Sunseeker – Weekly Sailing Summary

Source: Kathy McKenzie, Boatpoint Magazine

Loki wins the double, Kiwis win Sunseeker Australia Cup, Emirates Team New Zealand wins Louis Vuitton Trophy again.

KEEL BOATS
With Rob Reynolds, owner and skipper and Julie Hodder, Middle Harbour Yacht Club’s Commodore and tactician, the team on Exile convincingly won the Sydney Short Ocean Racing Championship’s (SSORC) IRC Grand Prix division in conditions going from perfect to poor. Stephen Ainsworth’s Loki took the double, the IRC Gun Boat Trophy for fastest yacht and IRC Overall in the IRC and PHS Ocean Passage Series. Lang Walker’s Kokomo won four of the six races in the Farr 40 division.

The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2010 has attracted a fleet of 99 yachts and, for the second year running, one third of the fleet will experience their maiden voyage south in what is regarded one of the world’s three pre-eminent ocean races. 

MATCH RACING
Rising young Kiwi sailing star Phil Robertson put in a magnificent performance on the last day of the Sunseeker Australia Cup, defeating British skipper Ian Williams 3-0 in the final. He lost his first semi-final race to Britain’s Ben Ainslie, but came back again to win the next three, and finally outclassed Williams in a display of cool, calm sailing that defied his 23 years.

Robertson’s WAKA Racing team’s next event is the Monsoon Cup in Malaysia starting on 1 December where the field of competitors reads like the who’s who from the world of match racing.

The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s Jay Griffin and his team of Henry Kernot and Hamish Hardy, have clinched victory from Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club’s Tim Coltman in an epic grand final of the Musto International Youth Match Racing Championship, hosted by the CYCA.

Emirates Team New Zealand won the Louis Vuitton Trophy Dubai, defeating the USA’s BMW Oracle Racing in two straight races. Over two years, Dean Barker and his team from Auckland have won four of five Louis Vuitton Trophy events and finished second in the other.

AMERCIA’S CUP
Louis Vuitton will continue its long association with the America’s Cup. The Paris-based fashion house will present the prize, the Louis Vuitton Cup, to the winner of the America’s Cup Challenger Series, as well as serve as Official Timer for the 34th America’s Cup.

OFF THE BEACH & OLYMPIC CLASSES
2010 Sail Down Under Series kicks off with Sail Brisbane from 29 November until 2 December with the series then heading south to Sail Sydney on 6-9 December. Sail Melbourne finishes off the series with racing from 13-18 December. For the 2010 series, Yachting Australia is introducing live GPS tracking, an event blog and video highlights which will all be housed on the Sail Down Under website at

The Zhik Australian 49er Championship is underway at the Wangi RSL Amateur Sailing Club on Lake Macquarie, NSW. The first two days of the series were tough for sailors and race officers. Twenty-five knots of breeze on Saturday brought lots of dramatic capsizes and tension at the marks. One competitor was taken to hospital with a dislocated shoulder and a second suffered torn ankle tendons when his foot was caught in the foot straps. 

18 FOOTERS
Gotta Love It 7’s team of Seve Jarvin, Sam Newton and Scott Babbage secured the 2010-2011 NSW 18ft Skiff Championship win with their fourth win in the fourth race of the five-race series on Sydney Harbour.

AROUND THE WORLD
Four of the five skippers in the Velux 5 Oceans race are berthed in Cape Town, South Africa. Belgian solo skipper Christophe Bullens continues to race despite many set backs. The other skippers are preparing for their next sprint across the Southern Ocean to Wellington, New Zealand which starts December 12.

NSW MARITIME MEDALS
NSW Maritime Medals were presented to Arthur ‘George’ Tedds for his involvement in marine rescue; some 600 Sydney Heritage Fleet volunteers for their time maintaining historic vessels; Robert Dyer for initiating the Broughton Island Marine Radio Base; Neil Grieves for his many years of service to recreational boating in the Shoal Bay area; The Broken Hill Speed Boat Club for creating and maintaining a recreational space in the far-west of NSW; John Winning for extraordinary service and support to the sailing community; and Alan Lucas for his commitment to promote safe navigation through publishing.

NEWS BRIEFS
Victoria’s Go Sailing Day delivered a strong message – clubs are open, accessible and looking for new members. Despite strong winds, a record thirty-six Victorian yacht clubs welcomed thousands of visitors for the annual free Go Sailing Day on 7 November. But the challenge ahead is for clubs to turn their guests into prospective sailors.