Cockburn Sound Regatta

Regatta Report
The Cockburn Sound Regatta, organised and run by The Cruising Yacht Club of WA, is a 4-day event held between Boxing Day held on the beautiful and protected waters of Mangles Bay off Rockingham. Just like last year we were spoiled with the weather and conditions were perfect with a variety of winds providing some really interesting and close racing.

The Kwinana Industries Council Race to Rockingham is the feeder race for any metropolitan based yachts and this year 20 faced the starter’s gun to make the 14 nautical mile trip down from Fremantle to join the rest of the fleet. The SW sea breeze was in early reaching 15 knots which gave the crews a fast passage south as they were able to crack sheets slightly and sit on starboard tack once they had reached the main shipping channel. This really suited Ray Martin’s Farrier F85SR, Beatrix, which took out fastest time, 7 minutes ahead of the former Admiral’s Cupper, Salacia II. Matt Rose’s Spacesailer 27, King Canute, having a stellar season offshore, continued her fine form by winning this prestigious race by 26 seconds on corrected time, from Perie Banou III skippered by Colin Sanders. Jeremy Kerr’s Farr 9.2 was a further 31 seconds back.

The fleet was larger this year with 53 boats of various sizes and designs competing in the regatta. They were divided into 3 Spinnaker Divisions, 3 Jib and Main Classes, and a Sports boat fleet. With flat water and consistent breezes, it’s no wonder that this is the place to be after Christmas for those boats not travelling to National Titles.

The trimaran Beatrix joined the Division 1 fleet which made for some interesting viewing for the spectators as she tended to clear out upwind but then get mown down off the breeze, notably by The Bus, Murray Smith’s MC 31, and Alan Stein’s new Cape 31 Dirty Deeds Done Cheaper. Rumour has it that we might have a fleet of Cape 31’s next year and a separate fleet within Division 1. In the end Dirty Deeds DC continued to improve over the course of the regatta and won convincingly from Chris Hind’s Sagacious IV with Ross Norgard’s Salacia in 3rd place a further point back. Salacia II turned the tables in the IRC competition putting in a string of 5 consecutive wins. Michael Giles’ Sydney 47 Endorfin was unlucky to run aground on a sandbank in the last race with no damage but minor bruising to a crew member.

It was close in Division 2 with the first 5 boats finishing within 5 points of each other and only 3 points between the first 3. Nigel Smith’s Flying Tiger 10 won from the S97 Jolie Breeze (David Hepburn) with David Thoms Jomac 30, K-Factor. The crew and wives of K-Factor also took out the honours in the onshore Quiz Night, so they were rapt in the regatta.

In Division 3 King Canute had to lower her colours to her wonderfully consistent little sister Wildfire. Bruce Uren brings his Spacesailer 22 down every year from South of Perth Yacht Club and was finally rewarded with the win from David Darn’s Castle 650 Alcazar. Local boat Lady Irene was 3rd and again it was so close. 4 points separated the first 5 boats.

The Jib and Main entrants were divided into 3 fleets and in JAM 1, Sand Crabs Disco skippered by Graeme Martin took out the win by 2 points from Ken Waller’s Jean Genie which was level on points with the Beneteau 46 Serendipity skippered by Rick Hoad.

JAM 2 was interesting for the handicapper with no two boats the same except for the S&S 34s Perie Banou III and Huckleberry. Colin Sanders sailed the former into 2nd place to go with his 2nd placing in the KIC Race to Rockingham held on Boxing Day. The S80 Surcouf was 3rd but Des Riley took out the win in his Farr 9.2 Farrouk.

JAM 3 was another interesting fleet. One of the smallest boats in the fleet Pinta, skippered by Ray Murphy, was a convincing winner in the end from the Cole 26 Talisman sailed by Bob Harrap. Indulgence II, skippered by Basil Collins came up from Mandurah to round out the placings.

The regular fleet of Sports boats was joined this year by a representative crew from the Women’s Racing and Mentoring Programme sailing their Melges 24 RAMP into 3rd place. Heidi Bucktin’s mostly female crew showed impressive speed all around the course and they will be a real threat for line honours if they continue to improve and get more used to the conditions down here. However, they weren’t quick enough to beat the Elliott 7 Need for Speed (Jacob Birch) who won by a solitary point from local skipper Trevor Taylor on his Runnalls 8, No Etiquette.

The Overall Regatta Champion is determined by a formula taking into account a boat’s gross points score and the sum of the total numbers of boats starting in each race in each Division. Des Riley’s Farrouk was a relatively late entry after the yacht he was hoping to sail on was unable to make it down and she was declared the Overall Regatta Champion to a wonderful reception from the crowd from Hillary’s Yacht Club.

Sportspage

Thanks for putting on a show in this year’s CSR. We have had problems loading data onto the website but the details are up there now. Here’s the link for the progressive scores. Congratulations to the Overall Winner, Farrouk, and all the competitors.

Sportspage

40 entrants so far for the regatta, with another 5 in the pipeline including a Melges 24 from RAMP and the Cape 31 Dirty Deeds done cheap. Their clash with The Bus should be a highlight.
Entries close on 15/12 so don’t delay.
We’d also love to see more Sportsboats racing around the bay.

The excitement is starting to build for the regatta and we really appreciate the support from Ed Fethers and the team at 91.3 SportsFM. Have a listen.

Let's Go Sailing | SportFM

The Cockburn Sound Regatta is on again so click here

http://www.tcyc.com.au/csr/nominate-now

to get your nomination in early and to be eligible for the Early Bird Prize.

Nomination is handled by RevSports and looks a little different this year.

The fee has increased to $310 for the 4 days racing plus the Kwinana Industries Council Race to Rockingham on Boxing Day.

RevSports charge a booking fee which will be absorbed by the CSR ONLY IF you use the Discount Code

"csr2023"

at the time of booking.

Here's a video from Allan Godley Photography to whet your appetite for summer!

https://youtu.be/1LltFS40efI

The Cruising Yacht Club of WA - COCKBURN SOUND REGATTA Highlights from the 2018,19, 20, 21 and 22 Cockburn Sound Regattas

It’s on again. Get your entry in early to maximise your chance of securing a mooring.

Nominations for the 2023 Cockburn Sound Regatta are now open!
Follow the link below to nominate:
http://www.tcyc.com.au/csr/nominate-now

More photos added to the gallery. Sorry about the delay.

Cockburn Sound Regatta 2022

The Cockburn Sound Regatta, organised and run by The Cruising Yacht Club of WA, is a 4 day event held between Boxing Day held on the beautiful and protected waters of Mangles Bay off Rockingham. Two years ago some of the afternoon races were blown out by persistently strong sea breezes and last year conditions were light and very hot with the temperature reaching 44 degrees on Day 1. This year however, conditions were perfect with a variety of winds providing some really interesting racing.

The Kwinana Industries Council Race to Rockingham is the feeder race for any metropolitan based yachts and this year 16 faced the starters gun to make the 14 nautical mile trip down from Fremantle to join the rest of the fleet. The sea breeze was in early reaching 18 knots which gave the crews a fast passage south as they were able to crack sheets slightly and sit on starboard tack once they had reached the main shipping channel. Last year’s winner, Ray Martin’s Farrier F85SR, Beatrix was forced to retire early with halyard problems but managed to make it down early the next morning. Bill Henson JPK45 Sirene was first to finish from Salacia II, Ross Norgard’s beautiful S and S timber sloop. On corrrected time however, Malcolm Thompson sailed his Archambault 35 Moneypenny well to take out the win and the much coveted KIC trophy.

45 boats of various sizes, types and dimensions competed in the regatta this year, slightly down from last year’s total, and the yachts were divided into 2 Spinnaker Divisions, 3 Jib and Main Classes, and a Sportsboat fleet. With the borders having opened up and sailors able to travel freely, this was to be expected.

The trimaran Beatrix joined the Division 1 fleet which made for some interesting viewing for the spectators as she tended to clear out upwind but then get mown down off the breeze, notably by The Bus, Murray Smith’s MC 31. Beatrix continued to have gear problems and only managed to complete 4 races.

The Bus sailed consistently fast and beat Jolie Breeze by 2 seconds in the last race, to force a tie in the overall result. Level on 18 points after the drop, David Hepburn’s S97 had done enough with 2 wins to 1 to take out the prize on a countback. Tapestry, skippered by David Atkinson was 3rd on 21 points. It was a similarly close result in the IRC competition with The Bus having 4 wins to Salacia II’s 2 wins. They had finished level on 10 points each with Jolie Breeze coming in 3rd overall.

Division 2 was a race between 3 smaller boats, two of which had made the long haul down from South of Perth Yacht Club. The consistent SS22 Wildfire, skippered by Bruce Uren held the whip hand leading into the last race. She led from her bigger sister, the SS27 King Canute skippered by Matt Rose, by 13 points to 16. King Canute however, won the final race with Wildfire coming in 3rd. After the drop there was another tie between these 2 on 12 points and that final win gave King Canute the honours and bragging rights for another year. Local boat Lady Irene (Sam Threlfall) was 3rd.

The Jib and Main entrants were divided into 3 fleets and in JAM 1, Deckchairs Overboard skippered by Wendy Harrison had a better time of it than last year and took out the win by 2 points from Jason Poutsma’s Stimulus Package. One morning Jason was spotted heading out with some breathing gear and a soft broom so he obviously takes his racing very seriously. Ken Waller sailed his beautiful Jeanneau 53, Jean Genie into 3rd place a further 4 points behind.

The 2 S80s, Surcouf and local boat Vintage Red slugged it out at the pointy end of the JAM 2 fleet followed by Kevin Schroeder’s Farr 9.2 Dragonheart in 3rd place. James Pattison’s Surcouf held out local skipper Lindsay Kenworthy by 3 points with a vital 2nd place in the final race to take the honours.

JAM 3 was another close fleet. Ross Davidson brought his Peterson 30 Legend up from Mandurah to triumph over the smallest boat in the bay, the trailable Castle 650 Alcazar, by just 1 point. David Darn’s Alcazar won the last race but unfortunately for her, Legend did enough by coming in 2nd. Indulgence II skippered by Basil Collins, also from Mandurah, came in 3rd a further 2 points behind. Alcazar provided a highlight for the onwater spectators by crossing the fleet on a port tack start in one of the races and going on to record a first and fastest. After an enforced absence last year it was great to see Deborah Fisk back with Blue Chip.

5 boats lined up for the Sports Boat series but unfortunately breakages to the two local R8s No Etiquette and Parabellum early on in the series left only 3 boats to battle it out. The local Fremantle 8 Make No Mistake, skippered by Kevin Phillips won by 4 points from the 2 Elliott 7s of Gavin Taylor and Jake Mitchell. Tiger was 2nd followed by Pretty Woman in 3rd place. Kevin will be hoping to replicate his success in the Yvonne Australian Championship being hosted by the yacht club straight after the regatta in the New Year.

The Overall Regatta Champion is determined by a formula taking into account a boat’s gross points score and the sum of the total numbers of boats starting in each race in each Division. With this approach it was always possible that the winner might be a boat that hadn’t won its own Division and that’s exactly what happened for the first time this year. Vintage Red, skippered by former local skipper Lindsay Kenworthy, was declared the Overall Regatta Champion. Lindsay also won this prize in 2005 sailing the Binks 25 Start Again so it pays to keep sailing!

Final batch

More pics from Day 4

Pictures from the final day.

Thanks Kendall again.

Photos courtesy of Kendall.

Light conditions greeted the sailors this morning with a big park up at H mark as the sea breeze worked out whether it was going to come in or not. It was important to pick the right way to go and those who did benefited greatly. The highlight for the spectators on the water was the sight of the little Castle 650 Alcazar executing a perfect port tack start and crossing the whole JAM 3 fleet to go on and pick up a first and fastest.

The afternoon race provided perfect conditions after the breeze filled in and Trevor was finally able to send all the fleets except for the Sports Boats, who sailed around the buoys, on a short passage race.

They managed to stay out of the way of any bulk carriers and most boats really appreciated the chance to stretch their legs. With a late finish and an early start tomorrow for the final race, everyone was keen to get a bit of sleep.

With the exception of the Sports Boats, the winners of all the fleets are as yet undecided so there is everything to play for tomorrow for quite a few crews.

In Division 1, Jolie Breeze, The Bus and Tapestry are separated by just 1 point after dropping the worst results. In Division 2 2 points separate Wildfire, King Canute and Lady Irene. In JAM 1 Deckchairs Overboard is in the box seat leading by 3 points from Stimulus Package and Jean Genie. In JAM 2 just 1 point separates Surcouf, Huckleberry and Vintage Red and in JAM 3 there are 4 points covering Indulgence II, Legend, Alcazar, Ocean Street and Blue Chip.

See if you can spot your boat in this footage.

2022 Cockburn Sound Regatta Day 2 Afternoon race highlightsMusic:PRO association: BMIFull name: Zaplotinsky Kiril number:00395188416

After two days of solid racing the results are starting to get interesting and the front runners are starting to emerge. In Division 1 the surprise leader is Jolie Breeze, recently promoted out of Division 2. She leads on 10 points after 4 races, from The Bus and Salacia II, 3 and 4 points behind respectively. Tapestry sits in 4th with a 6th place yet to drop.

Division 2 is close with King Canute on 9 points followed by the consistently sailed Wildfire and Lady Irene both just one point behind.

JAM 1 is led by Deckchairs Overboard having a better regatta than last year and they are 3 points clear of Stimulus Package and Jean Genie. Surcouf leads JAM 2 by one point from Dragonheart with Vintage Red a further point behind.

In JAM 3, Legend, has a handy 5 point lead from a cluster of 4 boats namely Ocean Street, Blue Chip, Alcazar and Indulgence II all sitting on 15 points.

The Sportsboat fleet has been somewhat decimated with both No Etiquette and Parabellum no longer able to continue. Make no Mistake leads by 4 points from Tiger and the unlucky Parabellum who started the series with two wins and a 2nd placing.

Another great photo of The Bus, this time courtesy of Allan Godley.