Weekly Sailing Summary

KEEL BOATS

The IRC division of the ORCV Melbourne Two Handed Race was won by Mark Welsh’s Wicked, with Wild Side second and Swordfish Trombone, third. The fleet of 17 yachts sailed in six to 23 knot winds and three boats retired. Check out ORCV.org.au for more details.

The second race of the Audi Winter Series was conducted in summer-like conditions and the fleet of 140 yachts drifted leisurely around the course enjoying the unseasonably warm autumn sunshine. The ten knot westerly breeze stayed in just long enough for all but division C boats to pass through the gate the first time, meaning that principal race officer Denis Thompson wasn’t able to shorten the course - and that the final results were going to be bit of a lottery. CYCA.com.au.

The 2010 Megles 24 Australian Championship start on 5 May at Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron. RQYS.com.au.

AROUND AUSTRALIA

Jamie Dunross has been a C5 quadriplegic since an accident in 1988, and he is solo circumnavigating Australia anticlockwise. He left Rockingham in Western Australia on 18 March, stopping at Albany and Hobart. He is now in Sydney berthed at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia until 15 May when he departs for Airlie Beach. Solo1.com.au.

Ian Thompson of SOS Ocean Racing has delayed the start of his attempt to set a new world record for the fastest solo non-stop circumnavigation of Australia due to a package containing the equipment required for the ratification of the WSSRC record being sent to Darwin by mistake. He is now scheduled to start from Airlie Beach on 5 May. SOS Ocean Racing.com.

AROUND THE WORLD

Jessica Watson on Ella's Pink Lady has rounded the South East Cape of Tasmania and is heading north on the final leg to Sydney. She passed well clear of land, in the dark with wind gusts up to 40 knots. Jessica Watson.com.au.

The fleet in the Clipper Round the World Race is less than 1000 miles from the finish of Race 8 in Panama. Fifteen miles separates the top three boats, Spirit of Australia, Qingdao and Jamaica Lightning Bolt. Clipper Round the World.com.

The new course for the Volvo Ocean Race has shorter stopovers and is designed to provide maximum entertainment for visitors to the race villages in host cities. The race starts from Alicante, Spain on October 29, 2011 and concludes in Galway, Ireland on July 8, 2012. Volvo Ocean Race.com.

OLYMPIC CLASSES

The Australian Women’s Match Racing and Men’s 470 sailing teams have finished the 42nd Semaine Olympique Francaise De Voile regatta in Hyeres, France in fourth and sixth position respectively. Katie Spithill, Nina Curtis and Amanda Scrivenor finished fourth after sailing against France’s Claire Leroy in the semi finals of the Women’s Match Racing. Mat Belcher and Will Ryan finished sixth overall in the Men’s 470 class.

Round Five of the ISAF Sailing World Cup will take place at Medemblik in The Netherlands, and Mathew Belcher will sail with his regular crew Malcolm Page. Yachting.org.au.

EXPEDITIONS

The four crew of the Talisker Bounty Boat have started their re-creation of Captain William Bligh’s 4,000 mile open boat ‘Mutiny on the Bounty’ voyage. The international crew, led by Australian adventurer Don McIntyre, was cast adrift off the coast of Tonga on April 29, a day late, but they set off at the exact same location 221 years after the original mutiny occurred. Talisker Bounty Boat.com.

Plastiki, the yacht made out of 12,000 plastic bottles, has reached Christmas Island on its way from San Francisco to Sydney. The Plastiki.com.

NEW PRODUCTS

At Sanctuary Cove Boat Show on 20-23 May Adit Marine is launching its Australian designed and manufactured fresh water inlet device to protect and extend the life of an inboard motor’s heat exchanger. Salt water resting in and around critical engine components leads to salt and scale build up. This increases susceptibility to the motor cooling system overheating and shortens the life of zinc anodes. The company recommends the inlet device be installed between the sea cock and the power plant pump. This allows fresh water to be admitted into the salt water side of any power plant cooling system to avoid scale build up.

NEWS BRIEFS

Increased traffic on Sydney’s Middle Harbour around The Spit has made it necessary to reduce the speed limit from eight knots to four knots. The new speed limit takes effect immediately and applies to an area bound by Clontarf Point and the Middle Harbour Yacht Club on the east and d’Albora Marina and the Seaforth shoreline on the western side of The Spit Bridge. Maritime.nsw.gov.au.

Yachting Australia will review its organisational structure in order to strengthen the future of the sport of sailing in this country. Yachting Australia’s Federal Assembly, comprising representatives of the eight States and Territories, recently approved the terms of reference and composition of a working group, headed by an independent Chair, Malcolm Speed. Yachting.org.au.

The Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania has appointed Richard Scarr as Sailing Manager of the 130-year-old yacht club in Hobart. Scarr will continue as head coach for Yachting Tasmania, a role which has seen many young Tasmanians achieve outstanding results in dinghy classes at a national level over the past two seasons. RYCT.org.au.

The marine industry has hit back at a recent media release by the Queensland Transport Minister Rachel Nolan where she calls on greater financial contributions by industry to marine infrastructure maintenance and development. MarineQLD.com.au.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

May 11 - Long Distance Offshore Sailing Seminar - Communications with Neville Rose at Royal Brighton Yacht Club at 7pm. ORCV.org.au.

May 20 - 23 -- Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show, Gold Coast. Sanctuary Cove Boat Show.com.au.

May 20 – 23 -- 1770 Festival, Town of Seventeen-Seventy, Queensland. Celebrating the "Birth Place of Queensland”, commemorating the visit of the Endeavour and landing of Lt. James Cook and his crew in May 1770. 1770festival.com.au.

May 21 – 30 -- Port Douglas Carnivale, Tropical North Queensland. A celebration of music, arts, sport, food culture and entertainment. Carnivale.com.au.

May 27 – June 21 -- Vivid Sydney, a festival of light, music and ideas, featuring the spectacular illumination of the Sydney Opera House sails. EventsNSW.com.au.

June 8 - Long Distance Offshore Sailing Seminar - Search and Rescue at Royal Brighton Yacht Club at 7pm. ORCV.org.au.

June 13 - 14 -- The Oceanic Whitsunday Boat & Leisure Show, Meridien Marinas Abel Point Marina, Airlie Beach. Whitsunday Boat Show.com.

July 1 - 5 -- Melbourne Boat Show, Melbourne Exhibition Centre. Melbourne Boat Show.com.au.

July 4 - Melbourne to Vanuatu (M2V) ORCV.org.au. 

Photograph: ORCV Melbourne Two Handed Race courtesy of John Curnow