The two Cookson 12s, About Time and Occasional Coarse Language,  have been duelling off Sydney Heads for the past eight seasons,  but today Warwick Sherman had pleasure in declaring ‘it’s about time’.

Sherman skippered Occasional Coarse Language to victory over Julian Farren Price’s About Time in the opening race of the CYCA’s Grant Thornton Short Ocean Pointscore.

The race, for the historic Rubber Kellaway Plate,  a memorial to one of the great ocean racers sailors of the 1940s and 1950s,  was sailed off Sydney Heads in tricky conditions which saw the wind range from 8 knots to 30 knots.

Today’s race was another boat-for-boat between the Cookson 12s,  with Occasional Coarse Language beating About Time to the finish line by 1 minute and 8 seconds; on IRC handicap the margin in favour of the slightly higher rating Occasional Coarse Language was just 31 seconds.  Third place in IRC Division 1 went to Great Xpectations (Rod Willis).

Occasional Coarse Language also won PHS Division 1 of the SOPS race, with Great Xpectations second and Ian Guarnia’s The Tavern taking out third place.

“It’s been a long time since we beat About Time…yes, it’s about time,” an elated Sherman said back at the CYCA after the race.  “We got the break when a brief storm with winds of 25 to 30 knots hit us as we were rounding the windward mark for the second time.

“We delayed hoisting the kite, sailing on downwind with main and jib, whereas Julian hoisted his spinnaker a bit too early and broached.  We had four minutes on them at the last mark, but they came home well to finish just over a minute astern.”

Sherman is preparing to sail Occasional Coarse Language in the Hempel 35th Gosford to Lord Howe Island Race that starts on 25 October. Joining Sherman and his regular crew for that race will be Yachting NSW President and two-times Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race winner Roger Hickman. 

The Rubber Kellaway Trophy was won by CYCA director Howard Piggott, who skippered his Beneteau 34.7 Brilliant to victory in IRC Division 3, with the lowest IRC corrected time of the entire fleet.

Brilliant won IRC Division 3  from John Maclurcan’s Morag Bheag,  designed by the founder of the Sydney Hobart Race,  the late Captain John Illingworth RN, third place going to Eye Appeal (Michael Delaney & John Markos).

Morag Bheag turned the tables on Brilliant under PHS handicaps, third place going to Perfect Match (Lewis/McKean/Broekhuizen).

John Maclurban described it as “a very tricky day offshore.”  With the starter setting a southerly course, the fleet set sail under spinnaker on a starboard gybe in a light southerly, which turned to the west as the boats reached the Heads.

“We gybed to port pole before reaching the South Reef Gas Buoy then squared away through the Heads still under spinnaker,” Maclurcan said, describing racing in Division 3.  “The breeze followed us around moving to the nor’east and began to strengthen so that by the time we reached the sea mark about two miles off the cliffs north of Bondi, it was blowing 15 knots. 

“I chose to change to a No 2 on the run as the breeze strengthened and was I glad!  On the beat back to the mark closer to the heads, a rain squall came through at 25 knots plus. 

“As Morag Bheag reached the bottom mark, the breeze rapidly began to drop out.  We rounded and set a heavy weather kite for the run back to the sea mark and that was a mistake – we should have carried a much bigger spinnaker.

“Changing back to the No 1 headsail, the breeze dropped right out and headed back to the nor’west.  Back on the wind for the leg home, we muddled along in the light slop and eventually the nor ‘easter filled in again to 8-10 knots and we laid south head in one tack.  As we approached the Heads, the nor’easter began to drop out again and we just managed to finish under spinnaker before the breeze dropped out dramatically.
 
“The winners today were the boats in the middle of the fleet.  The big boats were stuck when the nor’easter first filled in from behind and the slower boats suffered as the breeze dropped out after the squall.
 
“Howard Piggott in Brilliant lead Division 3 all the day, just as Morag Bheag trailed the fleet. The results were shared between these two boats with Brilliant taking the Rubber Kellaway Trophy for the IRC result by 1min 28 secs and Morag Bheag the PHS by 10 seconds.  The only time the two yachts are alongside each other is at the start and on the result sheet.  All good fun!” Maclurcan added.
 
Today was the third race in the Grant Thornton Short Haul Pointscore, also sailed offshore, with the PHS handicaps producing a one minute win for Attitude (Robert Hunt) from MRX (Jon Short & Miles Bastick), third place going to Baltic Lady (Neil Burling).

Under IRC ratings,  the winner was MRX from Sextant (Denis Doyle) and the classic yacht Caprice of Huon, skippered by David Champtaloup. – Peter Campbell