Although the wind was up, the sun was shining on another successful Audi Centre Sydney Winter Series race.
Race 7 of the Audi Centre Sydney Winter Series was another big wind race with the fleet up against a 20-25 knot westerly. Unlike the previous weeks southerly, the sun was shining and the skies clear.
On a weekend where trimming was at its most challenging, David Pescud and his crew onboard SWD Woteva were able to take the win in PHS Div1. Reflecting on the race David said, “It was fresh, and it was a westerly, so it was very unstable. We were getting 15 knots, then 25 knots, then back to 15 knots and 15-degree changes in wind direction. One minute your reaching then the next your working, so it was quite challenging.”
During race 7 the team onboard SWD Woteva were taking out a few new sailors to get them ready for upcoming season of offshore racing. One factor which can make racing in these conditions a little more challenging, but were able to overcome, is that some of the sailors are blind. “We had our normal mainsheet trimmer onboard who was training a new trimmer, it probably wasn’t ideal teaching conditions, but it turned out alright. The big challenge is that both sailors are blind. This meant that we had a bit on at times but I’m really pleased with how the guys managed it. In those gusty conditions it’s really tricky.”
David described how the mechanics of the team worked, saying; “Kurt who normally does main is blind and is a very good sailor. He is very good at feeling what the boat is doing, we always have wind calls coming in so he is listening and responds to those calls. Then depending on the wind calls he will decide what he changes whether it be traveller, mainsheet or backstay. He has done half a dozen Sydney Hobart races so is very experienced. The new trimmer James started on dinghys but now with his blindness is sailing bigger boats. He was catching on very fast, I was impressed how well they were working together especially as it was a challenging day.”
With the combination of strong wind and westerly direction, it meant that the team didn’t need to use a spinnaker throughout the race so were able to focus their time on teaching the new sailors onboard some valuable skills which they will take over to the upcoming Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore. They will use this as training as they get ready for the final event of the year, the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race on boxing day.
Other divisional winners included; PHS DivB – Peter Lowndes’ Wine–Dark Sea, PHS DivD – Damian Barker’s Alpha Carinae, PHS DivE – Guy Irwin’s Clewless?, PHS DivF – Mathew Farr’s Lorelei, PHS DivG – Peter Howes’ Searug Hoo Ha, PHS DivJ1 – Rob & Sue Segaert’s Sante’, PHS DivJ2 – Simon Carr’s More Mischief, PHS DivK David Kelly’s Sanity and IRC Div1 – Zoe Taylor’s Grace O’Malley.
Full results can be found at the CYCA results page with images from the day at the CYCA Facebook page.
