After a week off from racing, many crews were eager to make their way back out on to the water and take on one of the final races for this year’s Winter Series.
One recognisable and well-known yacht who has been enjoying this year’s Winter Series is the crew onboard Quetzalcoatl. Currently, they sit in first place overall in Division B for the series, with a three-point gap back to Wax Lyrical and Patrice Six who are tied in second.
“We are currently doing well in our pointscore, the whole crew is very focused on our performance and our competitor’s positions during the race. The whole race is spent with a running commentary on the relative position of us to our competitors, including timings around the marks and whether we have gained or lost! The banter is wonderful and very focused,” said co-owner Anto Sweetapple.
“Things did get a bit exciting on approach to the Manly mark. Our #2 headsail became stuck in the feeder and so we had to pull it through backwards to remove it. Meanwhile, we had a kite up and the mark was fast approaching. After a feverish effort, we managed to remove the old sail, hoist the #1, drop the kite, drop the pole and tack, all within the space of several hundred metres. A magnificent effort to get all this completed and not lose a place.”
With some strong weather forecast, many sailors were enjoying the unpredicted clear blue skies throughout the morning before gloomy rain clouds made their way across all of Sydney.
“Sunday saw a very cold and dense WSW wind prior to the start, although only blowing 11-13knots it felt much stronger. Having seen the forecast for a building wind throughout the day we chose to start with a full main and #2 headsail, but after the start the wind remained consistent around 11-13knots so changed to the #1 for more power,” explained Sweetapple.
For many, making their way out on to the harbour for the Winter Series (within social distance guidelines) has become a welcomed break to the working week which during the current climate has changed drastically.
“Our owners and crew of James Lee Warner, Anthony Bruce, Richard Hincks, Mark Ayto, Pete Haggitt, Suzy Amaral, Dave Ulm, Lexi Silver, Nick Rock, Jim Bennett, Johannes Le Coutre and myself have found it a great opportunity to get out of the house, leave behind the COVID world for a few hours and do one of the things we all love. The series has been very challenging and a test of skills, seamanship and tactics on every outing – always enjoyable, always learning something and always rewarding.”
With one race left in the Winter Series before the second race of the Women’s Winter Series, the two upcoming weekends will see many doing their best to either secure their place at the top of the podium or work hard to gain some much-needed points.
This week’s provisional divisional winners are:
| Division | Boat | Owner |
| Spinnaker (PHS) | ||
| A1 | Wild Thing | Geoff Lavis |
| A2 | Gunshot | David Walsh |
| B | Wilde Rush | Arthur Lane |
| D | Speedwell | Colin Geeves |
| E | Highway Patrol | Michael Blaxell |
| F | Lorelei | Matthew Farr |
| Non-Spinnaker (PHS) | ||
| J1 | Love Byte | Cyril Latimer |
| J2 | Calypso Magic | Jeff Mercer |
| K | Katinka | Paul & Ellen O’Connell |
| Sydney 38 (PHS) | ||
| Utopia | John Amos | |
