8:44 AM Thu 11 Aug 2011 GMT
The winners of the Valmadre Cup winter series can thank the generous discard system used for the series after gusty twenty-five knot north-easterly winds gave the forty five competitors a challenging workout in last Saturday's Voladora Race. The Voladora is the fourth and final heat of the offshore winter series, conducted by Fremantle Sailing Club on Gage Roads. The unusual scoring system allows competitors to drop their worst score if all four heats are sailed.
In Division Zero, Trevor Taylor's offshore-hardened crew on his Marten 49 Optimus Prime staged an overdue charge in the tough conditions to take the triple crown of line honours, first on IRC and first on YAH handicap. Optimus Prime's heroics fell just short of grabbing the IRC component of the series, which was won by Tony Carter's Beneteau First 40 Just Cruisin'. Just Cruisin' dropped a sixth to carry two firsts and a fourth to win on a count-back from Peter Ahern's consistent Farr 40OD Yo! 2, which retained the three seconds from its 2-3-2-2 score line.
Under the performance-based YAH handicapping system, Yo! 2, on seven points, won the series by a point from Laurie Flynne's Archambault A40RC Aardvark, with Frank Saraceni's B-W 36 Sports Al Fresco on twelve points sneaking in on a count-back from Optimus Prime and Robert Halvorsen's Farr 395 Giddy Up.
Graeme and Heather Monkhouse's new forty-foot J/122 Lithium made its Western Australian debut in the race, recording a solid IRC tenth and YAH eleventh to indicate a promising future offshore. Graeme plans to enter the yacht in the Double-Handed Offshore Series, but Heather has reportedly declined to be the crewperson.
In Division One, Jonathon Clough's series-leading Farr 30 Problem Child was able to hang on to win both the IRC and YAH titles, despite retiring from the final race with gear failure. Problem Child's consistent string of seconds on IRC and a 4-3-2 score line on YAH was enough. Anthony Kirke's Archambault A35 Archimedes dropped a disqualification in the Ensign Race to finish second in the series under both handicapping systems.
A strong fastest time to Scott Glaskin's Foundation 36 The X Factor produced a good win on IRC in the final race and elevated the yacht to third on IRC for the series, while Roger Passmore's Northshore 369 Aquila finished the series on a high note with an IRC second and YAH first. A pair of seconds in the first two races and an eighth in the Voladora was enough to secure third place in the series on YAH for Bill Henson's C&C 115 Circa.
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Local specialist. Aquila demonstrated the benefit of many sailing hours off Fremantle to place well in the Voladora. - Bernie Kaaks
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In Division Two, Simon Plunkett's locally-designed S97 Terra found its groove in the breezy conditions to take the IRC/YAH double in the Voladora Race. John Holder's Farr 11.6 Plus 16 also handled the conditions well to take line honours and second on both handicapping systems, from Ian Holder's Whiting 32 Bad Habits on IRC and Craig Carter's Beneteau First 34.7 Dynamic on YAH.
Despite missing the first race, Bad Habits squeaked in to win the Division Two IRC title from Whiting 32 sister-ship, Peter Kennington's Traffic Jam, with Terra third. The YAH series provided a close result, with Terra first on a count-back from Traffic Jam, with Plus 16 a solitary point further back in third.
In the cut-throat YAH-only Division Three, Clodagh Irwin's Beneteau Oceanis 33 Anastasia survived a fourth in the Voladora to win the series. Paul Arns' Hanse 40 No Rehearsal's first and fastest in the final race secured second place in the series, from Mark Trupp's Chiara, which finished third in both the Voladora and overall.
The offshore fleet now takes a deserved break to prepare for the George Law Foundation Race on Saturday 24th September, the opening event of the summer season, and for the demanding Geraldton and Geraldton Return races in October, which will this year introduce a double-handed division.
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Plenty of positives. Plus 16 proved to be competitive fully crewed, instead of in her usual double-handed format. - Bernie Kaaks
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X marks the spot. The X Factor looked good in the Voladora, but the late charge was not enough to catch Problem Child in the series result. - Bernie Kaaks
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Relaxed approach. The recently-arrived Lithium made a smooth debut, with some experienced sportsboat sailors on board. - Bernie Kaaks
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by YWA Offshore
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