As many boats are still making their way north to stay away from the last of the winter cold, the first round of the CYCA Spring Series was in full swing with 31 entrants taking on the four-race series around Sydney Harbour.

For Charles Parry-Okeden it is the third time he and his team on-board Crystal Cutter II have entered the Spring Series and were able to put in a strong start by claiming first place in PHS Div2. With 15-20 knots of wind the team were able to make the most of the conditions which suited their boat perfectly.

“For our boat which is a fairly heavy yacht, it was right in the sweet spot as far a wind strength goes and so as a consequence we had a very good day,” said Charles

“This series is typically sailed in lighter wind, so it was nice to get out there in a different breeze strength. The race was pretty straight forward, we sailed a very direct course all day and were very happy with the result.”

Even with a smaller fleet size to other recent winter racing, it is by no means less competitive with many regular harbour racing teams back out to challenge each other. As the team onboard Crystal Cutter II are going to miss the next race in the series they will be looking to try and replicate their good form for the final two weekends and stay in the hunt for a podium position.

“I think it’s a terrific series and everyone was out there giving it a red hot go with all the teams really keen to race. It was a bit chilly but with blue skies and a lot of wind there was no better way to spend a Sunday,” said Charles.

Divisional winners included; PHS D1 – Matt Hanning’s Supernova, PHS D2 – Charles Parry-Okeden’s Crystal Cutter II and PHS non-spinnaker – D Mcdonnell & R Blanc-Ramos’ Applejack.

Full results can be found at the CYCA results page.