Race three of the 2007/8 Shorthaul Pointscore was sailed on Friday night in conditions more akin to a Sunday Audi Winter Series race.

Prior to the 6.30pm gun, a gusty 18 knots of breeze made for a clean start, a quick run up the Harbour to the Junction Bell buoy and high hopes of competitors getting back to the bar in time for dinner at the bistro.

As the leading boats turned at the first mark however, the wind quite literally died with only Bernie Van’t Hof in his Swan 45 Tulip (formerly Loki) and John Kirkjian in Lady Ann using his vast experience to ghost away from the rest of the stranded fleet in the sub 5 knot winds.

The BWPS fleet, coming through the Shorthaulers on their way to Bird Island, gave some indication of where the winds were best, with yachts that chose to stay close to Nielsen Park benefiting from the light breeze coming off the eastern suburbs shoreline to work their way back down the Harbour to Rose Bay.

The rest of the race was sailed in winds that never really got over 5 knots, as the fleet of 17 PHS and eight IRC boats followed the traditional Shark Island – Clark Island race track course for 2.5 laps before finishing in Rushcutters Bay.

Competitors spent the best part of three hours trying to find a way around the millpond – watching as boats just 10 metres ahead caught the slightest of breezes which took them away from the fleet only to loose the breeze and sit stalled.

Eventually just six boats finished by the 11pm deadline.

The first three places in PHS and IRC went to Tulip, Lady Ann and Jon Short on the well sailed Farr 34 MRX with Vivacite (John Walton), Holy Cow (John & Kim Clinton) and Elusive (Paul Billingham & Pete McGee) the only other boats to record a finish.

After three races the pointscore sees MRX ahead in both PHS and IRC divisions:

PHS                            
1st      MRX
2nd     Lady Ann
3rd      Elusive
4th      Lu Lu Belle

IRC
1st       MRX
2nd      Elusive
3rd       Vivacite
4th       Electra

The next race for Shorthaulers will be on Saturday 20 October 2007 and will be followed by prize giving for the first four races of the season back on the CYCA deck. – Paul Billingham