Short Course Pointscore – Race 7 & 8: 22/10/2022

The days of easing yourself through a club race and keeping a bit in reserve for the big regattas are long gone at Manly as the intensity builds towards the Australian 16ft Championships in January.

Every heat means something, no matter the size of the end reward.

Moonen Yachts won back-to-back shortcourse races last Saturday but were made to work every inch of the way.

“It was really tight racing and foot to the floor all the way,” skipper Daniel Turner said.

“We got the jump on the fleet in the early stages of both races but there was no relaxing.

“Historically, you’d have maybe one or two boats biting at your heels but on Saturday, when the nervous me was looking over my shoulder, there was a fleet there.

“You could feel the battle going on behind you.

“There are new crews on the water, new sponsors and new boats to come, so it’s only going to get better.”

Botany Access (Chris Thomas) pushed Moonen all the way in both races, finishing runner-up in the two heats in great signs for the major regattas ahead.

Typhoon (Otto Henry) grabbed third in the first race with Red Pumps (Bruce Savage) finishing third in race two.

Moonen finished third at last year’s nationals and are hungry to climb two further rungs on home water.

Turner and crew Gus Williams and Matt Stenta flourished in the gusty nor’easter and are banking on the weather to return to some sort of normality in time for the nationals.

“The standard sunny Saturday nor’ easters out of Manly don’t seem to exist anymore,” Turner said.

“It’s been a flick the coin job as far as the forecast.

“With sailing you can pick a location and study its traditional weather pattern, but the past two years it’s been anything but that.

“You’ve got be prepared for anything, but that just adds to the challenge.

“With really strong nor easters, with that boat and that rig and that crew, we haven’t lost too many.

“We love it like that and hopefully we see that come January.”

Southerly claimed handicap honours in race one on Saturday, with Altis Consulting (Phillip Cooke) and Fluid Building filling the minor places.

Botany Access won race two on handicap from Moonen and Altis Consulting.