Hartley & Yacht Sprints Series
Race Day 2
The second sprint series, held between the DSC Yachts and TS16s, was held on Saturday January 23, 2021, on a fine warm day in a light easterly. It was a stark contrast to the first four races of the series, which were held on December 19, 2020. That day four races were held. There were five in the second series. Five yachts – Nortel, Witchways ll, Delirium, Y Knot and Balmain’s Krakatini – raced. There were also five TS16s: Hirondelle, Uncle Norm, Annette, Helen Joy and Murphy’s Law.
The races started off Elkington Park. The boats raced up to buoy 7, then if it was one round, finished on the start line. If there were two or three rounds, boats rounded buoys to the north east of the start line. There were two buoys, about 100m apart, giving boats the opportunity to avoid crowding.
The first race was for one round, the second for two rounds and the remaining three for three rounds. All started without incident, except for the last race for the yachts, when several crossed the start line early, prompting a general recall; although a couple of yachts proceeded regardless and had to be reminded of the rules by the support boat.
Line honours were shared by several TS16s. The final tally gave Hirondelle, Peter Barnes and Geoff Smith, equal first with Uncle Norm, Eric Partland and Gary Wills. Hirondelle was declared the winner on a count back. Annette, Ron Johnstone and Ben Speed was third, followed by Helen Joy, Chris Giaquinto and Neil Johnson, and Murphy’s Law, David and Russell Johnston.
Determining the winner of the yachts was more complicated. After some time spent on calculations, Nortel, skipper Ivan Fitz-Gerald, was declared the winner. Witchways ll, skipper Jeff Finnegan, was second, followed by Delirium, Craig Armour, Y Knot, Stephen Brady, and Krakatini, Lindsay Fletcher. Forerunner, Peter Robinson, and Tranquilo, Simon Armstrong-Bunker, did not compete in the second series, and were placed 6th and 7th respectively.
The winner of the weekend away at The Old Bottleshop at Currarong was drawn out of a bucket. Congratulations Uncle Norm.
