April-May 2024

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
      

April-May 2024

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
      
  • Home
  • About
    • History
    • Sponsors/Partners
    • Pantaenius Australia
    • Newcastle Airport
    • Getting There
    • Car Parking
  • Racing
    • Series Information
      • Passage Series
      • Windward-Leeward Series
      • Bay Series
    • Enter
    • Entry List
    • Notice of Race
    • Sailing Instructions
    • Registration
    • Results
    • Feeder Races
    • Crew Register
  • Media
    • Regatta Media
    • News Archive
    • Image Gallery
    • Video Gallery
  • Social
    • A Week Of Fun
    • Sail Port Stephens Ball
    • Day Tours And Activites
    • Crew Clothing
  • Port Stephens
    • Things To See And Do In Port Stephens
    • Port Stephens Beaches
    • Dining Out In Port Stephens
    • Port Stephens And Beyond
  • Accommodation
    • Self Contained Apartments/Houses
    • Bannisters Port Stephens
    • The Anchorage Port Stephens
  • Berthing
    • D’albora Marina Nelson Bay
    • The Anchorage Marina Corlette
  • Contact

Magic finish for ‘best-ever’ regatta

April 9, 2017Mark Rothfield

The wind and weather gods continued to smile over the 10th anniversary Sail Port Stephens for a magic final day, with gentle east- to nor-east winds belying an approaching cold front soon to deliver rain and strong winds.

The record 112 boats and crews made the journey to Port Stephens from South Australia, Victoria, Queensland and other NSW ports for the week-long event split into two halves and deemed the best-ever in terms of perfect autumn sunshine and a range of manageable sailing conditions.

Sunday’s closing races determined the Garmin IRC state title, Seabreeze Hotel Super 12 state title and Performance Racing and cruising fleet placegetters in the second-half Pantaenius Port Stephens Trophy.

IRC NSW state title winner RKO, Aaron Rowe’s Sydney based TP52 from the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, was in a league of its own over the three days. Rowe and his top crew scored 1,3,1 in Sunday’s building NNE breeze up to 16 knots, adding up to a combined low-score of nine points from six races.

“The standout for me was how hard the crew worked in terms of getting to the regatta and right throughout, making sure the boat went fast,” Rowe said. “The weather, competition and regatta management were fantastic. We were very pleased to battle it out against the other 52s and come out on top.”

Sam Hayne’s TP52 Celestial (CYCA) was the nearest challenger to RKO on 20 points and third was Tony Kirby’s Ker 46 Patrice (CYCA).

In IRC division 2, Bob Cox’s DK46 Nine Dragons (Middle Harbour Yacht Club) commanded the scoresheet until the penultimate race when Gerry Hatton’s Mat 12.45 Bushranger (Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club) slipped into the lead. Nine Dragons finished up the top boat by the slimmest margin, a countback, after posting a final heart-stopping corrected time win by 11 seconds to Bushranger’s second.

“It’s our third year of winning the NSW IRC championship,” said a delighted Cox. “The first year we had a good margin, we won on a countback last year and again this year. I can’t believe it. Full credit to Bushranger, they had our number throughout the regatta.

“I asked the crew about the points situation going into the last race and they wouldn’t tell me, they wanted to keep me positive. We left nothing on the track in terms of crew handling. It’s very rewarding coming off our second in division one of the Australian Yachting Championship two weeks ago,” Cox added.

Performance Racing division one went outside the Port Stephens entrance to deep water for their three final short courses on the same track as the IRC fleet and Super 12s.

Over five races, Rob and Corinne Franci’s MBD41 The Banshee (Cronulla Sailing Club) was too good for Phil Arnall’s Newcastle based Corby 43 Anger Management and Kristy and Warren Buchan’s Colortile from CSC in third.

Performance Racing division two was inshore racing on the same course as the sports boats for their final three windward/leewards.

Fareast 28 distributor Geerit Veenemans is taking the division two overall trophy back with him to the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron, having created a three point separation to the second-placed boat, another Fareast 28 from RQYS, skippered by Matthew Brown and called Sea Dragon.

“We are very happy, we have a really good crew and the boat likes light wind, plus we love windward/leewards,” said Veenemans of Sunday’s short course format and inshore conditions – flatwater and 4-7 knot easterlies.

The Performance Racing fleet included a number of out-of-towners from Queensland and one syndicate of owners from Adelaide who stepped on their new Modified Mumm 36 on Friday for the boat’s first race.

Day one of the Pantaenius Port Stephens Trophy marked the maiden outing for Brett Brown, Richard Harries and Ian Metcalfe who stepped up to a racing boat in time for the 10th anniversary regatta, an event they would return to “in a heartbeat” says Harries.

From Port Stephens, Magic will be delivered back to the Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia where the aim is “to become crack division one sailors and be club boat of the year”. Harries reckons a resurgence in the South Australian racing scene is because of the investment in the under 40ft racing division. “It’s empire-building what’s happening there,” he teases.

A slow final passage race for Performance Cruising in light winds and fast-moving tide on Nelson Bay went to the Lake Macquarie Northshore Nxs 38 Excapade skippered by Noel Gough thereby tidying up his overall series win over Stephen Dadour’s Dehler 41 Solutions (RPAYC).

Dates for Sail Port Stephens 2018 are set down for April 9-15, 2018 which is the week leading into the school holiday break.

Final overall results http://www.topyacht.net.au/results/2017/sps/index.htm

Facebook page

#NewSouthWales #portstephens #seasonofsailing

banshee Excapade

Fareast 28R, Port Stephens Trophy, Sail Port Stephens. Picture © Salty Dingo 2017 @saltydingomedia

Fareast 28R, Port Stephens Trophy, Sail Port Stephens. Picture © Salty Dingo 2017 @saltydingomedia

This message is only visible to admins.
Problem displaying Facebook posts. Backup cache in use.
Click to show error
Error: Error validating access token: The session has been invalidated because the user changed their password or Facebook has changed the session for security reasons. Type: OAuthException
Sail Port Stephens

5 months ago

Sail Port Stephens
Great news!! The NSW Government, via tourism & events agency Destination NSW, is continuing its support for our regatta and we'd like to take a moment to sincerely thank them. The funding has enabled Sail Port Stephens to evolve into the massive event it has become today, providing a huge stimulus for the region and unforgettable experiences for the sailing community. Please see our latest media release: www.sailportstephens.com.au/nsw-government-renews-vital-funding/ ... See MoreSee Less

Photo

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Pantaenius

SPS2015 Highlight Pictures & Videos

Instagram

Latest News

  • NSW Government renews vital funding
  • Bay Series turns on sparkling conditions
  • Crews tired but happy after an exciting final day at Sail Port Stephens

Facebook

This message is only visible to admins.
Problem displaying Facebook posts. Backup cache in use.
Click to show error
Error: Error validating access token: The session has been invalidated because the user changed their password or Facebook has changed the session for security reasons. Type: OAuthException
Great news!! The NSW Government, via tourism & events agency Destination NSW, is continuing its support for our regatta and we'd like to take a moment to sincerely thank them. The funding has enabled Sail Port Stephens to evolve into the massive event it has become today, providing a huge stimulus for the region and unforgettable experiences for the sailing community. Please see our latest media release: www.sailportstephens.com.au/nsw-government-renews-vital-funding/ ... See MoreSee Less

5 months ago  ·  

Photo

Latest Video

Contact

Email: info@sailportstephens.com.au
© Copyright 2021 Sail Port Stephens