2014 SUMMER OCEAN RACING

The 2014 Summer ocean racing with start off as usual on Cup Weekend with a repeat of last year’s race to Portland. It was such a success last year with a strong level of participation and a great effort by Portland Yacht Club to really make the fleet very welcome on arrival. It is a qualifying race for the ORCV Christmas races, as well as that other ocean race that starts on Boxing Day somewhere up north! It’s only three months away and will be upon us before you know it so not too early to start thinking about preparing your boat which will include a fresh safety equipment audit of course (Category 2).

Christmas will see the traditional races to Hobart (East and West coast) but this year the shorter Bass Strait race will be to Devonport, hosted by the Mersey Yacht Club on the Mersey River. Tamar Yacht Club has been a great host in recent years and we look forward to returning there in the future but hopefully the change in venue will bring some fresh interest into this important race. It is a great opportunity to experience a Bass Strait crossing without having to go all the way to Hobart so is an excellent step up from our coastal races or even the race to King Island. It is a Category 2 race, so certainly not too early to start thinking about what needs to be done to be ready on time.

The Boxing Day Dash Handicap winners

What a race it was! Spinnakers to start, light wind and then no wind and then a fast finish. Where you were located when the wind came in determined whether it was boiled lollies or Chocolates. The Beneteau forties must have been well placed as all 3 took top honours, with Wicked leading the way. Mark from Wicked must be in a quandary as he was not on-board for the race. Welcome to Niche sailed by Peter Jackson, he will be well pleased with his first effort in his new Beneteau First 40

Well done to Wicked first in IRC and AMS.

IRC

AMS

Performance

Welcome  to the Multihulls to thier first Boxing Day Dash

Line Honours

2013 Boxing Day Dash. A Favourite Pastime

With 88 boats entered the Boxing Day Dash is shaping to be another spectacular sight when it gets started at 10.30 am on the 26th. A favourite Boxing Day pastime for a large part of the Melbourne yachting community this race also forms the first leg of the series for those boats going on to Tasmania the next day.

The race starts in the vicinity of Station Pier, Port Melbourne and hugs the coast until it passes Sandringham. This means that the fleet is easily visible from the shore at Elwood, Brighton and Sandringham and provides a colourful spectator sight.

Early forecasts are for a warm day with variable northerlies early in the race turning southerly later in the day. This will favour the bigger boats at the front of the fleet.

Last year’s line honours winner Gusto, an Open 66 skippered by Brian Pattinson is once again looking strong for Line Honours in this race. Whilst they are heading for Tasmania the next day with just 2 crew on board they will be fully crewed for the Boxing Day Dash. They won’t have it all their own way at the pointy end of the fleet with strong competition coming from John Williams’ Calm, a TP 52 and Peter Blake’s Farr 52, Goldfinger. The latter is the current record holder for the Melbourne to Hobart East Coast race and is an experienced and well sailed competitor.

The modern fleet includes a large range of 40 footers that will make for a great battle in the middle of the fleet for handicap honours. With a fleet of this size we can expect some close duels taxing the tacticians. Do they go in close to shore or stay out? When will the sea breeze kick in and who will be the first to pick it? It is a long race and requires concentration from the crew which is not always easy after a big Christmas Day.

We can expect a finish in the late afternoon near the Blairgowrie Yacht Squadron, the boats are then prepared for the start of the Tassie Trio races. Many of the Ocean racing fleet will have lightened their boats for the Boxing Day Dash and will spend the evening hauling life rafts, food, water and anchor chains to prepare for the start the next day of the Tassie Trio.

Jennifer McGuigan

More Boxing Day Dash pictures

The Boxing Day Bash was a great precursor to the Tassie Trio of races, and the massive fleet of 93 yachts was an impressive sight departing from the vicinity of Portsea Pier.