Bellerive Yacht Club

Bellerive yachtsman Jeff Cordell, one of the hardest working volunteers in the sport, today received a well deserved return for his efforts, scoring a scoring a fine, albeit close, win with Host Plus Executive in Group 1 PHS of the Combined Clubs Harbour Racing Series on the Derwent.

Cordell is Yachting Tasmania’s official measurer and has been a driving force in the introduction of the AMS handicap system into yachting in Hobart, while at the same time maintaining the traditional PHS and IRC categories.

Measurement commitment and preparations to compete in the Launceston to Hobart offshore race at the end of December saw Host Plus Executive miss the last two races of the pre-Christmas Combined Harbour Series but the well sailed boat was back with a vengeance today.

Adding to Cordell’s pleasure today was his 13 seconds boat-for-boat win against rival Mumm 36 TasPaints, skippered by fellow BYC member Ian Stewart.

Host Plus Executive, a Mumm 36, won Group 1 PHS category by just six seconds on corrected time from fellow Bellerive Yacht Club yacht, Invincible, skippered by Harold Clark, third place going to line honours winner Wired, Stephen Boyes’ Farr 40 from the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania.

Invincible, a Farr 1104, reversed the results under AMS scoring and, with its favourable rating, beat Host Plus Executive by almost four minutes on corrected time. Don Calvert’s Intrigue from the RYCT finished third on corrected time.

Invincible finished off an excellent day of sailing in near perfect conditions, a sea breeze that reached 16 knots on a warm and sunny afternoon, by also taking first place under IRC scoring. This time, second place went to Sally Rattle’s Archie from the Derwent Sailing Squadron, third to Intrigue.

Intrigue figured in a luffing match with Auch (Richard Scarr), also from the RYCT, as the two boats ran under spinnaker past Kangaroo Bluff to the finish line - until both skippers realised they might be running out of water. In the end, the wily Don Calvert crossed the line just four seconds ahead.

Group 2 saw a close duel for line honours betweem two DSS boats, with Trouble (Dave Willans) finishing just 47 seconds ahead of Rousabout (Graeme Inglis). On corrected time the honours were reversed, with Rousabout placing first from Trouble, third place going to Hot August Night (Nat Morgan, DSS).

Group 4 saw another close result on corrected time, first place going to John Hunn’s Atilla from the DSS by just three seconds from Galapagos Duck (Terry Bragg, BYC), third to Bellerive Yacht Club Commodore John Mills’ Total Lock & Alarms.

The decision to combine Groups 5 and 6 for the post-Christmas harbour series proved an outstanding success with 21 boats on the starting line for the new Group 5.

Wayne Wagg’s classic International Dragon class yacht Freycinet (RYCT) led the fleet home but did not figure in handicap results. First place on corrected time, by 52 seconds, went to the Sail Training Institute’s Rotary (Norm Brundle) from Ynacht (Wilkinson Frame,) and third to Spinner (Peter Limb).

From Peter Campbell

4 Febuary 2012