteracing Junior Training Camp to give a group of talented amateur water sports people access to training by World Champions Steph and Olly Bridge. The WA juniors include Eamon Robertshaw, Sam Gilmour, Paris Stowell, Patrick Vos, Mani Bisschops, Rex Edwards and Tom Johnson.

Spectators will see competitors tackle a marked course close to the water's edge, watch spectacular jumps as part of the Freestyle Jam, plus enjoy awesome entertainment and festivities with a beach party vibe.

If you’re into action sports and love the beach, the Kiteracing Oceanic Championships at Leighton Beach, Fremantle is the place to be from 10 to 15 December 2013.

For more information visit http://kiteoceanics.com  or the event Facebook page.

_{Photo: Icarus Kiteracing Media}

Sabre Challenge Draws Nigh at PDSC Nationals

Scarce as hen’s teeth but where there is a will there’s a way and Chris Holyday wasted no time in snapping up the rare commodity on the Perth market in time for the Sabre Nationals to be held at Perth Dinghy Sailing Club in December.  Maylands Yacht Club has joined the stampede of Clubs adopting the popular single handed Sabre dinghy.  Chris will keep his small trimaran which he sails from Maylands but will hop onto his newly acquired timber Sabre which is already cutting a flash of excitement at Maylands.

Not only has the prospect of a WA National Championship created the scarcity of boats;  the Sabres are said to be one of the fastest-growing classes in Australia. Why? In a nutshell the main reasons are affordability, no crewing problems, easy to transport (minimum weight of boat only 41kg), easy to rig, easy to launch and easy to sail.  In WA four Clubs have adopted the class which started at Perth Dinghy Sailing Club and expanded to East Fremantle Yacht Club with The Cruising Yacht Club Rockingham and Maylands Yacht Club the new comers.

The nationals are shaping up to be a huge success with 75 boats expected.  Most visitors are coming from Victoria including veteran sailor and notable local identity, Harold Medd.

Victorian Harold has thrown a challenge to his WA teenage grandson Oliver as to who can outsail who.  Harold grew up in the north of England where sailing clubs were few and far between and you didn’t just jump in the car and drive 60 miles to the ocean.  Not many people had cars anyway.  So, he built model boats and imagined being in them. 

After university, marriage and the arrival of children he started  real sailing aged in his 30’s with his three sons crewing for him.  It was not long before they surpassed him and he became the occasional crew.  Immigrating to Australia he sailed 505s at Black Rock, Victoria before a stint in big boats and Etchells and then, he found the Sabre!

Harold said “It’s a great little boat very sensitive and responsive to good sailing.  Now in my mid 70’s I can still compete in 25 knots and big waves so it’s a great boat for me.  I even won the over 70’s division in the Vic State titles two years in a row because it was strong wind”.

Meanwhile young Oliver in WA commenced sailing at Mounts Bay in Mudlarks before going on to O’pen Bics where he has proved himself with a 3rd in the Bic Nationals and 2nd in the States.

May the strongest man take up the Sabre in this challenge which will be sailed from 29th December 2013 to 4th January 2014 at Perth Dinghy Sailing Club.

For further information contact President Brian Jones on 0438 516 324 or sabreswa1@iprimus.com.auor www.sabre.org.au

_{Flying Ant State Team 2013    Front L-R Freyja Carlberg, JJ Dillon, Jayden Havelberg, Dean Cowan}   

_{Rear: Holly Hunt, Tahlia Aitkenhead, Jeremy Kaputin, Aaron Kaputin, Dale Brett, Chad Cowan, Caelin Winchcombe & John Clements}

Flying Ant State Team Selected

Interesting wind conditions produced some great competition at the Flying Ant State Selections held at The Cruising Yacht Club (Rockingham) on the 23^rd/24^th November 2013. The first two races were light and shifty with course changes of up to 90 degrees mid race creating some new challenges for many of the sailors when working out the altered top mark positions. However the fleet was up to the challenge and some close racing followed.

The afternoon saw Mangels Bay filled with TCYC’s regular fleet along with the RFBYC’s Dolphin Race (Fremantle to Rockingham) keelboats and some stiff competition amongst the Ants.

Last year’s national champions Dale Brett and Jayden Havelberg on Rhinochaser fought it out with MBSC’s all girl team, Holly Hunt and Freyja Carlberg on Phantom, Dunsborough Bay/TCYC combination of Caelin Winchcombe and John Clements in Predator and DBYC’s Chad and Dean Cowan in The Edgeputting on the pressure.

Sunday saw the breeze pick up and a win to Phantom took the girls to the front in race 5. With just one point between first and second it all came down to the last race and a potential tie and count-back decision. However, gusty winds and a more experienced team saw Rhinochaser take the last race in style with a strong gust capsizing Phantom who nevertheless retained their second place overall.

Congratulations to the 2013/14 Flying Ant State Team:

Dale Brett & Jayden Havelberg               Rhinochaser

Holly Hunt & Freyja Carlberg                        Phantom

Caelin Winchcombe & John Clements        Predator

Chad Cowan & Dean Cowan                         The Edge

Aaron Kaputin & JJ Dillon                             Equaliser

Jeremy Kaputin & Tahlia Aitkenhead      Cool Running

Andrew Buchan and Alex Crafts             Hard Yakka

_{Caelin Winchcombe & John Clements  (Predator) chase champions Dale Brett & Jayden Havelberg (Rhinochaser)}

Juniors Flourish at Dunsborough Bay

Following Discover Sailing Day 13 new juniors attended the first day of Sailing Instruction, which this season has seen any spare places quickly filled by local youngsters keen to get a spot amongst Kids Captain Commy Pete’s Pirate Group -  the fun DBYC junior sector.  Rear Commodore Nick and Peter are actively behind this year’s sailing ensuring the juniors continue to flourish.

Newly trained young sail coaches Dean & Chad Cowan and Morgan Flower have been busy putting their skills into practice mentoring and training the new apprentice pirates.

DBYC and GBYC sailors are talking the opportunity to sail at each other’s club following an informal agreement between respective the respective Commodores and it is hoped that this will become a formal agreement between the two clubs to promote sailing within Geographe Bay.

Last  weekend three Dunsborough juniors attended the WA Flying Ant State Selections where State shirts were up for grabs with the first 6 boats securing positions in the team. Caelin Winchcombe skippered for John Clements from TCYC in Predator finishing in 3rd place. Chad and Dean Cowan sailed The Edge and finished in 4th position. All 3 boys are now members of the 2013/14 State Team and will be representing WA in Port Melbourne in January.

The final DBYC sailing event for the year is on Sunday 22nd Dec with the “Dash for Cash” for juniors and The Quindalup Cup race with a Christmas Wardroom that evening for all. BYO nibblies to share.

DBYC Members and friends pass on their best wishes to Past Commodore Joan Embry who is at present unwell, wishing her a speedy recovery. Joan and Mark are valued members of DBYC and the club is poorer for their absence. 

2013 Mens Laser Worlds in Oman

Two top ten finishes for the Australian Sailing Team at the Laser Men’s 2013 World Sailing Championships in Oman.

Both ISAF world number seven Matthew Wearn of WA and  ISAF world number one Tom Burton of NSW had something to prove on the last day of the championships in Oman. Wearne managed to finish for the first time in the top 10 of a major Laser World Championships confirming his position in the Australian Sailing Team and Burton took 9^th spot just ahead of Wearne.

The Championship was won by 5 times Olympian and double Olympic champion Brazilian Robert Scheidt winning his 9^th World Champion title on his return from the Star class yachts. Pavlos Kontides from Cyprus came second and Phillip Buhl of Germany took third. 

Burton came to the event wanting to win and had high hopes of this; unfortunately it didn’t go the way he planned. “It has been nearly six months since I raced at full competition level and it showed a little with some of the mistakes I was making although it was a really tricky event”, he said at an interview after the racing. “My expectations and goals were to at least beat what I did last year which was fifth position.  I wasn’t far off in the end but in reality I was well off the pace of the leaders.  The top six were at a different level and seemed to do everything right. On a positive note, I strive to reach that level.  In the Laser fleet it doesn’t take much for the top guys to look really good.  I know I can repeat what I was doing this year and that was being in contention to win at most events.”  

The race week in Oman saw a mixture of results for the Australians with Ashley Brunning of NSW 30^th, Queenslanders Ryan Palk 57^th and Jared West 59^th and W.A. sailor Luke Elliot 56^th. Silver fleet Australian competitors were Victorian Jeremy O’Connell 1^st and Mitchell Kennedy of QLD 8^th.

Most of the Australian contenders will meet again at Sail Melbourne next week. 

_{Knee Deep            Photo: Perth Sailing Photography}

69^th Sydney Hobart Yacht Race

Seemingly out of the blue, a year before next year’s milestone 70th race run by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA), a fleet including five 100-foot super maxis, three 80-footers, 15 70-footers and 22 overseas boats has risen to the challenge for the 69th edition of the race.

All the big names are there and this year the Around the World Clippers will incorporate the Sydney Hobart Race as a leg in their ocean venture.

Two Western Australian entries are signed up for this year’s race; Knee Deep, a Farr 49 skippered and owned by Phil Childs of Hillarys Yacht Club  with Russell Balding as navigator and a crew of C. Saxon, D. Armstrong, J. Chaston, J. Delfos, J. Alp, S. Hartley, W. Koolhof, P. Thomson, C. Campbell, J. McMullan and Jamie Weedon.  Most of the crew are veterans of one or more Sydney Hobarts.

The second WA boat is Fremantle Sailing Clubs’ Black Adder, a Sigma 41 owned by James Clayton and crewed by Phil Washington, Bill McLeod and Charlie Meecham.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott has endorsed an enthusiastic challenge by wounded, injured and ill Defence personnel crewing for the first time in the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. 

The Prime Minister joined the crew and supporters at Darling Harbour, Sydney for the official naming of the Volvo Ocean 60 Spirit of Mateship.  The yacht was bought by RSL (Queensland Branch) to provide sailing rehabilitation programs for wounded, injured and ill Defence Force personnel through the charitable organisation Mates4Mates. 

Mates4Mates COO Michael Quinn said the Sydney Hobart challenge was a great opportunity for the crew to develop the skills and fortitude needed to recover from physical, emotional and psychosocial issues unique to those who have served in the military. 

A fleet of 95, said to be the strongest in years, will assemble in Sydney Harbour on 26 December 2013, their aim to knock Bob Oatley’s Wild Oats XI from the top of its perch in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

_{Numbers Game Under Spinnaker   Photo: Perth Sailing Photography}

Pods of Dolphins Laud Rockingham Dolphin Race

On Saturday light and variable winds allowed for pleasant sailing down to Rockingham with pods of dolphins living up to the race name, joining the mariners.

The weekend of 23^rd / 24^th  November saw the annual Rockingham Regatta hosted by Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club and The Cruising Yacht Club, Rockingham  encompass the Dolphin Race and Gordon Craig Race. Both of the longer races were preceded by windward leeward races.

The evening post race party was held in fine style with cold beers dropped onto the boats at their moorings in Rockingham. Sunday dawned with the windward leeward races held in a 13 knot south westerly in front of the club house and a magnificent display of spinnaker work and upwind beats in close proximity.

The Gordon Craig started in strengthening breezes of 15 to 20 knots swinging into the west with the different course fleets converging onto a run down Gage Roads with squally wet conditions and well over 20 knots providing a quick run to the finish line at South Mole.

The results were conclusive with Gary McNally’s Black Betty taking IRC and YAH in Division I and the honours being shared in Division Two with Hoodoo Man and Fourth Dimension taking the Division II  IRC and YAH respectively. Division III had Eric Gath’s Stimulus Package in first on IRC and Numbers Gametaking 1^st on YAH.  In the double handed division Lamotrek took both IRC and YAH with the windward leeward races not being sailed by the double handed boats.

_{Peter Sorensens' Fujin at 2013 Phuket Race Week} 

27th Phuket King’s Cup Regatta

Recognised throughout the eastern hemisphere as the premier sailing event of its kind, the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta puts on a spectacular display of the finest sailing talent across keelboats, multihulls, dinghies and windsurfers with entrants from  Australia, Thailand, New Zealand, Monaco, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Russia, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Spain and Finland.

After the cancellation due to the freak storm that hit Cape Panwa on Saturday the dinghy racing for 42 entrants in Opis, Lasers and Toppers resumed on Sunday in a light winds.

The Regatta held annually during the first week of December to celebrate the birthday of His Majesty the King of Thailand, kicked off with one of its largest ever fleet of keelboats; 105 entries competing over a newly expanded range of 15 individual classes.

With the weather gods smiling, moderate seas and north-easterlies around 10-knots. early leaders in the larger boats appeared in the form of Australia, Japan, Russia and host country, Thailand, racking up multiple wins in their respective divisions. 
Leading Aussie is Ray Roberts who has won almost every regatta in the Asian-Pacific region, at one time or another.

In IRC 2 Peter Sorensen’s Fujin team came back strongly to take the wins on day two and three.

WA’s Steel de Breeze owned and skippered by Brian de Vries and his crew from South of Perth Yacht Club is holding his own in IRC 2 with a 6^th, 4^th and 5^th. 

For further information or to see results to date visit: http://www.kingscup.com/results.cfm

Enjoy a Little Piece of History with the Wooden Boat Race and Rally for all Vintage Boats

It’s on again – that fantastic spectacle of wonderfully elegant boats of a bygone era, lovingly maintained and restored by their owners and proudly displayed for all to admire on the Swan River.

The popular Wooden Boat Race and Rally is being run by the H28 fleet at South of Perth Yacht Club on Saturday 11th January 2014. It will take its usual format of a box start for the divisions of wooden sailing boats.

Wooden power boats and cruising/ sailing craft that wish to join the fleet as observers are more than welcome and their presence will add weight to the pleasure of the Wooden Boat Race and Rally.

The day will start with lunch on the Quarterdeck deck for those who are interested and a briefing in Archie's Bar shortly before racing commences. The courses will be kept simple and not too demanding for the boats and their skippers and afterwards there will be the obligatory social barbecue and presentation of results in Archie's Bar for the skippers and crews.

Visitors are welcome and there may be the opportunity afforded by some of the power boats to accept spectators onboard however, for safety reasons, spectators must arrange a prior booking with the H28 group.  

For further information contact Glen Stanley 9364 3354 

_{Moth State Championships Walpole In the Trees Regatta 2013   Photo: Bernie Kaaks}

Moths Again Take Centre Stage at 2014 Walpole In the Trees Regatta 

New challenges for a bunch of talented and energetic Moth sailors at the 2014 State Championships to be held conjunctively with Walpole in the Trees Regatta.

Again taking centre stage the Moth sailors will fly through the trees with shining foilers glistening as the sunlight catches their super quick actions – a spectacle unmatched by any other sail craft.

Warmly welcomed by the Walpole community, last year the fleet stayed at the caravan park which provided ample time to socialise and provided a convenient walk to the rigging area. Sailing conditions were perfect with 13 to 17knot winds and flat waters surrounded by magnificent scenery. Tom Johnson proved to be the fastest and gained an early clear lead – can he repeat this in 2014? Will Scott Sharpe in his brand new boat take the silverware, will Steve Thomas or Max Puttman do the chasing? 

Locals are again throwing their support behind the event which sees Walpole turned into a festival for the long March weekend.  The carnival atmosphere brings down many of the city sailors, some come to compete whilst others merely want to escape the rat race for the long weekend.

It is anticipated that the regatta will attract a larger following than last year and early planning is well underway to ensure the success of the 2014 event.  Class Associations planning to hold their State Championships or a heat/s of thereof should be liaising with Walpole Yacht Club now and sailors will be asked to register their entries on the website to facilitate arrangements. 

What makes the Walpole In the Trees Regatta so special is that you are sailing in the trees, or at least amongst them and in one of the Top 10 sailing locations in the World.  The Walpole Yacht Club is the only club in Australia situated in the middle of a National Park with landlord and major stakeholder, the Department of Conservation fully supporting the event.

For further information on Moth Sailing visit: http://www.moth.asn.au/  For further information on 2014 Walpole In the Trees Regatta visit: http://www.walpoleyachtclub.com.au/ or contact Events Manager Jamie Dunross Ph: 0428 760122  regatta@walpole.com.au  

_{Clipper Race 5 Start – Albany Western Australia   Photo: Clipper Ventures Plc}

Clipper Drama at Race 5 Start from Albany to Sydney

Following a Parade of Sail and flyover, GREAT Britain was first over the start line, followed by Derry~Londonderry~Doire and Qingdao in third position as racing started for Race 5 from Albany, Western Australia today bound for Sydney, a distance of 2150 miles.

The twelve 70-foot Clipper yachts carrying more than 300 international crew sailing away from the Albany Marina as part of the 2013 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race was awesome for the Albany residents and visitors who flocked to every vantage point to farewell the fleet as it started in King George Sound.

However, following the start, a racing incident was reported between PSP Logistics (the only Australian skippered team) and GREAT Britain. Despite there being no injuries, both yachts returned to port for a full damage assessment. GREAT Britain lost her bowsprit while PSP Logistics suffered damage to a wheel and rails on the port side towards the stern. This morning GREAT Britain has resumed racing but PSP Logistics is still in port.

Unbelievably, after 5000 miles and 21 days of epic ocean racing between Cape Town and Albany, just one mile or so separated first and second in the last leg of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.  Now, at the start of the Albany to Sydney Race skippers may push their boats harder and faster to cover the shorter distance and to maximise the stop over opportunity to ready themselves in Sydney for the next leg which is conjunctive with the Sydney to Hobart Race.

The fleet is due into Sydney between 12 and 14 December. The fleet will berth at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in Rushcutter’s Bay. Following a stopover, the fleet will then compete in the world famous Rolex Sydney Hobart Race, followed by racing to Brisbane, Singapore, China, San Francisco, Panama, Jamaica, New York, Derry Londonderry and Dan Helder in the Netherlands before returning to London’s St Katharine Docks for Race Finish in July 2014.

To follow the race visit  https://www.clipperroundtheworld.com

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