Fortunately, Principal Race Officer Denis Thompson had put two of the three scheduled races to bed before the Manly Circle waters turned to glass and a big southerly buster blew the light nor’ easter to pieces.

Rain poured down, the thunder cracked threateningly and lightning hit the course, along with 30 knots of wind, before it too, blew away.

“It was prudent to end the series,” Thompson succinctly said. “We had eight of the nine races sailed; better to be safe,” he said.

Old School won six of the eight races sailed, starting with a third and ending the same way, prompting Griffith to comment: “We could have started better and finished better, but otherwise it was good. We’ve done a lot of work and I have a strong team, so I was confident going in. We had good enough boat speed to get us out of tight spots.”

Realising they had enough in the bank to claim the Rolex Trophy and win the NSW Championship after Race 7 was completed, Griffith said: “We knew we had it won, so we played it pretty safe in Race 8. We conserved our sails for the nationals, which we’ll sail just after we do the Pittwater-Coffs race.

Coming off wins in the Sydney 38 One-Design Pittwater Regatta and the Sydney Short Offshore Racing Championship two weeks ago, Griffith from Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club said he was not surprised by their win.

Gordon Ketelbey sailed Zen to second place and won ‘Boat of the Day’ after scoring a second place in Race 7 and finishing off with a bullet. Zen finished 14 points adrift of Old School, while CYCA entry, Calibre, owned by Geoff Bonus and Richard Williams was third, a further 14 points behind.

Towards the end of the second race, winds became very flukey and shifty before dying off completely. In fact, Denis Thompson had to change the course between races and during them for the Sydney 38s.

Griffith said he felt “confident’ going into the nationals. “We didn’t compete last year, but we finished second in 2009, and now I’m going for the number one spot. I’ve got a couple of very good sailors on board and we’ve been training hard,” he said, referring to tactician Steve McConaghy and mainsheet hand Bruce Savage.

Attached photograph (dec 2011 067 – credit Anna Cross) – Sydney 38′s race towards the storm to get the wind in the NSW State Championships 2011.

A total of nine boats raced the series, which had good clean tight results with four boats within three points of a podium finish.

With a win in the final race, the 20 nautical mile South Solitary Island race, RPAYC’s Mark Griffith’s Sydney 38 Old School won the IRC division in the 2012 Pittwater & Coffs Harbour Regatta, on a count back from MHYC’s Rob Reynolds DK46 Exile.

Old School wins IRC in the 2012 Pittwater & Coffs Harbour Regatta – photo by Damian Devine

Only one of the two races scheduled was completed on the final day of the regatta.

With two wins, a second and a fifth in the four race regatta, Griffith ended on 14 points knowing that he had to win today and, overnight leader Reynolds to place third or worse to have any chance of lifting the coveted IRC regatta trophy. Reynolds who sailed an excellent race today was pushed into third place by a mere 8 seconds, also finished on 14 points. With Griffith’s two wins and Reynolds one in the Pittwater to Coffs Harbour race, meant he was declared the winner.

Another Sydney 38 Mark Hinchley’s Wizzard finished second in the final race to finish on 27 points to pick up third in the regatta.

Wizzard finished second in today’s IRC race around South Solitary Island and third in the regatta – photo by Damian Devine

With a light 5-8 NNE breeze early and a Southerly forecast, racing got underway just before 1130hrs after a general recall in the first attempt to get the race underway. The breeze softened to 3 knots as the fleet made their way up to South Solitary Island before the breeze swung 90 degrees to a 10 knot SSE.

The boats set their kites to round South Solitary to starboard and by the time they rounded the island, the breeze was swinging more to the South and building. When all the boats had rounded and on a reach back to Coffs Harbour, the southerly kicked in and peaked at 20 knots, Pretty Woman took line honours in a little under three hours. On corrected time, Old School won in 3hrs 14mins 18secs by two minutes from Wizzard and Exile, third.

An elated Griffith’s who has now clocked up four regatta wins in a row said, “this is awesome, totally unexpected. We knew we had to sail well today and we did, the crew put in hard today and were hiking all the way until it hurt. We got a good start, sailed well tactically and just put our heads down to get the job done”

“We came here wanting to win the Sydney 38 Division, so to win the IRC overall is a huge bonus. The crew were fantastic and they pushed hard all the way. We’ve been training hard, so this victory is sweet. I think the 500 plus tacks we did getting here in the Coffs race is good training for the Nationals coming up in a couple of weeks. Thanks to the RPAYC and CHYC for a great regatta, we’ll be back next year,” added Griffith.

FINAL PLACINGS 

1st THE NEXT CHALLENGE Lou Abrahams SYC 26 points, 6, 6, 1, 3, 1, 2, 2, 3, 2

2nd OUTLAW Alan & Tom Quick CYCA 38 points, 4, 8, 5, 5, 4, 5, 1, 2, 4

3rd WHISPER Bruce Ferguson RPAYC 38 points, 5, 2, 6, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 7

4th  OLD SCHOOL Mark Griffith RPAYC 40 points, 2, 1, 3, 4, 5, 1 ,3,16Q, 5

5th ZEN Gordon Ketelbey MHYC 52 points, 3, 7, 7, 7, 2, 8, 4, 1, 13

6th RISK Anna & Martin Cross RPAYC 54 points, 8, 5, 4, 6, 7, 3, 6, 9, 6

7th THE GOAT T. Clift / B. Foye CYCA 65 points 1, 9, 2, 1, 12, 10, 10, 8, 12

8th EYE CANDY G.Ward / C. Dawson RPAYC 74 points 9, 12, 9, 8, 10, 12, 7, 6, 1

9th CALIBRE G.Bonus / R.Williams CYCA 77 points 10, 4, 11, 10, 6, 6, 9, 10, 11

10th AUDACIOUS G.Clinnick / P.Holden RBYC 78 points 7, 3, 14, 9, 13, 9, 8, 5, 10

11th THE BOLTER Rick Welch RPAYC 89 points 13, 11, 8, 11, 8, 11, 12, 12, 3

12th ELENI Tony Levett MHYC 92 points 12, 10, 10, 12, 9, 7, 13, 11, 8

13th THIRLMERE S.Warneford / L.Jamie MHYC 106 points 11, 14, 13, 13, 11, 13, 15, 7, 9

14th CONSPIRACY D.Hudson / P.Byford RPAYC 125 points 15, 15, 12, 14, 14, 14, 14, 13, 14

15th RUSH Neil Sutton DSC 129 points 14, 13, 15, 16C, 16F, 15, 11, 14, 15

For all results visit: http://www.rpayc.com.au/results/2011/events/syd38australianchampionship/series.htm

‘The Next Challenge, a model of consistency leads into the final day – Sydney 38 Nationals 2012′    Damian Devine   Click Here to view large photo

‘Zen crosses the line to take victory in race two of the Sydney 38 Nationals 2012 – Sydney 38 Nationals 2012′   Damian Devine    Click Here to view large photo

Eye Candy’s Gavin Ward & Chris Dawson took the honours in the first race of the Sydney 38 Nationals 2012 – Sydney 38 Nationals 2012 -  Damian Devine   Click Here to view large photo

Lou Abraham’s ‘The Next Challenge’ leader after Day One of the Sydney 38 Nationals 2012 – Sydney 38 Nationals 2012 -  Damian Devine  Click Here to view large photo

‘Crew work is vital in Sydeny 38 one design racing – Sydney 38OD Australian Championship 2012′    Tom Spithill   Click Here to view large photo

Old School crew hiking on their way to winning the recent Pittwater & Coffs Harbour Regatta Sydney 38OD Australian Championship 2012 -  Damian Devine   Click Here to view large photo

The Lou Abrahams owned, Mark Bulka skippered ‘The Next Challenge’ has been crowned the 2012 Sydney 38 national champion with a comfortable 12 point win. Hosted by The Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club over the past three days, the nationals attracted 15 entries and one of the strongest fleets in years with close racing on the Palm Beach circle the highlight of the series. Nine races were sailed in a variety of conditions ranging from very light shifting breezes to a gusty Sou’ Easter reaching 20 knots at times.

Mark Bulka skippers ‘The Next Challenge’ to victory for Lou Abrahams – photo by Damian Devine

Leading into the final day, ‘The Next Challenge’ had a handy but not unassailable eight point lead over ‘Outlaw’. They just needed to continue their consistent form shown over the previous two days and stay out of trouble to win. They managed to do so with a 1-6-6 finish on day three. So with two heat wins, three seconds, two thirds and two sixths for the series ‘The Next Challenge’ from Victoria had a series scorecard of 26 points, proving that consistency wins regattas.

’Outlaw’ (the father & son team of Alan and Tom Quick), from the CYCA, were placed second on a count back from ‘Whisper’ (Bruce Ferguson) from the RPAYC after a nervous wait in the protest room when ‘Whisper’ protested ‘Outlaw’ for proper course on the final run to the finish in race one of the day. The protest was dismissed and the results were official with both finishing on 38 points.

Protest flag flies on Whisper against Outlaw coming to the finish in race one – photo by Damian Devine

The plan for the final day was to complete four races but only three were managed by the race committee due to a shifting and fading breeze. In the nine races sailed, there were six different winners highlighting the strength of the fleet in this one design class and the quality of the sailors.

Action at the start on Day Three – photo by Damian Devine
Race Officer Ted Anderson got the fleet away on time at 11100hrs in a 10 knot easterly as forecast. With the pin end favoured, the fleet got away to a clean start with ‘’The Next Challenge’ jumping clear of the fleet to dominate the race with superior speed to win comfortably from defending national champion, the Clift/Foye ‘The Goat’ whilst Mark Griffith’s ‘Old School’ was third. The only incident was the protest by ‘Whisper’ on ‘Outlaw’ coming into the finish.

‘Old School’ got the jump in race two of the day with ‘The Next Challenge’ and ‘Eye Candy’. ‘Old School’ picked a faster lane to lead at the top mark and were never headed winning comfortably for their second win of the championship from ‘Whisper’ whilst the Clinnick/Holden ‘Audacious’, another Victorian picked up their first podium of the series with a third.

The final race was one of the closest in the championship with the Clift/Foye ’The Goat’ returning to the winner’s circle for the second time in the series to beat ‘Old School’ and Gordon Ketelby’s ‘Zen’ in a tight finish.

With a first, second and a third ‘Old School’ was awarded boat of the day and fourth overall on 40 points. Owner/skipper Mark Griffith, the pre-event favourite after winning the four previous regattas in a row, will no doubt be reflecting on their disqualification on day one, contemplating what may have been.

RPAYC’s Mark Griffith’s ‘Old School’ boat of the day on day three and finished fourth overall – photo by Damian Devine

The championship was sailed in good spirit and the race management team, lead by Ted Anderson are to be congratulated for their on water management in testing conditions.

A presentation at the RPAYC concluded a very successful National Championship.

Congratulations to the legend Lou Abrahams, who now has a couple of national crowns to his name, and ‘The Next Challenge’ crew who were clearly the best performed boat of the championship.

‘The Next Challenge’ Skipper Mark Bulka reflected on the championship win saying, ‘it’s great to do this for Lou, he really wanted to be here. This crew have sailed together for a long time and they really worked hard and the boat just kept responding. We knew we just had to stay out of trouble today so after the first race when we won, we literally took the foot of the pedal and just avoided any infringements and sailed safely. We’ve really enjoyed the regatta and look forward to taking the trophy back to Victoria.”

The NOR and online entries can be found at www.lincolnweek.com.au/registration-entry-list/notice-of-race

The Regatta organisers have announced that special guest for the 2012 Regatta will be Regatta Director for the 34th America’s Cup and CEO of America’s Cup Race Management Iain Murray. As part of his visit to Port Lincoln Iain will be guest speaker at the Lexus Cocktail Party at the Port Lincoln Hotel on Monday of the Regatta.

Any one interested in chartering a Sydney 38 for the Race Week should contact Andrew Corletto at acorletto@kellyco.com.au for further information.

In one of the closest and most challenging finishes the race has seen, it was the Sydney 38 fleet that provided a nail biting photo finish in the 628 nautical mile race, with the first two Sydney 38s finishing 29 seconds apart.

Jessica Watson, skipper of Ella Bache – Andrea Francolini ©
Last year’s winner, Eleni, is taking to the high seas again under the name TSA Management but it is the yacht that came second, renamed Ella Bache, that has the sailing community buzzing.

Jessica Watson will be at the helm of Ella Bache, and showing her usual flair and commitment to breaking records, her and her crew have been training intensely for the last few months.

Ella Bache has an average crew age of 19 while the defending champion TSA Management average age is well into their forties, you would be forgiven as seeing this as the young vs the oldies.

But Jessica Watson is adamant that their age is not a defining factor, saying recently ‘I think it’s surely about the experience and the way you go about things more than an age.’

Do not discount any of the eight yachts in the fleet winning the handicap honours.

The Goat, winner of the national championship earlier this year, has its sights on the Tattersalls Cup. Mark our words, just as it was last year, the most exciting race will be in the Sydney 38 fleet.

Sydney 38 fleet – Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race website

by Jacqueline Levett

2012 Sydney 38 Australian Championship NOR

NOTICE OF MEETING & BUSINESS TO BE CONDUCTED AT THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE SYDNEY 38 ONE DESIGN CLASS ASSOCIATION

TO BE HELD AT THE RSYS, PEEL STREET, KIRRIBILLI

7 PM MONDAY 17^th OCTOBER 2011

NOTES

1. Only members who are in good financial standing may attend the meeting and vote.

2. A quorum consists of 25% of the membership.

3. Members entitled to vote may appoint a proxy.

4. Nominations for the Executive Committee must be received in writing, signed by two members of

the Association and accompanied by the written consent of the nominee.

5. Nominations must be received by the Executive seven days prior to the AGM

AGENDA

1. President’s Report 2010/11

To receive the report by the President of the Sydney 38 Class Association

2. Financial Statements 2010/2011

To receive and consider the Financial Statements, 30 June 2011, together with the report of the

Treasurer

3. Calendar

To receive and consider the Class Event calendar for the 2011/2012 sailing season.

4. Election of the Executive Committee

4.1 To elect a member of the Association as President

4.2 To elect a member of the Association as Treasurer

4.3 To elect no fewer than two further members of the Association to the Executive Committee

Note that the current President, Treasurer and Executive Committee members are all standing for re-election

Mark Griffiths – President Greg Clinnick – Treasurer Executive Committee Geoff Bonus, Peter Byford, Andrew Corletto, Lou Abrahams, Rowan Simpson

5. Resolutions

To consider and, if thought fit, pass the following special resolutions by the required two thirds majority of those present or by proxy and entitled to vote.

Preamble

The Class rules have not been reviewed for several years. A number of administrative matters need to be addressed to more accurately reflect how the Association is managed and take into account changes in circumstances over time. These changes are considered largely cosmetic and will not impact the integrity of the one design racing principles of performance of the Sydney 38.

Two resolutions that were passed at the last AGM (increase in the maximum crew weight to 800kgs and the deletion of the ISAF Group 2 sailor classification) have been reflected in the redrafting of the rules.

Resolution 1

To adopt the redrafted class rules as the rules used to govern the class effective immediately.

6. Other Business

To consider other business that might be brought forward in accordance with the Rules.

Mark Griffith – President

The traditional season opener for the Victorian Sydney 38 One Design fleet was sailed on Corio Bay last weekend. Hosted by the Royal Geelong Yacht Club and sponsored by Morris Finance, the regatta provided the opportunity for crews to shake off the cobwebs and practice their skills before the summer season officially gets under way in the first week of October. The Royal Geelong Yacht Club was very welcoming and made its facilities available throughout the weekend for crews to feel at home and organized a barbeque on Saturday night for crews and families to socialize. The Marina Management organizes berths for visiting yachts and the Club provides a competent Race Management team to ensure the racing is well run.

Seven Sydney 38’s competed in conditions that tested both their patience and skills. Four races were completed on Saturday and three on Sunday. The weather ranged from light and variable on Saturday morning to gusty north westerly to 22 knots on Saturday afternoon. With little wind forecast, Sunday’s  conditions actually provided the best conditions with the wind building to 12 knots before fading to less than 8 knots in the afternoon. Racing was close with 4 different heat winners. Finishes were close with the local boat “Cinquante” leading the point score at the conclusion of day 1 of racing followed by ‘Audacious’ 5 points separated the top 5 boats. However, with three wins, consistency saw “Challenge” top the point score at the end of the regatta. At the presentation, Mark Bulka, the helmsman on “Challenge”, congratulated the other competitors on their performances, indicating he felt the standard of racing had improved and suggesting winning the regatta had not been easy.

Race One :-  With a very unstable air mass over Corio Bay, it was anyone’s guess where the wind was going to blow from. However, it was “Cinquante” who eventually picked up the north westerly to hold off a fast finishing “Audacious”. The boats on the right were clear winners on the run to the finish leaving “Challenge” and “38 Degees South” wallowing in the centre of the course.

Race Two :- After relocating the start, “Sierra Chainsaw” showed form to lead from “Challenge” in a two boat race sailed in 15 knots of  breeze. However, a jibe set at the last mark saw “Challenge” grab the lead and lay the finish without gybing to win the heat.

Race Three :- This race was shortened to one lap after the wind changed direction yet again. Jibs replaced spinnakers on the run to the first. It was with some relief for the “Audacious” crew that they  were able to find the new breeze to hold off “Cinquinte” and “Challenge” who both threatened to take the lead. It was quite a sight to see “Clockwork” with her orange spinnaker under full power further to the east charging, when those ahead were almost becalmed. However, such were the vagaries of the conditions that anything could have occurred.

Race Four :-  After another course change,  it was “Challenge” very close to being a premature starter, whotacked to port at the start, cleared her air and picked up a right hand shift to lead from “Cinquante” after the first lap. She was able to extend the lead at the finish to win comfortably to complete the days racing. “Audacious” sailed well to recover from being OCS at the start of the race. to finish fourth. 

Race Five.:- Day two of racing began with a building wind from the south east of about 8 knots. “Clockwork” and “Challenge” enjoyed a close race with “Clockwork” leading to the top mark. The left side of the course was favoured at this stage. “Cinquante” made it clear of her preference and “Challenge” followed suite. She was able to gain the ascendency over “Clockwork” by going left and held her lead to the finish.

Race Six :- In one of the closest finishes of the series, “Clockwork” crossed the finish a mere metre in front of “Cinquante” to win the race in a dying wind. “Sierra Chasinsaw” dropped out of contention by going right on the run. For those “on the ball” that was an indicator for the final race. of the day.

Race Seven :- After a very congested start, “Cinquante”, the main threat to “Challenge”got away well and chose the left side of the course.  “Challenge” started slowly, saw “Mille Starbords “ sailing well on the right, tacked into a knock and thereafter forced “Cinquante” further to the left. “Audacious” sailing her own race was always a threat and protected the right side of the course  to take out a well deserved win to complete the series on a high note. “Cinquante” fell back through out the race to allow “Challenge” a series win by the slender margin of 2 points.

.FINAL RESULTS

1. Challenge                                Lou Abrahams                12  Points

2. Cinquante                                Ian Murray                    14  Points 

3. Audacious                               Greg Clinnick                 15  Points 

4.  Sierra Chainsaw                      Mel Morrison                 18  Points

5.  Clockwork                             Gordon Mather                23  Points

6.  Mille Sabords                         Stephane Howarth           33 Points

7. 38 Degrees South                     John Chatham                 36 Points

 The Corinthian Trophy (No professionals) was won by Audacious with Sierra Chainsaw and Mille Sabords second and third.

With the addition of another Sydney 38 to the fleet,(“Playground” Andrew Robinson) there are now 11 Sydney 38’s on the bay.  If the racing on the weekend was any indication of what lies ahead, the fleet can look forward to a great summer of racing! Many thanks on behalf of the Sydney 38 Southern chapter to Ian Murray of Morris Finance and the Royal Geelong Yacht Club for hosting a very successful weekend of racing.

 Rowan Simpson

20/9/2011