We had another memorable week at Port Stephens for the annual Sail Port Stephens regatta. This year we joined in the race from Newcastle to Port Stephens on the day before the regatta. This was our first Category 4 offshore race and the low seas and light conditions made it a very easy one. We pretty well matched a Beneteau 36.7 which is good benchmark for us but were well beaten by the Jeanneau Sunfast 37 with a huge overlapping genoa. The regatta proper started with the Commodores Cup and an offshore race around the three islands off Port Stephens. We were caught out by the fresh breeze and struggled with an oversize genoa. A reef in the main helped but we scored an own goal when we shook out the reef prematurely. The handicapper had some pity on us and as the breeze lightened for the next two races we scored a second and third for a fourth overall. The last race was a beat up the bay and a beat back as the breeze and tide changed in unison. In the smaller sub group of the Jeanneau yachts we were punished less by the first race result and won on a countback. That won for us our third bucket from Port Stephens and the three are stacked into the one shelf in the family room. The Port Stephens Regatta proper started on the Thursday with the first of two offshore races. Both were sailed in good conditions. In the first we were lucky to spot the fleet leaders becalmed and sail around them. The second was a long beat out and rewarded the yachts that has the courage to take the header all the way into the north side of the bay to escape the tide. We were not so courageous. The last race in the bay had a couple of triangles with a lot of spinnaker work. We picked the breeze on the first windward work but missed the big right shift from the approaching rain on the second. We carried the mighty asymmetric on the way home and mowed down the Sunfast 37 which carried only a large genoa on the leg. It was tight but a terrific leg made all the better by the leaders falling into a hole on the finish line. In the tight racing the handicappers achieved a good result as we were just 27 seconds out of third place overall. For the sake of 27 seconds we went from third to eighth in the regatta. The asymmetric spinnaker is working much better since we took it off the furler. The extra luff length without the top swivel and bottom furler drum and gear means the luff can be carried straighter.
Because three crew are going to Mexico for the Laser Masters Worlds we did a one day motor sail from Port Stephens back to Sydney. The breeze was too far south so we motor sailed with a double reefed main and entered Sydney Harbor at 8pm. Today there was enough sun to dry out the spinnakers on the back lawn and to appreciate how big is our awesome asymmetric kite.
Just the two of us on the way from Sydney to Newcastle
Running home after the last offshore race
Crew concentrating on the spinnaker set on the last offshore race
The awesome asymmetric out to dry. I knew that garden had to go.
The symmetric spinnaker struggles to cover the same area as the asymmetric
Three Sail Port Stephens buckets in four regattas neatly stacked in the bookcase.