Tamar Marine Blockbuster Weekend Regatta 2021 - Day 1
by Jane Austin 27 Feb 2021 18:56 UTC
27-28 February 2021
The 21st anniversary of the Tamar Marine Blockbuster Weekend has got off to a flying start at the Port Dalrymple Yacht Club on the Tamar River in northern Tasmania.
The regatta has attracted a record number of entries with sailors making the event the largest off-the-beach regatta in Tasmania this season.
PDYC Commodore, Greg Rowsell, is thrilled with the event so far. "We are very pleased with the number of entries, 72 in total, and how the Classes are getting behind this event. There is a strong sense of camaraderie and participation across all of the Classes and a melting pot of experience with sailors keen to share their knowledge with the younger sailors," said Rowsell.
Sailors were treated to almost perfect conditions. The first race was abandoned due to lack of wind, but a 12-14 knot north-westerly sea-breeze finally settled in offering consistent conditions for the Sabot, B14, NS14, Laser and Sabre Classes. The event incorporates the state championship for the B14s, Lasers and Sabot with the competition intense from the start.
Current B14 state champion Robbie Hunt, sailing with Charlotte Armstrong on The Hitcher, is defending his state title in style with three bullets on the first day of the state championship. Hunt leads rival Stephen Millar, who finished second in the championship in 2020, and Sarah Hayward (Phantom) and Adrian and Kelly Beswick (Rocketship), both on 11 points.
Liam Jones (Crude Oil) is in a strong position in the Sabot Senior State Championship winning two of today's three races, and placing second in the other, to finish on 4 points. Nicholas Jones (My Horizon) is in second place on 5 points and in third place is Zephyr Coull (Running on Empty) on 12 points. In the Sabot Development Division, which is open to both junior and senior skippers who want to sail short-handed and/or receive coaching support throughout the race, Arthur Adams (Blue Juice) is leading on five points from Harry Frith (Fair Dinkum) on seven points and Mark Rawson (Under Pressure) on 10 points. The Sabots have a maximum of three races tomorrow and a discard comes into play after five races have been completed.
Sam King (Redemption) has asserted his dominance in the Laser full rig Class winning three from three, closely followed by Will Sargent (T15) on six points and George Scott (Welcome to the Jungle) on nine points. King was happy with his racing and is feeling good about the final day of sailing. "I felt I had a good flow in the boat and had confidence in my decisions," said King. Josh Ragg (No Limit) leads the Laser Radial Class while Tom Hugo (Atomic) leads the Laser 4.7s.
Scott Wilkie and Lucas Foerder (Serenity) from the Midway Point Yacht Club, are dominating the NS14 Class with three wins from three races, closely followed by Sam and Linda Bailey (Sundaze) on seven points and Brianna McElwee and Holly Jones (Indecisive) on eight points.
In the Sabre Class, a fleet of 19 boats including some of Tasmania's most experienced dinghy sailors, sailed three races with Mike Darby (No Mischief) from the Wynyard Yacht Club winning the first day of racing on 6 points from Jason Followes (FOMO) on eight points, and Richard Parker (Essence) on nine points.
In a great initiative, the first day of sailing was capped off by the experienced B14 crews taking youngsters from the Sabre and Sabot fleet out for a sail to familiarise them with the B14 dinghy and to explore one pathway to adult sailing.
The final day of racing gets under way at midday.
Full results here