Race 10, Club Championship Heat 2

Race report

What’s going on with the weather? Aberdare scores and Yendys makes amends

The second heat of the Club Championship was sailed in 15 knots of breeze with the occasional gust approaching 20 knots. How different to last season when light to moderate easterlies most Saturdays resulted in very few of the traditional nor’easters and use of the No.1 Course?

Despite the race being sailed at the end of the incoming tide, the sea state was very ordinary for the third week in a row. The combination of wind waves and extra powerboat traffic at this time of the year produced very rough conditions, especially out in the middle of the channel. As tempting as it was to head towards the east in the hope of finding the promised right-hand shifts, sticking to the west was definitely the go with much smoother water and probably another knot and a half of boat speed on starboard tacks in and out of the bays. Perhaps this is the real reason that the old skiffies were fond of saying that “in a nor’easter go west”.

The first heat of the Club Championship saw Yendys barely cross the start line before snapping her boom and retiring from the race. Gear failures aside, the Yendys’ crew (skippered by Bazza Watson) were for this race bent on restoring order after last week’s capsize. Although having said that, in the scratch start on a No. 1 course, you would have thought that the hot favourite was still out of sorts. Yendys was almost last over the line after allowing for a bit of barging at the boat end by other skiffs and finding herself with no other option than to tack away. The Mistake and Aberdare (Michael “Flipper” Carter) got away well with a clear channel and Aberdare soon hit the lead on the preferred heading to Bradleys Head.

The first leg of the long NE course usually sorts out the fleet. Aberdare, staying in the west, took best advantage of the smoother water and held the lead all the way to the Beashel Buoy where Yendys, on starboard, thought seriously about a Rule 10 infringement by Aberdare before being persuaded otherwise by the smiles and cheers from Aberdare as they rounded the mark a mere 30 seconds ahead, after Yendys had given way and then tacked to round in second place. What a great effort by Flipper and his improving crew. They were followed by Australia IV (Rear Commodore Terry Stewart), 4 minutes in arrears, and Tangalooma (Neville Turbit), a further 2 minutes back. Mistake (Jerry Tickner) and Scot (Ryan Paget) had somehow lost their way in the rough sea state and were 9 and 12 minutes behind the leader by the time that they rounded.

There is no worse losing-of-your-way than a capsize, as Alruth (Alan Robertson) proved when she foundered on the first leg abeam Chowder Bay in a tack. Alruth was experiencing problems from an incorrect mast setting and the resulting weather helm and unbalanced set up, had made tacking perilous as events proved. Apparently, Alruth’s sodden arrival into Clifton Gardens Beach meant that the Mosman locals on the beach had a memorable afternoon helping to bring the boat ashore and assisting with the dreaded de-rigging and bailing. Pity that the old Clifton Garden pub was burnt down decades ago, making the drop-in by Alruth less pleasant than it might have been in the past!

Meanwhile, back at the top mark, it is hardly worth saying that good kite work often makes the difference in big races. And Yendys with a quick set of their No.2 spinnaker (most boats having reefed and thus unable to carry their No. 1) soon passed Aberdare as her crew wrestled with kicker problems and were slow to set. Not to get too cocky though, Yendys’ crew were soon suffering ringtail problems when the outhaul set-up showed that it had been unchecked on the beach, meaning that the ringtail set had to be aborted soon after the hook-up. Nevertheless, by the gybe at Shark Island, Yendys had established a good lead and after a fast run between the Islands and an early drop, rounded the Clark Island mark and led for the rest of the race. Aberdare had managed to retain second place and, continuing to sail well, set off after Yendys on the slightly longer than normal, second upwind leg to the Chowder Bay North mark, a course change designed by the Sailing Committee to avoid the unpredictable conditions around the former rounding mark closer into the southern end of Chowder Bay.

A4 was third at the Shark Island gybe and at the bottom mark, followed by Tangalooma, Mistake and Scot. Rounding times remain elusive as the rescue boats that usually record times were tied up dealing with the Alruth capsize. Speaking of which, The Mistake also perished just after the round-up at Clark Island. This did however provide the Mistake crew with an opportunity to be towed into one of the lesser visited beaches, best known as the Carthona Beach, barely available on a high tide and only just useable on any tide due to the overhanging Moreton Bay Fig trees. (Carthona is a large, prominent and castellated sandstone edifice owned by the Oxley family, descendants of the Bushells Tea dynasty, on Darling Point).

It was generally agreed by all reports that the new Chowder Bay North rounding mark was an improvement for the No. 1 Course. It probably added 0.5 of a nautical mile to the course length, but offered a better angle in a nor’easter for the shy run across to Shark Island that will hopefully see more skiffs enjoying the sprint under a shy kite. Yendys certainly did and after rounding the Chowder mark and completing the gybe at Shark Island cruised to a win by 6 minutes from the well-sailed Aberdare that triumphed over the consistent A4 by another 4 minutes. When the handicaps were applied, Aberdare took out first place followed by Tangalooma and then Yendys. A4 was fourth on handicap, followed by Scot.

One more race to go next week before the Christmas/New Year break. Be sure to check the Sailing Calendar since the first race in 2026 has been changed to the 17th of January. So, the race on the 20th December will be the catalyst for a few Christmas drinks and seasonal bonhomie after the race. Don’t miss it!

Thanks again to the volunteers, hard at work for another week while adding to their Sydney Harbour Beaches adventure travelogue. Someone ought to write a book about those special places. Anyone …?

Something for you or a friend?

Grant Taylor, a past Director and Sailing Secretary of the SFS, loved books particularly those relating to sailing.

Items from Grant’s collection of books, magazines and apparel will be on sale at give-away prices at the SFS on two coming Saturdays, the 13th and 20th of December from 12 noon.

Examples being: two polo shirts from the Re-enactment of the 1938 First World 18ft Championship event held on Sydney Harbour in January 2002!!, and from the book collection:- Sydney Waterfronts by Tim Mooney and A Cloud of Sail (Maritime Paintings by J.Steven Dews) written by Louise A. Felstead, both in excellent condition.

EFPOS facilities will be available but cash is also welcome.

Myra Too working group

Myra is back, but in need of TLC

Billy Barnett, OAM, Champion 18-footer skipper, designer and boat builder, designed and built the original Myra in 1950. In 2012, with funding by John “Woody” Winning and the Australian Open Skiff Trust (AOST), Bob McLeod, Billy’s former apprentice, was commissioned to build the Myra Too.

After a few seasons out of use, Myra Too is back in the park and in need of some TLC.

Over the holiday period and through to the end of the racing season, the Squaddie will be working on bringing Myra back to her racing trim and back to the fleet where she will again be a serious competitor. It will be a wonderful opportunity for sailors and volunteers to participate in the work under the supervision of our expert members with trade and professional skills. If you can manage a sander, hold a paint brush, or help lay out and clean sails and rigging, then please join in. We shall be adopting Bob Killick’s work ethic that always meant that a bit of hard work would be followed by a lot of camaraderie, usually involving a cold drink or two in the afternoon sun. Details of the work program will be circulated shortly, so stay tuned. And for the more serious sailors, the Squaddie and the trustees of the AOST will be selecting a skipper and crew to race Myra Too in 2026. Interested?

The printed report, with its photographs, is on the page for Race Report 13 December 2025 in the news archive.