Fleet feat is certain to impress

AFINE fleet of 25 yachts has entered for this year’s Launceston to Hobart race, the 285-nautical mile race along the rugged northern and eastern coastline of Tasmania.

Yachts from southern and northern clubs, and one from Victoria, will contest Tasmania’s longest offshore race, a highly successful venture now its 12th edition.

Three Tasmanian enterprises — the Derwent Sailing Squadron, the Tamar Yacht Club and Riversdale Estate Wines — have again joined forces to conduct and promote the event.

The fleet includes several past line and overall handicap winners, as well as newcomers to the coastal passage race that starts from Beauty Point on December 27 and finishes off Hobart’s Castray Esplanade.

The fleet size has grown from last year’s, again a quality line-up of many of the state’s most prominent racing yachts.

The L2H 2018 was launched “on the lawn’’ at the Derwent Sailing Squadron recently, highlighted by the colourful Commodore’s Cup contest, in which flag officers from Tasmania’s major yacht clubs raced in Hanse 303 dinghies.

The winners were Commodore Felicity Allison and Vice-Commodore Bridget Hutton from the Sandy Bay Sailing Club.

Heading this year’s L2H fleet is race record-holder The Fork in the Road, Gary Smith’s Bakewell-White 42 that has taken line honours six times since the race was inaugurated in 2000, and also won one race overall on corrected time.

Other past overall winners in this year’s fleet are Jeff Cordell’s Mumm 36 B&G Advantage, Stewart Geeves’s Young 88 Footloose, and Paul Einoder’s Beneteau Oceanis 34 Off-Piste.

Last year’s AMS, IRC and PHS and overall winner, Mako, is not entered, but runners-up Prion (AMS), Footloose (PHS) and B&G Advantage (IRC) are lining up again.

This year the overall winner of the Launceston to Hobart will be the first-placed yacht under IRC scoring, in keeping with the Combined Clubs move to make IRC the premier scoring system for the summer pennants, inshore championship, offshore trophy and major races.

A newcomer to the L2H, with strong potential under IRC and AMS, is Shaun Tiedemann’s Philosopher, a three-time Australian Yachting IRC champion, which has proven to be a very competitive yacht in Hobart and nationally.

Philosopher contested the Maria Island race this month for the third consecutive year, having been runner-up in that event under IRC and AMS in 2016 and 2017, winning PHS in 2017 and this year winning the AMS division.

Another strong IRC contender in the L2H is the syndicate-owned Filepro, a Lyon 40 skippered by Tim Gadsby that previously contested this race as Nexedge in 2015 and was also successful in the Maria Island race this year, winning the PHS division.

Originally named Micropay Cuckoos Nest, Filepro won the 1993 Sydney to Hobart on corrected time after surviving a gale-force battering in the Tasman Sea.

A significant aspect of the entry list for this year’s L2H is the number of entries from yacht clubs outside Hobart.

They are Avenger (Peter Marmion) from the Huon Yacht Club, Rad (Marcus McKay) from the Kettering Yacht Club, Sagittarius (John and Vonda Hall) from the Spring Bay Boat Club at Triabunna, and Talofa (Rob Cawthorn) and Whirlwind (Damien Betts), both from the Kettering Yacht Club.

The Victorian entry is Saltair, Sarah Allard’s Elan 410 from the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria.

Northern Tasmanian entries are Lawless (Stephen McElwee’s Green 31 from the Port Dalrymple Yacht Club), Sassy (Tim White’s Delphia 37 from the Tamar Yacht Club) and Force 11 (Tristan Gourlay’s Adams 12 also from the Tamar Yacht Club).

Action at Lauderdale

THE scene off the Lauderdale Yacht Club on Hobart’s Eastern Shore at Roches Beach next weekend will be a scene of fast and furious sailing in a variety of classes.

The King of the Bay Regatta and BIC O’PEN Cup will be held next Saturday and Sunday (December 1-2), with racing starting at noon on the Saturday.

One of the most exciting events will be for the rapidly expanding new class for junior sailors at several Tasmanian clubs, the BIC O’PEN.

There will also be racing in Paper Tiger Catamarans and several other multi-hull classes.

Notice of Race and information are available at www.lauderdaleyachtclub.com

Super effort by juniors

LAST weekend must have been a proud weekend for Sandy Bay Sailing Club’s Commodore Felicity Allison when the club again conducted its annual Peter Johnston Super Series from Nutgrove Beach.

The club’s great team of volunteers successfully completed the two-day, sixrace and eight-race series despite a “blast from the south’’ on Saturday afternoon, with the young sailors showing the seamanship skills taught them by the club.

Then to cap it all, Felicity’s younger son Hugo Allison and his crew, James Gough, won all six races in the International Cadet class.

Hugo was back on the helm of a Cadet after his recent switch of alliance to crew on the Victorian SB20 Ikon10 in the BMW Showdown regatta.

With Sandy Bay Sailing Club hosting the national championships for the Cadets and the Optimists over Christmas-New Year (and expecting about 200 entries for the latter), the Peter Johnston Super Series was another significant regatta for the local sailors and race officers.

In the Cadets, Hugo Allison and James Gough sailed an exceptional series to win from Archie Ibbott and Sam Hooper, with third place going to Lawrence Jeffs and Harry Gregory.

In all, six different crews filled the top three placings in the six races.

“Of particular note from the weekend was the way that our young sailors helped each other out when the sea breeze came belting in on Saturday afternoon,’’ Felicity said.

“With several boats capsized and many heading for shore, I was very proud of the way the young sailors helped each other and the support that they gave each other when things were a little tricky.

“It was great to see that the competitive spirit is soon set aside when things get a little scary and help is needed.”

A total fleet of 18 Optimists raced over the weekend, including 12 in the Intermediate division, in which Sebbie Price won three of the six races in a most competitive series.

In the Optimist Open fleet, Edward Broadby scored four wins, while runner-up Adelaide O’Donoghue won the other two races.

Schools exams had an effect on the 29ers, with several crews missing the entire series. Ethan Galbraith and Charles Zeeman won the series by just one point from William Wallis and Fynn Sprott, both crews winning three races each.

The Lasers were out in force, with their Oceania and Australian championships being held in early January at Devonport.

In the 4.7s, the only girl in the fleet, Angelica Walsh, won six of the eight races, while Will Sargent was in form in the Radials, with six wins and two second places.

Other class winners were Oscar Pritchard and Bailey Stephens (Flying 11s) and Daniel Maree (Sabots).