Savills Short Ocean Racing Championship - Overall

Prime Time viewing at Savills Regatta

Prime time television show producer David Mason over the weekend has enjoyed some pleasing views of some of his likely competitors in the 60th anniversary Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race from his ocean racing yacht, appropriately named Prime Time.

Mason has skippered Prime Time, a Beneteau 44.7, with world champion yachtsman Neville Wittey on the helm, to an overall victory in the Savills Short Ocean Racing Championship.

Conducted as always by Middle Harbour Yacht Club, the SORC attracted some 100 competitors from NSW, Victoria and South Australia, including 28 in the IRC class, of which 11 boats are in the Hobart Race fleet of 126.

Prime Time has been mentioned as a strong contender for an IRC Overall win in the 628 nautical mile ocean classic, which starts four weeks from today, but this was her most impressive racing result.

Prime Time sailed consistently well in the generally light conditions that prevailed over the weekend, always up among the main group of boats chasing the super maxi Konica Minolta from New Zealand and the canting keel 60-footer Wild Joe; and most times sailing right to, or better than, her favourable IRC rating.

Her corrected time scorecard of 1-4-2-1 was by far the best of the fleet, giving the Bruce Farr-designed, French-built production yacht a final low score of 8 points, well clear of the nearest opposition.

Wild Joe, formerly the 2003 Admiral's Cup champion Wild Oats, is now owned by Sydney yachtsman Stephen David who has given the state-of-the-art, Reichel/Pugh designed 60-footer a major refit for the Rolex Sydney Hobart.

With America's Cup skipper and international designer Iain Murray at the helm, she too notched up two wins on corrected time, but a 9th in race one and fourth in race four saw her finish with 15 points in second place overall.

Third place went to Hussy, John Bacon's remarkably fast Sydney 39 CR, which finished on 16 points from placings of 4-3-6-3.

Prime Time and Wild Joe must now rank strong prospects for IRC overall honours in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race, but two other boats that certainly impressed on the Savills SORC are New Zealander Stewart Thwaites' super maxi Konica Minolta and the lesser known Austmark, a Lyons 48 skippered by Gunther Schmidt-Lindner.

As expected, Konica Minolta took line honours in all four races, despite unsuitable light morning breezes yesterday and again today, but her starts and sail handling by the crew, largely new to the boat, impressed as the regatta progressed.

After a dismal 27th on corrected time in race one, the Brett Bakewell-White designed 98-footer notched up three second placings on corrected time, powering to windward when the breeze lifted to 10 knots and showing impressive downwind speed under her huge asymmetric spinnakers tacked off her newly acquired bowsprit.

Designer Bakewell-White and owner/skipper Thwaites were clearly happier today than after the first day of what was the big boat's first regatta in Sydney waters.

Next up for her is the Canon Big Boat Challenge on Friday, December 10 ('if we are invited' - a reference to the clash of camera and other brands) followed by the prestigious Rolex Trophy for IRC rated boats from December 16-19. They will be invited!

In both events, her opposition will be much more formidable for line honours with Grant Wharington's Skandia due in Sydney shortly and the new Nicorette due for launching this coming week.

In today's final races of the Savills SORC, Wild Joe won race three from Konica Minolta and Prime Time, and Prime Time took out race four from Konica Minolta and Hussy.

Cydon wins Savills Sydney 38 One Design

For a one-design class, the winning points margin was quite extraordinary in the Sydney 38 class at this weekend's Savills Short Ocean Racing Championship sailed off Sydney Heads in a light winds.

Cydon, skippered by Leon Christianakis, notched up three wins and a second for a total of 5 points.

Nearest rival, Stephen Kulmar in Shining Sea, had 20 points from a consistent 6-4-6-4 scorecard, then came Rush (Cameron Miles) with 23 points from placings of 3-5-5-10, Acuity (Tony Walls) on 25 points - placings 4-14-4-3, Victorian John Savage in 38 Degrees South with 27 points - placings 9-3-8-7, and London Tavern (Brett Ellis0) on 29 points - placings 12-2-3-12.

First race winner Chutzpah, skippered by noted Victorian ocean racing yachtsman Bruce Taylor, followed that win with a 6th but today could only manage a 22nd and a 16th.

Not that the fleet was top-heavy with talent. In fact, the 26 boat line-up had some of Australia's best sailors on board, including a couple of former World champions in the Etchells class and several Olympians.

But with Christianakis on the helm and Olympic brothers Bob and Jamie Wilmot calling tactics and on mainsheet respectively, Cydon had a formidable afterguard - not to mention an experienced and dedicated crew that included Christianakis' wife Fiona, Bob Wilmot's wife Susan and Jamie Wilmot's son, Jeremy.

Apart from the first race, they never made a tactical error and, although the racing was close, Cydon always ended up in front at the time it counted.

Christianakis has achieved outstanding success in the eight months he has owned the boat, including winning the Pan Pacific championship at Airlie Beach, the Sydney 38 division and Hamilton Island Race Week and the Rex Regatta, as well as finishing second in the States and third in the Nationals.

Cydon's next regatta will be the Rolex Trophy one-design regatta on 11-13 December over a similar offshore course.

Cydon, skippered by Leon Christianakis, notched up three wins and a second for a total of 5 points.

Nearest rival, Stephen Kulmar in Shining Sea, had 20 points from a consistent 6-4-6-4 scorecard, then came Rush (Cameron Miles) with 23 points from placings of 3-5-5-10, Acuity (Tony Walls) on 25 points - placings 4-14-4-3, Victorian John Savage in 38 Degrees South with 27 points - placings 9-3-8-7, and London Tavern (Brett Ellis0) on 29 points - placings 12-2-3-12.

First race winner Chutzpah, skippered by noted Victorian ocean racing yachtsman Bruce Taylor, followed that win with a 6th but today could only manage a 22nd and a 16th.

Not that the fleet was top-heavy with talent. In fact, the 26 boat line-up had some of Australia's best sailors on board, including a couple of former World champions in the Etchells class and several Olympians.

But with Christianakis on the helm and Olympic brothers Bob and Jamie Wilmot calling tactics and on mainsheet respectively, Cydon had a formidable afterguard - not to mention an experienced and dedicated crew that included Christianakis' wife Fiona, Bob Wilmot's wife Susan and Jamie Wilmot's son, Jeremy.

Apart from the first race, they never made a tactical error and, although the racing was close, Cydon always ended up in front at the time it counted.

Christianakis has achieved outstanding success in the eight months he has owned the boat, including winning the Pan Pacific championship at Airlie Beach, the Sydney 38 division and Hamilton Island Race Week and the Rex Regatta, as well as finishing second in the States and third in the Nationals.

Cydon's next regatta will be the Rolex Trophy one-design regatta on 11-13 December over a similar offshore course.

Konica Minolta's four bullets at Savills Regatta

Sunday morning at sea off Sydney Heads was sticky in more ways than one: sticky weather with high humidity and 'sticky' in the water for the New Zealand super maxi Konica Minolta with only a light northerly breeze.

Nevertheless, Stewart Thwaites' 98-footer got a reasonably good start and was clear ahead of her smaller, but fast rival, Stephen David's canting keel Reichel/Pugh 60, Wild Joe, at the weather mark for the first time.

On the first spinnaker run, with the breeze freshening to 10 knots, Konica Minolta pulled away, giving the crew ample time for gybes. 'It was good crew training, with no pressure on the guys,' a crew spokesman said.

The Kiwis maintained their lead on the second windward leg and the spinnaker final run to the finish, but the wind eased away to 6 knots, enabling Wild Joe, with Iain Murray on the helm, to close the gap to about 4 minutes 35 seconds.

Wild Joe, the 2003 Admiral's Cup champion in England, enjoyed the best of the breeze of any boat in the fleet on that final spinnaker run to take first place on corrected time, beating Konica Minolta by a convincing 5 minutes and 9 seconds.

The dying breeze affected the rest of the fleet, with David Mason's Beneteau 44.7, Prime Time taking 3rd place on corrected time but 10 minutes and 9 seconds behind the Kiwi super maxi. Then came Austmark, Pla Loma, Hussy and AFR Midnight Rambler.

After three races the provisional pointscore still had overnight leader Prime Time in first place on 8 points, with Wild Joe on 11 points, followed by Gunther Schmidt-Lindner's consistent Lyons 46, Austmark on 12 points and Hussy, John Bacon's Sydney 39CR, on 12 points.

Konica Minolta got her best start of the regatta in race four, hitting the line at speed at the pin end to quickly open up a commanding lead on the inshore side of the course in the 8-9 knot north-westerly breeze.

Hoisting a huge white spinnaker, the Brett Bakewell-White-designed super maxi showed her best speed of the regatta to score her fourth 'bullet' by a margin that had race watchers predicting an IRC handicap win, which actually turned into a second.

More information at www.sail-world.com/savillsSORC2004