LEAVING the best until last, Dave Walling
and his crew sailed a blinder on the final day
of the Club Marine Geographe Bay Race
Week. Coming off the start line in a very
light and variable breeze, The Next Factor
worked the pressure spots to keep moving
where others struggled.
By the time the breeze switched to the south
and freshened, the boat had established a solid
position in the fleet, mixing it with Black Betty
and not far behind the TP52, Calm. Finishing
fourth over the line, just two minutes behind
the GP42 Dirty Deeds, The Next Factor
recorded their fourth win of the 11-race series
and with it, the division one trophy.
Calm found the last day particularly
challenging and recorded her worst result
for the series but still took line honours and
finished second overall. Last year’s winner
Black Betty also sailed a very consistent
series to finish in third place.Bull finally reaped the reward of their hard
week when they won the last race.
Peter Sim’s Fidra was one of the front
runners in division three from the outset so
her third placing in the last race of the series
was good enough to win division three with
a score of 13 points, ahead of Jim Merton’s
Cole 32 Omega on 15 points and Rod
Tu r n e r ’s Nexus. Omega’s win in the final race
lifted her sixth overall to second.
Don Brooker’s big Beneteau 50 Dorade was
virtually untouchable in the Jib and Main
division. Even victory in the final race by
Janet Hornbuckle’s Fortuosity was not enough
to displace the big Sense 50’s stronghold on
the points table. The final score for Dorade
was 6 points. Fortuosity was next on 9 points
and French Kiss finished third on 12.
The consensus is that this was the best
regatta for some years. Confusion about
whether or not the event would run this
year may have partially eroded this year’s
entries, which were certainly lower than
normal, but the 54 competitors who sailed
this year were almost unanimous in their
approval of the format.
In a departure from past practice, Royal
Perth Yacht Club took sole responsibility
for the on-water management of Geographe86
GEOGRAPHE BAY RACE WEEK
AUSTRALIAN SAILING (^) + YACHTING
APRIL-MAY 2015 MYSAILING.COM.AU
IMAGES: BERNIE KAAKS
DAVE WALLING’S
THE NEXT FACTOR
WINS IRC DIVISION
ONE.
Most agreed that it was IRC racing at
its best, and the suggestion to hold a State
IRC championship at Geographe Bay
was gaining some momentum despite the
realisation that some metropolitan boats
might be unwilling to travel from Perth to
Busselton to participate.
Yachts ranged in size from the TP52
down to Peter Chappell’s brand new 9.4
metre Cadillac, so while the finishing order
was reasonably predictable, the margins
between boats shared the placings around
under the IRC formula, which kept the
results pretty close throughout.
Under IRC ratings, the division two leader
board was packed at the top end to the extent
that the final result hinged on the outcome
of the last race. Tony Carter’s Just Cruisin’
emerged from the race with a win, giving the
yacht a three point buffer over second placed
Lithium, sailed by Graeme Monkhouse.
A major upset in the Performance
Handicap for division two followed the
second placing by Ken Waller’s Flying Tiger
Let’s Dance, which elevated the yacht from
5th place to outright winner, beating Denys
Pearce’s Foundation 36 By & Large on a
countback after both finished the series with
21 points. Jamie Weeden’s Bull 9000 Wild