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13_Yachtsman 2015.qxp_Yachtsman Magazine 19/08/2015 4:30 pm Page 29

Club Yachting
Sydney 38 Nationals
By Lisa Ratcliff
Bruce Taylor’s Chutzpah from Melbourne was declared the top scoring
Corinthian, or amateur-crewed boat.
First Sydney 36 in their two-day series was Peter Franki’s Saltshaker
(CYCA) then Steve Hatch’s M (RSYC) and Andrew Hurt’s Onya (MHYC)
in third overall.
As the 4pm time limit for a start approached, race six and seven rolled
off in quick succession making the most of the best wind of the regatta
– 7-8 knots from a smidge north of east. By that stage the caravan
of 20 Sydney Yachts and officials plus marks and support boats had
relocated to “half way to New Zealand” joked the PRO Steve Merrington.
In actual fact he shifted the track southwards and further offshore
on the ocean side of Palm Beach, north of Sydney.

There was no chance the 200 or so Sydney 38 and 36 sailors contesting the
Performance Boating Sydney Yachts Regatta were going to die of thirst like the
poor souls on Coleridge’s ship in his famous maritime poem, the Rhyme of the
Ancient Mariner. Yet three days of heavy cloud, thick humidity and barely there
breeze warranted the doldrums reference and amounted to punishing racing.

Having found a wind pocket and determined to keep the momentum
going, Merrington started race six under a black flag following a
general recall of the fleet, which means too many boats were on the
wrong side of the start line to be called back individually. Richard
Williams’ Calibre cut it too fine and the flag came down, disqualifying them from
that race. At this evening’s trophy presentation at the host club, the Royal Prince
Alfred Yacht Club, the winning Phoenix team received the rededicated Lou Abrahams
Australian Champion Trophy named in honour of the four-time winner and class
stalwart who sadly passed away last year.

At the end of a seven race series, well short of the 12 originally scheduled due to
the extreme weather pattern, the long delivery from Geelong to Pittwater became
all the more worthwhile when Brenton and Jen Carnell’s Phoenix capped off the
Sydney 38 Australian title by one point having staved off a late challenge from
Mark Griffith’s Old School (RPAYC).

Abrahams’ longtime right hand man Rowan Simpson now races with a skipper
he refers to as “another legend of Victorian yachting, Bruce Taylor.” The pair, for 35
years competitors are nowadays wearing the same crew colours and Simpson
says they spend a lot of time reminiscing about Abrahams and past regattas and
races. “Not a day goes by we don’t think of Lou or refer to him.”

“We thought we lost it on a countback, it was extremely nerve-racking adding
up the points,” Carnell said. “The results went right down to the wire and for us
it made the preparation and the 500 nautical mile journey so incredibly worthwhile.
This weekend’s been a huge learning curve; we’ve jumped up to the next level.”

As the last in the 20 boat fleet of Sydney 38s and 36s crossed the finish line this
afternoon, Sunday February 22, 2015, crews took to their radios to thank the race
committee for a terrific job under trying conditions. In response Merrington thanked
them for their patience and also the RPAYC race management team he says “is
the best I’ve ever worked with.”

Sydney 38s just off Broken Bay - Photo Andrea Francolini

Carnell’s Royal Geelong Yacht Club crew realised they needed to readjust the boat
after day one to have a chance at defeating the locals. They spent Friday evening
tweaking and found the extra pace, and went in the right direction on the offshore
course thanks to tactician Chris Jones. “All the crew were fantastic, in the light
conditions they were pressed down on the leeward rail all the time and maintained
the concentration needed to do the job,” Carnell praised.
Cruelly for Griffith, his final series result means a trifecta of seconds at the nationals,
all by one point. “We’ll be at the next one in Geelong next January and will try
to move up one more spot,” the weary skipper promised. “We did everythin