Race 3 of the 2023/24 Club Marine Ocean Pointscore was held on Saturday in what turned out to be great racing conditions.

The trip to Lion Island in Pittwater and back was a tale of two halves. The race started off Point Piper at 1000hrs in relatively light 10-12kt NNE breeze, with 21 competitors rigged for an expected 26-28kts later in the day. The first boats were out the Heads in 40 minutes; the rest of the fleet strung back to Nielsen Park.

It was a long slow beat north but as the lead boats were approaching the turning mark inside Barrenjoey Head, the anticipated breeze built quickly and from the NE, which made for a fast run home.

Congratulations to Michael Smith and the crew of the Kernan 44 Tempo who finished under 30 minutes after the first two finishers, the 52s Virago and First Light, to take out IRC & PHS honours.

Hitting 22kts as they weaved through the Saturday afternoon Harbour traffic in the final stretch, the team knew it would be close on corrected time and made the most of the 30kt gusts to shave off valuable minutes before the finish in Rushcutters Bay.

Tempo had finished 2nd overall in the first Lion Island OPS race back on 16 September.

RESULTS: https://app.sailsys.com.au/club/3/results/series/2690/races