Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron was the venue for the DF65 Master’s Club Challenge last Tuesday and we’re proud to say that Team RPAYC retained the prestigious trophy for the third consecutive time.
For the fifth iteration of the DF65 Master’s Club Challenge, the NOR stipulated an expanded format with each club fielding a team of twelve sailors, split into two fleets.
On paper RPAYC’s team looks strong, however RSYS had a few gun sailors in their team and on their home course were sounding quietly confident. Representing the Pittwater DF65 fleet were;
(Red Fleet)
- Phil Burgess
- Mike Green
- John Groves
- Steve Merrington
- Gareth Pike
- Chris Ting
(Blue Fleet)
- Michael Cannon
- Warwick Crossman
- Rik Hart
- Ron Jacobs
- Rick Murray
- Waterhouse Rod
The wind direction wasn’t ideal so a reaching start was used to allow a long enough windward leeward course configuration, and after a slow start the RPAYC sailors got used to the course geometry and started banking some good results.
From memory five RPAYC sailors scored race wins, some had multiple race wins, and we also won an exciting Medal Race. Ron Jacobs was the top performing sailor of the day scoring three heat wins, and Steve Merrington’s nail biting finish in race four was a highlight that had the rest of the team willing his boat across the finish line for a win as the breeze dropped out.
However, the real difference between the two teams was that RPAYC’s sailors were more consistently filling the minor places which led to a handy winning margin by the end of the day. It is worth mentioning that RPAYC has another five or six really good sailors that could easily have slotted into the team, which is a good indication of how strong our local fleet is becoming.
So the trophy is back in its cabinet at the Club for now, but we’re sure the RSYS sailors will already be planning a Pittwater raid to take it back to the Harbour next November.
Article by Warick Crossman