Second to go
The second race of this year’s ORCV Winter Series saw mid-fleet competition take centre stage on the long passage down to Blairgowrie.
07 July 2021
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The second race of the ORCV Winter Series was defined by the neck and neck competition between the 45 yachts along Port Phillip, racing down the long 25 nautical mile passage down Brighton and Blairgowrie. Sportsboats and mid-fleet tussle took centre stage as the fleet powered along on a wet and cool ride under spinnaker for much of the race.
The Cape 31 PP1 took out the AMS division, with skipper Cameron Dale relishing in the wet conditions after seeing the forecast earlier in the week.
“We’ve done the Cock of the Bay several times as an upwind course and we’ve been hanging out for a downwind run to Blairgowrie,” said Dale. “This race certainly lived up to the expectations – we had a ball.”
Winning the double-handed division was the Sunfast 3300 Ragnar after it geared up and rocketed down the bay at over 17 knots max speed.
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Skipper Richard Ekberg said he and his crewman, Nick, were used to sailing 14-foot skiffs and that their Sunfast, now a little over a year old, steered like a dinghies, especially off the breeze.
“The boat was very well-mannered in the sea state – that’s the most breeze we’ve been out in with this yacht, and the twin rudders really gave us the grip to load up the boat and go for it,” Ekberg explained.
John Newbold’s Reichel/Pugh51 Primitive Cool not only took the ORCC division but also set a new race record, pushing past 23 knots for an elapsed time of 2 hours, 58 minutes and 24 seconds. Newbold said after the race, “the conditions suited the boat, with the flatter seas allowing us to really get up and go.
“It was cold and pretty wet on deck, but the crew were committed to getting that one percent more performance,” he added. The vessel also holds the race record for the ORCV King Island Race.
But the tightest racing was between the Sydney 38’s with No Mans Land, Faster Forward and Adrenalin battled it out, separated by mere boat lengths. boat lengths from one another.
“In the last winter series event we were 23 minutes behind Faster Forward, so they were the target for this race – we sat on their hip all day,” said No Mans Land Skipper Sal Balharrie.
“In the end we shredded a kite, holed a jib and tore the main – and we had the best day.”
The next ORCV Winter Series race is scheduled for 31 July.
Full results of Race 2 can be seen here.
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