Chris Oldham-skippered Joker swallows the pack to claim victory, Frequent Flyer wins flying fifteens

Three fleets competed in handicap-start harbour course races on Saturday. Skippers and crews on the 12 yachts enjoyed the warm weather with a 17-knot easterly that made for quick times around the marks. Chris Oldham skippering Josh Hughes’ Joker was the standout boat on the day. It was the second last to start and quickly proved it was going to be hard to beat when it chased down the three boats in front and got well away from the scratch boat. After taking the lead and flying under spinnaker, Joker had it all wrapped up as if nothing happened — as had been the case in recent races. Mark McRae had Sicarius moving well until the wayward spinnaker refused to set on the main of the downwind legs. Ian Johnston with a skeleton crew on Cambio had opted to go jib and main (JAM) and did extremely well to stay in touch. Neil Worrell was not getting his normal speed with Zuri but his spinnaker runs were great. Scratch boat Mary Maitland, skippered by Stephen Brown, was a bit sluggish at the start but cranked up in the latter stages to close the gap of those in front. Mary Maitland had given Joker a minute head start but could not get any closer than two-and-a-half minutes throughout. Oldham took Joker to a very convincing victory, recording the fastest time, and was a very happy skipper after the race. Sicarius finished second over the line but was disqualified after the skipper admitted they had hit a marker and did not take a penalty. Second place went to Ian Johnston, who had an excellent outing with Cambio. Opting to go JAM did not prevent him from matching with the others. Mary Maitland battled all afternoon and was rewarded with third place. Three Flying Fifteens began their handicap start, with Ben Gray in Flying Flounder being first away. He was followed five minutes later by Wayne North in Frequent Flyer. Simon Lucas in FForever Young missed his start by several minutes and was well behind. Gray was in front when a navigational error allowed North to surge to the lead, where he stayed for the duration. Lucas caught and passed Gray, who had trouble setting his spinnaker and trailed for the rest of the race. North had Frequent Flyer moving sweetly and in a faultless display went on to win easily and record the fastest time. Lucas took second place and will no doubt be out to avenge this minor hiccup. Gray was third and each in race has improved his performance. Four yachts in the mixed fleet JAM also competed in a handicap start and the big interest was the close encounter between Jason Pomery in Mia Celeste and Lloyd Pascoe in Arkessa. They were neck and neck for a great part of the race and left the other two well behind. Mark Paynter with a skeleton crew on Saxon began well with what sail he had up but didn’t have the speed of Arkessa and Mia Celeste. Peter Boshell, skipper of Blue Argo, missed his start as some of his crew were a tad late getting on board and were well behind throughout but had a comfortable and leisurely sail. Pomery kept his lead right to the finish as he narrowly won in a great effort. Pascoe gained second place after his good performance. Saxon never gave up the chase and took third place.