Point Yacht Club Caney Series Day Two

11 boats ventured out for a gentle sail for race two of Point Yacht Club’s Caney Series held offshore of Durban on Sunday.

Andrew Dolloway sailing on his trimaran, Ladybird was the first boat to finish the long figure of 8 course sneaking across the line in under two and a half hours. He started towards the back of the fleet but made the early break with a starboard tack which paid off well for the pacey trimaran. 

 

Rounding the fairway marker with a comfortable lead, he confidently flew his kite down to the first mark set off Moses Mabhida Stadium, but had to gybe twice losing a bit of time as he neared land. Having a better line to the bottom mark, Crazy Diamond’s Wayne Smith managed to gain some ground on Ladybird as he went around the second mark but wasn’t able to keep up with Dolloway on the remaining beat to Virginia Beach and run to the finish near the harbour mouth. Smith and his crew crossed the line seven minutes behind Dolloway.

Bandit with Sean Jones on the stick had a quiet day on the water finishing in third place, quite a way behind his rival Crazy Diamond. Adrenaline junkie, Sean Jones usually ventures out when the breeze  blows more than 10knots decided to enjoy the tranquil conditions.

Rear Commodore for Keelers, Jon Marshall helming Majimoto, who topped the leader board after the first race of the series in December, was again the first monohull across the line. He was followed by Stuart Ritchie sailing the sleek So Basic with the Commodore of the Royal Natal Yacht Club’s Graham Rose on Zap coming across in third.

Point Yacht Club’s Honorary Commodore, Vernon Goss skippering Bellissima had a disappointing day on the water taking the wrong line to the first mark which cost him dearly, and Goss and his crew found themselves right at the back of the fleet. After the scenic beat up to the fairway mark, the crew opted to call it a day, not finishing the race. At the start of the race, Zap were in third place overall on the leader board behind Bellissima but now with Bellissima not finishing, Zap will climb the board into second place behind Marshall.

The much smaller Hobies joined the race to get in some much needed water time leading up to their Nationals taking place in April. Recent birthday boy, 80 year old Al Gorlei trekked out to the fairway mark but called it a day after rounding the mark on the horizon slowly making his way back to the beach site. Two of the Hobies opted to only sail the first triangle, cutting their race short in the calm conditions.

The only sailors on their Hobie to determinedly finish the full figure of 8 were Justin and James Butler, gliding across the line shortly after Majimoto.

Light easterly winds of about 3knots greeted the seven keel boats and four Hobies as they made their way through the start line. Gradually the consistent easterly built to 7knots giving the boats a bit more umph as they completed the long winding course.

This Sunday will be the third race in the Caney Series held offshore. For more info visit www.pyc.org.za or like their Facebook page.

Overall Results

A Division

1 Majimoto (Jon Marshall) 2points, 2 Zap (Graham Rose) 5pts, 3 Vernon Goss (Bellissima) 9pts, 4 So Basic (Stuart Ritchie) 10ts, 5 Container World (Brendan Humphries) 11pts, 6 Bellatrix (Gregg Hurter) 14pts

Multihulls

1 Crazy Diamond (Wayne Smith) 2pts, 2 Bandit (Sean Jones) 4pts, 3 Ladybird (Andrew Dolloway) 7pts

Race Two Results

A Division

1 Majimoto (Jon Marshall), 2 So Basic (Stuart Ritchie), 3 Zap (Graham Rose), DNF Bellissima (Vernon Goss)

Multihulls

1 Ladybird (Andrew Dolloway), 2 Crazy Diamond (Wayne Smtih), 3 Bandit (Sean Jones)