Two one design classes, the Farr 40s keelboats and SB3 sportsboats, will provide a sailing spectacle in this evening’s twilight opening of the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania’s annual spring regatta, The Showdown.
The Showdown has attracted more than 135 entries, comprising 106 off-the-beach class dinghies, skiffs, sailboards and catamarans and 29 keelboats.
The keelboat class racing gets under way with the twilight race on the Derwent starting at 7.30pm this evening.
Four of the five Farr 40s racing in Hobart have entered in what are always close encounters between these powerful big racing yachts.
Sam Boyes will take over form his father Stephen to steer Wired, while Richard Fader will be helming POW, Waynes Bank-Smith War Games and Lloyd Clark on the wheel of Voodoo Chile.
The SB3 fleet continues to grow in strength and at least six boats will be out on the water for The Showdown regatta, although the leading skipper in the class, Nick Rogers, will be helming his International Dragon class yacht Karabos IX.
Rogers won the Derwent Sailing Squadron’s Sprint Series last weekend, sailing Toll Shipping, but most of the others in that event have nominated for The Showdown, including Wedgewood (David Graney), Beanie (David Bean) and Hypertronics (Stephen Catchpool). Also racing will be Brett Cooper, steering Our Toy.
The Dragon class, which will be hosting the Prince Philip Cup Australasian championship in January, has also given good support to The Showdown, but entries from the cruiser/racer yachts are again somewhat disappointing.
Don Calvert has not missed a Showdown regatta since its inception with his Castro 40 Intrigue and his main competition tonight and over the weekend will come from the in-form MBD 26 Whistler (David Rees) along with TasPaints (Ian Stewart), Silver Mist (Andrew Sutherland) and Total Lock and Alarm (Nathan Mills).
The keelboat classes are scheduled to sail back-to-back races on Saturday and Sunday following this evening’s twilight race, with the off-the-beach classes of dinghies, skiffs, sailboard and catamarans racing on both days from 10am.
Peter Campbell
4 November 2011