Denneys top guns with their Wild West

DERWENT Sailing Squadron sailing manager Mike Denney and his wife Michelle yesterday scored their second straight win in Division A of Bellerive Yacht Club’s winter series on the Derwent.

The Denneys and the crew of their powerful sloop Wild West again took line honours in the Hobart Jaguar Land Rover series, finishing well clear of the fleet to also win on corrected time.

Though the major yacht clubs are alternatively conducting winter racing each Sunday morning, Mike Denney’s racing days are limited to the BYC winter series because of his DSS commitments.

Wild West won Division 1 from two prominent BYC members, Gary Cripps with Ciao Baby II and Ian Steward helming Tas Paints.

In Division 2, Richie Upton sailed Twitch to an outright win (line and handicap) from Trouble (Mark Millhouse) and Off-Piste (Paul Einoder).

VitaminSea (Wayne Pitt) won a closely fought Division 3 from Sundance (Don Bailey) and Skeme (Paul Rogerson). Magnum (C& J Gray) took fastest time. IN Kiel, Germany, Tasmanian Matt Bugg is one of three sailors within two points of each other going into the final day of racing in the 2.4 Norlin class at the Para World Games. Bugg, the silver medallist at this year’s Rio Paralympics, won the final race of the day yesterday to lift to second overall. He is just a point behind series leader Heiko Kroger (GER) with Rio gold medallist Damien Sequin (FRA) two points behind third.

“It’s been a really good standard on the water … a good day with really good wind,” said Bugg, who represents the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania and Derwent Sailing Squadron.

In the Hansa 303 men’s division, another Tasmanian, Chris Symonds from Wynyard Sailing Club, is second overall going into the final racing overnight, two points behind Poland’s Piotr Cichocki.