10 Jun 2010

With the constant presence of the famous Cascais northern summer wind, well known as Nortada, over the four racing days, the competition was huge among the twenty boats that entered at the Portuguese National Championship.

In the four days, the competitors made eleven races among the two usual racing areas of Cascais. As usual the races were great, with several crews winning races and with the constant changes in leadership races.

Capital Moura Team, with Filipe Silva, Joaquim Moreira and Pedro Costa Alemão, from the Cascais fleet, began very well the races and won the first five, early leaving the remaining competitors behind. With this big advantage, Capital Moura Team managed the two last days of racing in a more conservative way, ensuring the title.

The second place was to Bettersoft / Bicasco Team, with Luis Santos, Rui Duarte and Pedro Vilela, from CVSado fleet and the 2007 National Champions.

Regarding third place, we had Quebramar Team, with Rui Brites, Gonçalo Esteves and Pedro Andrade, from Cascais fleet, which made a very good last day, by winning the last two races of the Championship.

[Show as slideshow]

[View with PicLens]

The SB3 fleet descended on sunny Mooloolaba for the inaugural SB3 Sail Mooloolaba regatta over the weekend of 5th – 6th June, with many competitors taking the opportunity to escape the winter weather down south.

The competitive fleet faced challenging conditions on both days. Mooloolaba’s infamous rolling waves did not arrive for day 1 and the competitors had to battle with predominantly light, 5-15 knot winds and a sharp chop.

Race 1 got underway at the second attempt after a general recall, when the majority of the fleet had been overly eager to get the series underway. Team Lexus Maroochydore (Owen Muyt) held a convincing lead for much of the race, but Jaffa Cakes (James Jaffa) played the shifts downwind exceptionally well to take the win, followed by Dulon Polish (Phil Gray) and Team Lexus respectively.

Race 2 was won by A-Play (Nick Bez), who sailed consistently well in the difficult conditions. Four boat lengths separated the top three boats after over an hour of hard fought racing, with Dulon Polish and Wagop (Mike McLean) sharing the combined points for second and third place.

Dart Vader (Mark Prince) put in a strong performance throughout the day, but the team was let down by their eagerness to hoist their gennaker at one windward mark – they unfortunately positioned their gennaker pole between the cockpit floor and the transom rail of the boat in front, resulting in an untimely end to their race and the demise of their pole!

Race 3 and Jaffa Cakes showed the fleet a clean pair of heals, leading for the duration and coming in several minutes ahead of Team Lexus in second and Wagop in third.

Day 2 and what a difference a day makes! 50,000+ spectators descended on Mooloolaba to watch the fleet depart and Jessica Watson arrive back in her home waters after her epic round the world trip.

The fleet set out into tough conditions, with a solid 25+ knots blowing and significantly stronger gusts, coupled with large waves.

Racing for the day was wisely abandoned after two 26 ft boats racing in another division were knocked down, one of which sank.

This left Jaffa cakes, sailed by James Jaffa, Tom Rosoman and Ben Calder, with a clear lead, to take the regatta win, followed by Dulon Polish in second and Wagop in third place overall.

Notable performances of the weekend came from the two all-female teams. The Audi Sunshine Girls, helmed by 16 year old Ali Blundell, and the OceanBuro Girls both blasted down to the starting area with their branded kites leaving the fleet in little doubt as to their intentions.

The next event on the SB3 calendar is Hamilton Island Race Week in August, where the fleet makes its debut in this tropical paradise.

For more information, contact OceanBuro (Rod Jones) at rodneyjones(at)oceanburo.com.au.

Jaffa Cakes after Day one