Thankfully, by the time the fleet began to arrive at the Club on Friday things were improving and in the end, despite the lack of some sunshine for the photographers, many of the competitors agreed that it had been some of the best racing conditions the Regatta has seen for many years.

The regatta, in its 36th year, is a highlight of the classic yachting sailing calendar and attracts a large fleet of beautifully turned out vessels from yesteryear and this year’s entry list was no exception. As ever, it was going to be a hard task for our judge, Brian Hutchinson, in the “best presented” categories, which include the converted Albert Jeays Trophy.

Away from the marina, whilst most yachts were vying for handicap trophies such as the Ted Rice Shield, the rivalry was equally fierce for line honours victory, and the Deagon Slipways Trophy and Australiawide Boat Sales Trophy. The highly popular formula of long and short courses developed last year to keep all the yachts close together had received a further ‘tweak’ with two races on both the Saturday and Sunday, with a triangle course in the morning and sausage shaped course in the afternoon.

Race one started in a good breeze. At the front of the fleet and Division One, it was a welcome return to the event for “Spirit of Koomooloo” (Mike Freebairn) having won her division in the 2010 Sydney to Hobart being chased by the Tasman Sea Bird “Pagan” (Peter Kerr). In the Modern Classic’s division “Sassy” (Philip Lazzarini) was setting the pace whilst on the short course the Nordic Folkboat “Tern” (Carmen Mira) and “Seamist” (Graham Elliott), a Flying Fifteen began a weekend long battle for line honours.

Meanwhile, in the middle of the pack, the Clubs’ Corsair was struggling to learn the course to start with but pretty soon figured it out and went on to prove competitive in the lighting breeze, ultimately cross the line and marking the first ever race finish for its crew Clem Collins (sailing with Zoltan Szabo).

Race two was supposed to be a windward leeward course but a wind shift during the start procedure resulted in a tight reach, broad reach course which ironically proved to be a real hit with many of the skippers. The start itself was one that will no doubt enter the Regatta history books. After race one where the majority of the fleet was noticeably line shy, the crew on the start boat, “West Moon”, were expecting something a little more competitive but got rather more than they bargained for! In a classic demonstration of six into one doesn’t fit, the committee boat end of the line became very congested a few seconds before the gun with a number of boats clearly hoping to sneak around the barging buoy. As the gun went, the leeway boats harden up and the space closed; half a dozen of the larger yachts, with a couple of the dinghies stuck in-between for good measure, concertinaed up and ultimately into the start boat amid much grinding noise and shouting. West Moons’ skipper, Herb Prendergast, joked after the start that someone must have hung a For Sale sign on the boat between the races given the number of skippers that came in for a closer look. If that was the case, no –one brought although one of the yachts did take a small piece as a souvenir!

Following the drama of the start, the race itself was a calm affair although with the emphasis on reaching speed a number of yachts shot up the leader board. In particular, “Achernar II” (Steve Lugge), “Desire” (Ian Fraser) competing in her first regatta and the gaff rigged “Four Winds” (Gary Bradshaw) all put in top five performances.

For the evening’s entertainment, “Who Killed Kenny” performed in the marquee and despite the rain which began just as the yachts reached port had many of the crews on their feet.

Sunday dawned with more breeze and promised the fleet an excellent days racing. Perhaps because of the dramas at the start of Race Two or perhaps due to the excesses of the evening before, line shyness was once again the theme of Race Threes’ start.

Noticeable performances in Division One came from the S&S “Balamara” (John Richardson) who finally managed to get the better of “Spirit of Koomooloo” and “Pagan” on handicap and “Tequila” (Steve Walker) who started the day with a brand new and very loud set of sails which, despite Steve telling anyone who would listen that they would slow him down, moved him up the leader board nicely.

In Division Two, the real story was the Robert Spray “Rozinante” (Bruce Scammels) who came from nowhere to win on handicap in Race Three and back that up with a 2nd in Race Four.

Another significant improver was “Inisheer” (Daniel Farmer) who discovered some boat speed that had been missing the previous day and started to make things uncomfortable for Sassy and the persevering “Vegemite” (Peter Holm) in the Modern Classic division.

Race Four saw a return to the windward leeward course and unlike yesterday the course was a perfect beat. With the engine running on West Moon just in case, the start procedure drew near and dead on cue the action started. Thankfully this time around there was no contact but with five boats over the line there was still a fair amount of radio chatter as the offending yachts were called back.

In the big boats, “Merry Mac” (Tony Holm) put in an excellent performance whilst “Carouse” (Michael Franklin) finally got a handicap win in the smaller yachts having just missed out up until that point.

Once back in the marina, the entertainment continued where it had left off the night before and the main presentation was held. So often for presentations, a significant number of crews are not present to collect awards so it was great to see that every skipper in the fleet attended.

New for 2011 was the addition of a third day of racing, a pursuit race that finishes near the coffee pots so that visiting yachts can then head straight for home. Whilst many of the fleet decided to take the direct route home, those that did stay for the race were rewarded with a good breeze and, finally, sunshine. The course, designed to minimise upwind work, took the fleet around the bay on a two hour sail that was producing its fair share of grins.
With start times based on their performance over the weekend, the results of the pursuit race seemed to give a good indication of who had excelled over the previous four races. Pagan, who had had an excellent regatta tried hard but just couldn’t catch up whilst “Bluenose” (Gerard Forde) who had won the ‘Spirit of the Regatta’ award the night before for sheer perseverance finally showed what she is capable of with a well deserve 2nd place just 4 minutes behind “Blue Peter” (Gary Head).

A huge thank you to all the volunteers who help run this great event and to our sponsors who quite literally make it possible: Hempel Yacht Paints, Pussers Rum, Gill, Elpower, Deagon Slipways and Australiawide Boat Sales.

qcyc_regatta2011.pdf

New for this year is the addition of the third day i.e. Monday. Two races are scheduled for both Saturday and Sunday with a mixture of triangle and windward/leeward courses being used. These four races will make up the core regatta. On Monday morning we will conclude the event with an optional pursuit race finishing near the Compass Adjustment Buoy in order that crews can then head straight for their home port.

After a successful trial last year, we will be using different course lengths within the same race area again. By using different windward marks but the same wing and bottom marks, the fleet bunch up nicely and this concept was a real hit in 2010.

As normal, the Regatta will also feature the “Best Presented” competition for both the yachts themselves and competitors Classic Cars. Judging takes place over the course of the weekend and awards are given out in a number of categories.

The Wooden Boat Association has agreed to participate to a greater degree for 2011 and are intending to bring smaller craft along for display and just messing about in.

The official Notice of Race will be released next week but in the meantime, visit the brand new Vintage Yacht Regatta website, http://vintageregatta.qcyc.com.au where you will find pretty much all the details you need including the entry details. The entry form has been simplified for this year; there is just one form to fill in which can be done on line or printed out and completed the old fashioned way. No other documents are required; simple!

2010 was a great regatta; make sure you sign up soon to be part of the 2011 event.

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Owner/skippers Euan MacDonald (Cherana) and Peter Kerr (Pagan) will claim a special place in Australian blue water sailing history when they stage their ‘mate against mate’ match race with the almost identical Tasman Sea Bird class sloops.

Cherana which has the distinction of winning the 1959 Sydney Hobart Race with original owner Russell Williams at the helm was narrowly beaten by the Norman Wright Jnr skippered Mouse Of Malham in her only previous Gladstone Race challenge 51 years ago.

However rival Pagan mastered fresh and frightening squalls and foam crested seas when her original owner Nick Lockyer steered her to a deserved Courier – Mail Cup overall victory after Rupert Murdoch helmed the ketch Ilina to a record breaking 33 hour 23 minute 54 second line honours win in 1964.

Both traditional timber deep keel yachts have been meticulously maintained by their proud owners and are ready for what promises to become a tack for tack duel from start to finish.

Naturally a personal bond exists between the crews but both skippers have both the confidence and important miles at the helm with the result hinging on the human related skills to sail smarter and faster under pressure.

As a point of interest Pagan recorded a 7.8 knot average to seal victory in 1964 while Cherana confronted with light and variable head winds only averaged 3.2knots after skipper Russell Williams and crew fell just 25 minutes 31 seconds off the stern of the yawl Mouse Of Malham to win in 1960.

Numerous sea miles have passed under the keels of both yachts since then and while boat speed will be important the result will come down to combined human element skills from skipper and crew to make sure their bow is in front at the finish line.

More information on Cherana available in the Boat Register, classic-yacht.asn.au/boat-register/cherana/

The Slocum Spray Society of Australia Inc. in conjunction with The Queensland Cruising Yacht Club Inc
invite all yachts of all designs to take part in the inaugural 2011 Equinox rally.

While the rally will focus on celebrating the heritage of classic yachts, their design and the history of sailing, there will also be a division for non-classic yachts of any design.

This will be a social event governed by the international rules for prevention of collision at sea col regs.

The event is in two parts.
Saturday is a pursuit sail with individual start times based on the classic universal rule. All boats will be given a handicap and allocated a division. The course will be determined dependant on the weather but finishing at QCYC. Saturday evening dinner will be available at Slipways restaurant.

Sunday will be a “show and shine” day for public to view the boats and owners and crew to swap tale tales and true with attendees and participants. There will also be a static display of classic cars, booths to browse and live jazz by Metaphor starting to play at 08.45hrs . Breakfast and lunch will be available at Slipways restaurant; quality coffee will also be available. Presentation of prizes and awards, including best presented boat, will be made at 12 noon Sunday concluding at 13.00 hrs

Entry fee $50 is payable to the Slocum Spray Society Australia, to be lodged by mail or in person to QCYC by close of business Tuesday 1st of March 2011.

Program of events, news and entry form ClassicYachtEquinoxRally.aspx