Race 1 BPYC Spring Series – Sydney Harbour at its best

What a show Sydney Harbour put on for us for Race 1 of the BPYC Spring Series. Sunshine, a reasonably steady breeze and special appearances from a pod of dolphins and a seal made for beautiful sailing on course 3 up to Manly and back. Lots of regular BPYC sailors & skippers were unable to join unfortunately (including GWhizz which was busy winning its Division of the West Harbour Winter Series) and the somewhat depleted fleet consisted only of the intrepid Starfire and Conquista. 

While Starfire, skippered by Hugh Babington, was fully crewed with a set of regulars, Conquista was skippered by co-owner Sue Cumbo and operated with a skeleton crew, some new to the boat (and yes, all current AS members, as is the requirement nowadays). 

Beating into the Nor’easter, Starfire defended her lead all the way to Manly, though when rounding the buoys Conquista was only seconds behind. On the downwind leg coming back, Starfire carried her asymmetrical spinnaker beautifully all the way to the finish line, gybing as she went along and handling the occasional hour glass in style. 

Conquista was in full pursuit all the way but given the unfamiliarity of many of the crew, the spinnaker stayed in the bag. In the end Starfire crossed the line several minutes ahead of Conquista, a compelling win on a beautiful day on the water.

Race 2 of the Spring Series is on Sunday 11 September and we look forward to seeing more boats on the water.