Weekly Sailing Summary

Souter wins bronze at Women's Match Racing Worlds, Never a Dull Moment lone finisher, Loki wins slow Bird Island Race, shorthand division for Pittwater Coffs

MATCH RACING

Lucy Macgregor and her British team defeated the American team led by two-time world champion Sally Barkow at the 2010 ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship in Rhode Island, USA. Australian sailors Nicky Souter, Nina Curtis, Olivia Price and Laura Baldwin won the Bronze medal, defeating the French crew led by Claire Leroy. Fellow Australians Katie Spithill, Jessica Eastwell, Angela Farrell and Stacey Jackson finished the regatta eighth after a hard-fought fifth- to eighth-place playoff. www.nyyc.org

KEEL BOATS

Colin and Denise Wilson and their Never a Dull Moment crew were the only crew to finish the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s Lion Island Race. The other 18 entries retired at various stages of the short ocean race, convinced it was impossible to finish the race within the time limit. Never a Dull Moment, a Lyons 49, finished just two minutes 16 seconds before the time limit expired. Being the only finishers, the Wilsons won both IRC and PHS classes of the opening Ocean Pointscore race to lead both series. www.cyca.com.au

The 23 entries in the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s Bird Island Race endured light conditions throughout the race, leaving Brindabella’s 15 year-old race record intact. Stephen Ainsworth’s R/P 63 Loki was overall winner and Bob Oatley’s R/P 66 Wild Oats X, with Iain Murray at the helm, claimed line honours. www.cyca.com.au

A new shorthanded division has been announced for the 30th Anniversary Pittwater to Coffs Harbour Race, hosted by the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club. Within hours of the announcement on the event website, Ian Thomson, who earlier this year smashed the record for his solo circumnavigation of Australia, has confirmed his entry in the shorthanded division. www.rpayc.com.au

The revived Mewstone Race, along with the traditional Maria Island and Bruny Island Races, will form the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania’s inaugural Three Islands Offshore Championship this coming season. The three ocean races, off the rugged coastline of south-eastern and southern Tasmania, also will be part of the Combined Clubs Offshore Series for 2010-2011 that starts with Bellerive Yacht Club’s Night Race on Wednesday, 20 October. www.ryct.org.au

TALL SHIPS

Four tall ships - Endeavour, James Craig, Soren Larsen, and Southern Swan - will be a major attraction at the 2010 Classic & Wooden Boat Festival at the Australian National Maritime Museum, Darling Harbour, on the weekend 16-17 October. www.anmm.gov.au

AWARDS

At the 2010 Ocean Racing Club of Victoria’s Annual General Meeting at the Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron, Nick McGuigan, the owner/skipper of Magazan 53, was presented with the Ocean Racer of the Year Award. Nick was rewarded for his effort, dedication and commitment to the constant improvement in preparing himself, his boat and the crew for participating in ocean races. www.orcv.org.au

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

Oct 2 – 3 – Heaven Can Wait (HCW) 24 Hour Yacht Race and the associated One Lap Dash will be held on Lake Macquarie, near Newcastle, NSW. The event raises money for the NSW Cancer Council and Marine Rescue Lake Macquarie. <a href="http://www.heavencanwait.com.au/"><font color="#800080">www.heavencanwait.com.au</font></a>

Oct 8 – 10 – Club Marine Mandurah Boat Show, Mandurah Offshore Fishing & Sailing Club WA www.mandurahboatshow.com

Oct 16 – 17 -- 2010 Classic and Wooden Boat Festival, National Maritime Museum, Darling Harbour, Sydney -- 100 boats from graceful yachts to streamlined speedboats, a festive marketplace selling all things nautical and an outstanding display of boating products. Discover the skills of traditional maritime craftsmen including blacksmiths, rope knotters, caulkers and sail makers. www.anmm.gov.au

Oct 17 -- ORCV's Rip Tour shows yacht and powerboat owners how to approach The Rip at Port Phillip Heads in Victoria. The tour, which always sells out departs from Queenscliff and Sorrento and bookings are essential. www.orcv.org.au

Oct 30 -- Hempel Gosford to Lord Howe Island Yacht Race www.gosfordsailingclub.com.au

Nov 7 – Try Sailing Day NSW - Sailing and yacht clubs around NSW devote their club, boats and instructors to give people of all ages, with little or no experience a chance to experience the joys of sailing for free. www.bia.org.au

Nov 20 – 21 -- 2010 Lipton Cup Regatta, held on Port Phillip. www.liptoncupregatta.yachting.org.au

Photograph: Nicky Souter and team at the 2010 ISAF Women’s Match Racing World Championship courtesy of Fried Elliott <a href="http://photos.friedbits.com/2010isafwimraworlds"><em>http://photos.friedbits.com/2010isafwimraworlds</em></a>

Weekly Sailing Summary

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