This weekend saw another great turnout with well over 100 yachts making their way out onto the harbour despite the looming clouds and prospect of rain.
There were some exciting rides for competitors with the morning westerly breeze building throughout the middle of the day as it swung further to the south.
A crew who are not new to racing at the Club, but are new to racing their TP52 are the sailors onboard Denali, skippered by Damien Parkes. This weekend saw them top Division A1 as they work to master their newly acquired yacht in the midst of a highly competitive TP52 fleet.
“We have only had three races with spinnakers on this boat, so we are definitely learning a lot! The other TP52s have given us a bit of a sailing lesson the past few weeks but we are still using our training sails so have a bit left up our sleeves. The TP52s are just great boats, there is so much competition and it’s great to have so many in the fleet,” Damien Parkes commented.
Parkes has recently moved on from his previous yacht Duende which competed in multiple Rolex Sydney Hobarts as well as other CYCA and local club series throughout the years. Many of the regular crew from Duende have also moved to the new vessel which has made for a great boat dynamic.
“We have about 70 per cent of the crew from the old boat including my son who is the sailing master. I have a great relationship with my son. It is one of life’s great privileges to be able to sail with your family,” said Parkes.
“We will do the [Audi Centre Sydney] Blue Water Pointscore this year and the Hobart. We have a bit of work to do as the boat hasn’t quite been set up for offshore racing but we will get there.”
The Winter Series has proven a great training platform for many offshore and inshore racers with each week serving up different conditions. The lengthy series provides the perfect environment for entrants to test out their skills against competitors as well as form great memories.
This week’s divisional winners include:
| Division | Boat | Owner |
| Spinnaker (PHS) | ||
| A1 | Denali | D Parkes |
| A2 | Wine-Dark-Sea | P Lowndes |
| B | Ariel | R Forster & P Damp |
| D | Whistling Kite | K Evans |
| E | Krakatoa | D Young |
| F | Sumatra | B & S Diethelm |
| Non-Spinnaker (PHS) | ||
| J1 | Silver Cloud III | H Piggott |
| J2 | Tea for the Tillerman | R Allen |
| K | Wallop | G Aitchison, P Kiely & S Wall |
| Sydney 38 (PHS) | The Goat | M Gordon, D Hawkins & A Clift |
