Last weekend the inaugural Two-Handed Coastal Rally took place. Conducted over three days, the racecourse was dictated by the conditions as the fleet would follow favourable downwind conditions. This meant that competitors were either racing north towards Port Stephens or south towards Jervis Bay. With light winds in the forecast, the track North showed more favourable winds. Competitors return to Sydney over two days, after with two shorter ocean passages.
The goal of the Two-Handed Coastal Rally was to create an accessible offshore race event to gain two-handed racing experience and to build the two-handed sailing community. Shane Connelly skipper from Rum Rebellion said “it was so much fun spending the weekend racing with great people and connection afterwards.”
The first passage race took the fleet from Sydney Harbour to Pittwater. In light wind, the fleet started with Code zeroes and gradually changed those for spinnakers to eventually come into Pittwater with a jib. “It was nice and easy sailing; the sea was really calm and flat. After we had all finished, we had a great bbq together, already looking forward to the next day of racing” shared Shane.
The second day started off slow with the fleet stuck in zero breeze. All yachts motored North towards Norah Head where the wind gradually filled in, eventually reaching 12 knots from the North. Saturday unfortunately saw no downwind sailing for the competitors but instead a slow slop up the coast towards the Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club where everyone stayed overnight.
Sunday, in the scorching heat, the fleet was again left with no breeze, in order to return back to Sydney on time the decision was made to motor South and start racing when the breeze filled in. At 1430 hours, just offshore from Barrenjoey Head the wind gods gave the fleet just what they wanted. Champagne sailing conditions, 15 knots from the NE. Each yacht enjoyed stellar downwind sailing conditions from start to finish. “It was beautiful sailing, we all had our kites up and were making quick progress down the coast. We were all close together which was great to see, that’s what it is all about.”
In total there were seven entries in the first edition of the Two-Handed Coastal Rally: Crowded Haus, Disko Trooper_Contender Sailcloth, Jupiter, Mistral, Min River, Rum Rebellion and Saltwater Wine.
Despite that this weekend’s purpose was building confidence in the fleet and plenty of racing was done. The prize getters of the weekend are: Full results can be found here.
- Disko Trooper_Contender Sailcloth – J/99 (Jules Hall)
- Mistral – Lombard 34 (Rupert Henry)
- Crowded Haus – Beneteau First 35 (Jasen Neuhaus)
