Race 4, Spring Series Heat 3

Race report

Yendys strikes back

Light drizzle greeted sailors as they commenced rigging in a park swelled with the crowds arriving for the annual jacaranda display in McDougall Street. The forecast was for a light easterly, with a little bit of south in the breeze as the day progressed. But the grey skies thought otherwise and by the time that the race committee left to decide on the course, a light westerly had settled in resulting in a call for the No. 5 Westerly course starting in Athol Bight.

Seven skiffs greeted the starter with only Alruth, among the current active boats, left onshore. Despite Alruth’s skipper, Alan Robertson’s absence with his threatened hip replacement, we need to make every effort to get this competitive crew back and racing.

The Mistake (Jerry Tickner) led the fleet away in around 6 knots of breeze on the short work up to the Kurraba mark followed by Scot (David Paget), Tangalooma (Neville Turbit), Australia (Mashall Flanagan), Aberdare (Michael Carter), Australia IV (Terry Stewart) and Yendys (Warren “Wazza” Miller) bringing up the rear. But by the time the fleet had struggled to round the mark the breeze had dropped and the lee from the Kirribilli shore had bunched the fleet. Despite that, the fleet rounded more or less in their starting order.

It was always going to be a day of big gear and big spinnakers that would be needed for the run down to Shark Island. The closer the fleet got to Bradleys, the more the light breeze was veering to the south-east meaning that it was quite a challenge for forw’d hands to trim their kites at almost impossibly shy angles. Yendys probably did best with its No.1 peak head kite and with her crew determined to make amends for the previous Saturday’s stuff up when they succeeded in snatching defeat from the jaws of victory! Yendys carried its big spinnaker all the way to the Shark Island lighthouse and picked up the entire fleet, apart from Scot, by the Shark Island rounding mark.

It's not often on a windward/leeward course that spinnakers are carried both up and down the course. But with the breeze having rotated 180 degrees, it was to be big spinnakers again for the run back to Kurraba. Taking advantage of Scot’s misfortune when the rudder gudgeon failed, leaving Scot unable to steer despite valiant efforts by her crew (Ryan Paget) to jury rig the rudder, Yendys, with ringtail aloft, surged to the lead. Australia IV also set a ringtail (for the second time in the race) meaning that by the finish when the Race Committee shortened course at the Kurraba mark, the two boats that had put all the washing up were first and second. Let that be a lesson to others who. in a light breeze (when the old salts used to say that they would even hoist their undies), should be employing this extra sail area and adding to the wow factor that the H18s provoke in our yachting mates when we overtake them downwind.

So it was Yendys back in the winner’s circle, by 2 minutes from Australia IV. Australia squeaked in for a podium place a minute behind and only 6 seconds ahead of Aberdare in fourth place. Mistake and Tangalooma finished within seconds of one another and a minute behind Aberdare. Scot was a sad sight under tow back to Careening Cove, especially having sailed a great race before the gear failure.

Back at the Squaddie the boats were pulled out before a big crowd of curious jacaranda-bound onlookers whose predominantly foreign backgrounds meant that they clearly had not seen the spectacle of large skiffs under sail being landed ashore. The sun had come out and free beers (courtesy of Rolf and the Squaddie) and a BBQ (thanks to Renata who jumped in to save the day with the Alruth-rostered BBQ crew absent) were again provided to sailors and supporters by the Club. A very satisfying end to a difficult day on the Harbour.

And it’s on again next week!

Welcome to our 1000th member for 2025

SFS CEO Rolf Cohen welcomes our 1000th members to the club!

Jacaranda season update...

The jacarandas are spectacular this year

Road closures continue on Saturdays and Sundays from 7am to 7pm

Cars with trailers/boats must only enter and exit via Willoughby Street

Please follow the directions given by the Traffic Controllers and Drive slowly and give way to all pedestrians on the road

The printed report, with its photographs, is on the page for Race Report 1 November 2025 in the news archive.