Race Results 22 February 2025
Race report for Autumn Series Heat 1 on 22 February 2025, headed Tangles Shows Her Class. Six skiffs sailed the No. 1 course in a 15 knot nor'easter with choppy seas. Tangalooma, skippered by John Lewis, won by nearly six minutes from Top Weight (Terry Stewart), with Yendys, steered by guest helmsman Adrian Dunphy, third. Mistake, Australia and Aberdare followed.
TANGLES SHOWS HER CLASS
All photos in this report with thanks to Mike Kidd - Gemini crew
We haven’t been back into the records for this season, but the advent of a noreaster for a change was a bit of a surprise to us all. After so many light easterlies, the prospect of a testing 15 knots on the No.1 Course was something to look forward to. The back-markers were probably confident that their oft’ superior crew work on this course would have them in the money.
Only six boats greeted the starter at the head of Double Bay for the handicap start in around 12 knots of breeze. With Britannia and Alruth remaining on the beach with crewing issues, Mistake (Jerry Tickner) led off the fleet in the traditional Mark Foy handicap start. She was followed by Tangalooma, then Top Weight and Australia with Aberdare (Michael “Flipper” Carter) and Yendys (with guest steerer, Adrian Dunphy aboard) last away. All boats crossed the line within seconds of their number being dropped as they all headed off to Bradleys and up to the Sow and Pigs to round the Beashel Buoy.
Tangalooma did well on the work as a sign of things to come. She was being sailed conservatively as the breeze increased and rounded the top mark having overhauled Mistake. Coming past Steel Point, and having chosen to not set a kite on the run, Tangalooma seemed to wander in a little too close to the lee of Steel Point but recovered well enough to hold off Mistake and Top Weight and round Shark Island first after successfully completing a granny to avoid the sometimes treacherous gybe. Top Weight (Commodore Terry Stewart) also grannied after dropping her kite and conceded time to Mistake who gybed without a spinnaker well inside Top Weight. An early gybe at Shark Island in a nor’easter can prove very beneficial even with the small lee of the Island taken into account.
On the shy run to the bottom mark at Clark Island, spinnakers were in short supply until Tangalooma finally hoisted, enabling her to increase the gap to the following pack. Yendys and Aberdare meanwhile, carried spinnakers down from the top mark and successfully gybed (with a little holding of breath) at the Island to carry them at speed to the bottom mark.
Meanwhile, Tangalooma was well on the way to the Chowder Bay mark and was sailing well above her handicap rating up the western shore. Top Weight and Mistake were in her wake, but making little impression on her. Australia meanwhile, with Vice Commodore Marshall Flanagan at the helm, seemed uncharacteristically slow and had headed out into the middle of the channel hoping to make the mark in one tack. It turned out that the rig was unbalanced with a lot of lee helm. Something to be adjusted for next race.
Yendys and Aberdare were well out of it at this stage, hoping perhaps for mistakes from the front runners to get them back in the hunt. It is worth saying at this point that the performances of all skiffs, measured against the back markers, was really quite pleasing to onlookers. The No.1 course usually seeks out weaknesses in less experienced crews and it was very pleasing to see, even in a 15 knot nor’easter with choppy sea conditions, that the long markers were all doing well despite a serious shortage of testing conditions so far this season to sharpen crew skills.
Around the Chowder Bay mark and the shy run to Shark Island it was a case of follow the leader with Tangalooma two-sail reaching to the mark where she rounded safely and headed for home well ahead of the pack. Further back and still chasing hard were Yendys and Aberdare with Yendys setting her white shy spinnaker that took her past Mistake into third place, but not close enough to Top Weight in the final run to the finish.
So it was Tangalooma by a mile — by nearly 6 minutes from Top Weight with Yendys a further minute behind in third place. Mistake held off the struggling Australia for fourth with Aberdare coming in sixth with her enthusiastic and improving new crew celebrating third fastest time around the course. Very encouraging!
Thanks, as always to the volunteers who had an easy day following the fleet with no mishaps. It’s on again next week. See you at the Squaddie.
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This text was read from the scanned original below by optical character recognition. It has not yet been checked by a person, so it may carry mistakes, and any results tables in the original are not reproduced here. The scan is the authority.