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Apprentices teaching the masters in the CYCA’s Blue Water Pointscore

Home 2006 Apprentices teaching the masters in the CYCA’s Blue Water Pointscore

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Unless Pretty Fly II scores a non-discardable disqualification in the Gold Coast Race, Woods will be collecting his first significant piece of PHS silverware in the prestigious seven race series.

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Two apprentices are showing the veteran Blue Water Pointscore contenders how it’s done in the 2005-06 series which will wrap up with the Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race starting 1 April.

While David Mason’s Beneteau 44.7 Prime Time already has the IRC division sewn up, just three points separate Colin and Gladys Woods’ Beneteau 47.7 Pretty Fly II (18 points), Syd Fischer’s Farr 50 Ragamuffin (20 points), an eight time Blue Water Champion, and Kevin O’Shea’s Sparkman and Stephens 34 Stormy Petrel (21 points) for second and third place.

This is only the second Blue Water series Woods has contested with Pretty Fly II while for Kevin O’Shea, it is his first with Stormy Petrel.

Pretty Fly II is also leading the Tasman Performance Series with a commanding 11 point separation back to seasoned campaigner Ed Psaltis and his Farr 40 AFR Midnight Rambler, and Ragamuffin, which are sitting on equal points in the PHS contest.

Unless Pretty Fly II scores a non-discardable disqualification in the Gold Coast Race, Woods will be collecting his first significant piece of PHS silverware in the prestigious seven race series. But with an IRC place still at stake, he and his crew are gearing up to give 100% to the final race.

“We’ve got a good lead in the Tasman Performance Series but we aren’t going to sail conservatively,” said Woods, a construction engineer. “Syd is a proven performer and he is right behind us in the current IRC placings so we can’t afford to make a mistake”.

For Kevin O’Shea, who is attempting, his first Blue Water Championship, the novice is hoping to overthrow both Pretty Fly II and the veteran Fischer to claim 2nd or 3rd in the IRC division while in the Tasman Performance PHS division, he is also “within striking distance of a 2nd or 3rd place,” says a delighted O’Shea who bought the boat in 2001 and began the painstaking process of restoring her to her former glory.

Joining O’Shea for the decider will be handicapper John Maclurcan who, after a stint on the boat from 1985 to 1992 when it was owned by Tony Pearson, is back on board.

Stormy Petrel was designed by the famous New York naval architects Sparkman & Stephens to win the One Ton Cup level rating world championship and in the 1971 Cup in New Zealand, Syd Fischer and his crew sailed her to victory.

“Consistency has been the key for us,” says Maclurcan who came out of ocean racing retirement for last year’s Sydney Gold Coast and has been part of the recent Stormy Petrel success story - which includes a Short Ocean Pointscore and a Flinders Island Race win - ever since.

Entries close March 17 for the closing race of the Club’s offshore calendar, which starts from Sydney Harbour on Saturday 1 April at 1.00pm.

Sailing manager Justine Kirkjian is expecting a fleet of up to 50 including those yachts going on to contest the inaugural Commodore’s Cup at Southport Yacht Club and the annual Brisbane to Gladstone Race.