Mrs Pickles' first-up win in RYCT Winter Series

10:28 PM Sun 24 May 2009 GMT

'J24s racing on the River Derwent. Photo: Stewart Geeves'

Hobart International J24 class sailors Kaye Roberts and Stewart Geeves had a first-up victory with their newly-acquired yacht Mrs Pickles in the opening race of the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania's Winter Pennant Series on the River Derwent.

Mrs Pickles led the Division 3 fleet around the course in a light 5-10 knot northerly breeze and also won on handicap, beating Australasian Dragon class champion Nick Rogers, sailing the Elliott 5 sports boat. Third place went to Ragtime (Tom Kirkland) with the Winter Pennant opening race attracting a good fleet competing in four divisions, on a sunny late autumn morning.

Kaye Roberts is the current Tasmanian J24 champion and skippered their previous boat Kaos to victory in the title series, earlier this year.

Stewart Geeves will join fellow Hobart J24 sailor Peter Bingham when Bingham skippers a chartered J24 in the 2009 International J24 Asia-Pacific Winter Championships in Adelaide from 6-8 June.

Division 1 saw close racing between the bigger boats, with the Farr 40s duelling for the lead around the short mid-river course, before Stephen Boyes Wired got the gun and first place on handicap from War Games (Wayne Banks-Smith). Third place went to the Sydney 38 Creese Property (David Creese).

Graeme Inglis' Rouseabout got the gun in Division 2, but on handicap had to take second place to the syndicate owned Team Wildfire. Third place went to Miss Conduct (Robin Fleming).

by Peter Campbell

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Mrs Pickles' first-up win in RYCT Winter Series

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