This years Sail Port Stephens regatta was a great success for the fifteen
Jeanneau yachts taking part in a new format over five days, referred to as the
Passage Series from the 24th to the 29th of April.
The weather was superb, and although winds were generally light, there was virtually
always some breeze. For the races around the islands we had pressure to 13
knots, so very enjoyable sailing.
On the Tuesday evening PBS hosted all Jeanneau owners and their crews to drinks
and finger food on the dock adjacent to the Sun Odyssey 440 “Ca Va”. A huge thank you to the “Ca
Va” crew for serving drinks and preparing and serving the food. It was first-class and
we are all very grateful to them. There were representatives from at least 10 of the
participating yachts and it was a great evening.
The Jeanneau participants got off to a strong start with your scribe onboard our
demonstrator Sun Fast 3300 “Sunfish” taking a 2nd in division 2, and the Sun Odyssey 349 “Pinta Bay” a
2nd in div’ 4. In the non-spinnaker division the Sun Fast 3300 “Transcendance Crento” was
a 2nd and Sun Odyssey 349 “Elysium” 3rd.
While many boats finished well in race 2 only “Pinta Bay” took a podium with a 2nd ,
then race 3 was the first race out around the islands with “Sunfish” taking a win,
“Pinta Bay” another 2nd and “Elysium” a 3rd .
In race 4 we saw the local Sun Odyssey 45.2 “Bellamy” take a deserved win in
division 3, while the Sun Odyssey 440 “Ca Va” was 3rd. In div’ 4 the Sun Odyssey 39i “Slac N Off” was 2nd , and “Transcendance Crento” was 3rd in non-spinnaker.
Despite their best efforts the race committee were unable to set a course on the final
day, so racing was abandoned and results as they stood after race 4 became final.
Through consistency the following yachts took podiums in the overall results:
Div’ 2: Sun Fast 3300 “Sunfish” – Lee Condell/Geoff Dews
Div’ 3: Sun Odyssey 45.2 “Bellamy” – Steve Liney
Div’ 4: Sun Odyssey 349 “Pinta Bay” – Frank Milner
Non-Spin: Sun Fast 3300 “Trancendance Crento” – Martin & Anna Cross
In addition the Pantaneous teams prize went to “Pinta” and “Transcendance Crento”,
with another 3300 and 349 combination “Elysium” and “Sunfish” 2nd.
Performance Boating also awarded daily medals to the top three boats across the
various divisions that we took part in, and these results were tallied to award overall
Jeanneau results and prizes for the series. The results were very close with first just
two points ahead and “Bellamy” pipped “Pinta Bay” on a countback!
Jeanneau Division Overall Results:
1st Sun Fast 3300 “Transcendance Crento” – Martin & Anna Cross
2nd Sun Odyssey 45.2 “Bellamy” – Steve Liney
3rd Sun Odyssey 349 “Pinta Bay” – Frank Milner
Sail Port Stephens is a highlight of the sailing calendar in NSW and not to be missed if you
enjoy casual spinnaker or non-spinnaker racing. The new format has the formal IRC
and ORC racing the week after the passage series for those who take their racing
more seriously.
While marina space is at a premium and needs to be booked well in advance, there
are always moorings available close by for those who are unable to commit well in
advance. It really is a lot of fun!
Lee Condell