Weekly Sailing Summary

PITTWATER TO COFFS

The two ‘wild’ maxis led the fifty boat Pittwater to Coffs Harbour fleet out of Broken Bay after a spectacular start in an 8-10 knot breeze on January 2. The 100ft Wild Oats XI, skippered by Mark Richards, won line honours and was able to tie up in the inner harbour at Coffs. Grant Wharington's Etihad Stadium Wild Thing finished second and opted to use his right to use the alternate finishing line offshore due to his seven metre draft.

Bill Ebsary’s Beneteau 44.7 Le Billet representing the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club won the coveted Pittwater & Coffs Harbour Offshore Series IRC crown for the third time in four years. More details at Pittwatertocoffs.com.au.

SAIL PARADISE

Rock hopping tactics to avoid any adverse current proved to be a winning move in the inaugural 150 nautical mile Coffs to Paradise ocean race for Matt Percy’s Alacrity. Percy, a former America’s Cup and Olympic sailor, sailed the Beneteau 44.7 production design across the finish line off the Gold Coast in fourth place in the fleet, and was later declared the provisional overall winner on handicap. Peter Harburg’s sleek 66-footer, Black Jack, claimed line honours in this new event, setting the time for others to beat in the future.

The Coffs to Paradise race is the curtain raiser to another Southport Yacht Club inaugural event, Sail Paradise, which will be staged off the Gold Coast for five days starting 10 January. Check out Southportyachtclub.com.au.

AROUND THE WORLD

Spirit of Australia led the fleet of ten identical boats across the start line of Race 5 of the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race in Geraldton, Western Australia, and was the first boat to the scoring gate on their way to Singapore. Clipperroundtheworld.com.

Jessica Watson is 270 nautical miles from rounding Cape Horn. The cabin temperature has been sitting on four degrees Celsius and the heater does not work. Handling wet lines on deck is painful, but mostly Jessica stays below keeping warm in layers of clothing. Her parents have flown to South America in the hope that they will be able to fly over Ella’s Pink Lady as she rounds the Cape. See Jessicawatson.com.au for more.

AMERICA’S CUP

Australian James Spithill is back in Valencia, Spain, preparing to skipper BMW Oracle Racing’s BOR 90 in the America’s Cup starting February 8. ‘The boats that both teams have built are like nothing you've ever seen before,’ said Spithill at a recent press conference, ‘and over the coming days and weeks, as we get into our final training sessions, you'll be able to appreciate them for what they are - two of the most technologically advanced and fastest boats ever built. The Match is going to be fantastic.’

OLYMPIC CLASSES

The Australian Sailing Team’s Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen finished second at the 2010 49er World Championship at Freeport, Grand Bahamas, after putting in a great final day performance. After sitting as low as tenth during the week Outteridge and Jensen won the last two Gold fleet races and finished third in the Medal race to end up 27 points behind runaway winners Iker Martinez and Xabier Hernadez of Spain. Yachting.org.au.

The Australian Sailing Team’s Tom Slingsby dominated the 2010 Australian Laser Championship, winning an incredible 10 out of 11 races at the Adelaide Sailing Club. Slingsby won by 20 points from Christoph Bottoni from Switzerland with defending champion Ashley Brunning third. Yachting.org.au.

SKIFFS

British sailor Archie Massey and his crew Dan Wilson won the CST Composites International World Championship with a race to spare on Sydney Harbour, and in doing so, the Brit became the first sailor to win the i14 world title back to back. Go to i14worlds.com for details.

Defending champions Seve Jarvin, Sam Newton and Tom Clout won the first race of the 2009-2010 SP-HighModulus Australian 18ft Skiff Championship in Gotta Love It 7 on Sydney Harbour. Gotta Love It 7 rolled Thurlow Fisher Lawyers, skippered by Michael Coxon, on the run to Obelisk when the latter team had to drag a crew member ‘water skiing style’ through the water. Race 2 of the championship will be sailed Sunday 17 January. The following three races will be sailed on 24, 26 and 31 January. More information and video coverage at 18footers.com.au.

YOUTH SAILING

Sailors from all corners of Australia and from throughout the region were victorious at the 2010 OAMPS Insurance Brokers Australian Youth Championship. At the presentation evening the provisional OAMPS Insurance Brokers Australian Youth Sailing Team was named to contest the Volvo ISAF Youth Sailing World Championship in Turkey in July. The provisional team members are Thomas Koerner, Byron White, Alexandra South, Ben Franklin, Chase Lurati, Paul Darmanin, Eamon Robertshaw, Joanna Sterling, Angus Galloway, Alex Gough, Elloise Brake and Ashley Warlow. Yachting.org.au has more.

SAFETY & RESCUE

After two boat fires in NSW this week boat owners are reminded to be extremely cautious about fire safety on vessels, particularly when refueling. Fumes can linger in confined spaces after refueling so it is important to allow vapors to dissipate or use blower ventilation if your boat is equipped with these devices. It is also good practice to remove passengers and crew during the refueling and start up process. Maritime.nsw.gov.au.

A safety campaign aimed at educating NSW boaters about the rules and risks of towing sports saw mixed results with a low compliance rate overall. Almost 1800 vessels were inspected by NSW Maritime Boating Safety Officers during Operation Tow Smart which targeted activities such as waterskiing, aquaplaning and wakeboarding. Over the three days from January 1 to 3, 132 penalty notices and 104 formal warnings were issued across NSW.

Rules to ensure safe boating while towing people and devices include:

•  Keep the boat and device at least 30m clear of powered vessels, the shore and structures;

•  Keep the boat and device at least 60m clear of swimmers and non-powered craft;

•  Carry an observer aged 16 years or older or a young adult licence holder to keep watch over the people being towed;

•  Don’t tow more than three people at the same time;

•  Ensure people being towed, whether in a tube, on skis or on a wakeboard, wear a life jacket and the towing vessel is registered and displays a capacity plate; Maritime.NSW.gov.au.

Marine Rescue NSW, the new boating safety organization, is comprised of volunteers from the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard Association, Volunteer Rescue Association, Marine Branch, and the Royal Volunteer Coastal Patrol. Launched on New Year’s Day, the group had a busy first weekend, recording 440 radio contacts compared with 89 in the same period last year. MarineRescueNSW.com.au.

NEWS BRIEFS

Geoff Holt from Britain has become the first quadriplegic to sail across the Atlantic, taking 28 days. He set out from Lanzarote on his 60ft purpose-built wheelchair-accessible catamaran, heading for Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, where in 1984 he dived into shallow water paralysing him from the chest down. This is the fourth time Geoff has sailed the Atlantic, but the first since his life changing accident. Geoff was accompanied on the voyage by a professional medically trained carer to aid him with the physical aspects of his life, but the carer played no part in the sailing of the yacht. GeoffHolt.com

Townsville’s Reef HQ Aquarium has begun a behind-the-scenes daily tour of its new turtle hospital so visitors can learn more about the plight of endangered sea turtles. A Reef Guide explains how each turtle came into Reef HQ’s care and what sort of treatment they are receiving. Other popular exhibits include the coral reef and predator exhibits, daily talks about the creatures and corals of the Great Barrier Reef and feeding tours of sharks and other marine life. Check out ReefHQ.com.au for details.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Jan 21 - 26 –- Audi Victoria Week is the largest sailing regatta in Australia with over 450 yachts competing over the four days and plenty of shoreside activities take place for those not competing. VictoriaWeek.com.

Jan 26 – Australia Day – Events on Sydney Harbour include a Ferrython, Awesome Forces displays, best dressed vessels competition, tall ships race, 174th Australia Day Regatta, Sydney Ports Jazz on the Water Concert. For details see AustraliaDay.com.au.

Feb 5 - 7 -- Melbourne International Boat & Lifestyle Show, Docklands. More details.

Feb 8 - 33rd America’s Cup Match is scheduled to start in Valencia, Spain. The defender is the Swiss team Alinghi and the challenger is BMW Oracle Racing from the USA. The event website is AmerciasCup.com.

Feb 12 – 21 -- JJ Giltinan International Championship, Sydney Harbour, sometimes referred to as the 18 Footer Worlds. See 18footers.com for more.

Feb 19 – 21 -- The Melbourne Wooden Boat Festival will be held at the Docklands precinct on Victoria Harbour. More details.

Feb 25 - 27 -- Variety Splash - Participants will travel a round trip from Docklands’ Melbourne Yacht Club Hotel, with nightly stopovers at Sandringham Yacht Club and Royal Geelong Yacht Club. VarietySplash.org.au.

Mar 6 - 7 -- The fourth Whyte, Just and Moore Lawyers Wooden Boat Festival of Geelong will be held at the Royal Geelong Yacht Club. RGYC.com.au.

Mar 6 – 7 -- Rosehill Trailerboat Show, Rosehill Racecourse, Sydney. See BIA.org.au for more.

Mar 6 – 7 -- Audi Sydney Regatta, Middle Harbour Yacht Club. More details.

Mar 9 – 21 -- Louis Vuitton Trophy series - Ten countries are expected to compete in event-supplied 85-foot long AC Class yachts from the last two America’s Cups. These yachts require a crew of 17 top sailors. LouisVuittonTrophy.com.

Mar 11 - 14 -- Auckland International Boat Show is being held in conjunction with The Louis Vuitton Trophy series to push up attendance at both events.

April 2 - 61st Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race starts. Queensland’s most famous blue water yachting event sets sail in the waters off Brisbane every year on Good Friday. More details.

April 2 – Hydro Tasmania Three Peaks Race starts at Beauty Point on the Tamar River just north of Launceston and finishes in Hobart on the River Derwent. ThreePeaks.org.au.

April 12 – 18 -- Sail Port Stephens - Entries are open for all divisions, including the NSW IRC Championship, Commodores Cup (PHS), SB3 National Championship, Sports Boats and the Port Stephens Trophy which has a racing and cruising division. The feeder races for the event will be RPAYC’s Pittwater to Newcastle on 10 April and NCYC’s Newcastle to Port Stephens race on 11 April. More infor at SailPortStephens.com.au.

Photograph by Damian Devine: Mark Richards bringing the 100ft Wild Oats XI into the tricky inner harbour entrance at Coffs Harbour to the applause of locals