For the 2018 edition of the Performance Boating Jeanneau Rendezvous we decided that it was time to return to Sydney Harbour, having been on Pittwater last year, Newcastle the year before and Lake Macquarie the year before that. In looking for a venue that could accommodate in the vicinity of 40 yachts it occurred to us that Darling Harbour would be fun, so working around that we found support from the various yacht clubs to help accommodate us. So those yachts travelling to the harbour were found berths at Middle Harbour Yachts Club and the Cruising Yacht Club, and the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron was approached as a venue for the mornings briefing.
Yet again we were blessed with a perfect day with 8 to 10 knots of wind and after a very early shower a dry and sunny day. The staff at RSYS did an excellent job of helping 37 yachts come alongside and we had the superb facilities including the Carabella dining room available for our briefing. The Quays Marina came on board to cover the cost of staffing at RSYS and a light breakfast for all competitors and their crews, as well as providing the two highest valued prizes for our later prize-giving. We can’t thank them enough for their generous support.
Yachts were divided into four divisions, as an entry of eleven of the highly popular Sun Odyssey 349’s meant that we could offer them their own separate start, along with non-spinnaker, spinnaker and a cruising division. Soon after the briefing a start line was set of Athol Bay in front of the Zoo giving a short upwind leg to round Clark island and head out of the harbour to the Lady Bay mark inside South Head before returning past Clark Island to the finish. For the spinnaker division those yachts had an additional loop of Shark Island, and the cruising yachts sailed to Watsons Bay and back. The Committee boat for the day was the brand new Sun Odyssey 440 manned by PBS’s Lee Condell and Jay McEvoy, ably assisted by Phil Ross from Cruising Helmsman magazine, while the start mark was set by Damien Goff using a tender and mark loaned by MHYC. Thanks to them for the use of that.
Needless to say it was a terrific sight to see and everyone had a great sail in a little more wind than we had expected, otherwise we may have chosen a longer course to Manly, but this did mean being able to head to Darling Harbour and pass through the Pyrmont bridge at the earlier time of 3pm.
Results for the racing classes were as follows:
Spinnaker Division –
1st “Accountabiilty” 44 Deck-Saloon – Murray Thompson
2nd “Imagine” 42 Deck-Saloon – Tom & Kerrie Ayrton
3rd “Allegria” Sun Odyssey 36i – Philippe Laurans
Non Spinnaker Division –
1st “Sea Pearl” 44 Deck-Saloon – Malcom Rowe & partners
2nd “Midnights Promise” Sun Fast 37 – Peter Graham
3rd “Struggling Salesman” Sun Odyssey 42i – Lindsay Thew
Sun Odyssey 349 Division –
1st “Pinta Bay” Frank Milner
2nd “Nkosi” David Hudson
3rd “Upbeat” Barry Stephenson
With a combination of the helpful staff at Darling Harbour Marina, PBS and the owners all 40 yachts passed through the Pyrmont bridge and were berthed in orderly fashion and what a sight to see 40 Jeanneau yachts lined up in the marina! Chilled white and also red wines were distributed to all yachts courtesy of Rogue Wines, a very much appreciated sponsor. With a little time to relax before the function yacht owners and crews mingled and shared stories of the days sailing while comparing and admiring each other’s yacht, and the latest arrival from Jeanneau, the Sun Odyssey 440, was open for people to inspect this new groundbreaking and multi award winning design.
The function was held just meters away from the marina at the Blackbird Restaurant with 166 people sitting down to simply superb food, with complimentary drinks provided courtesy of PBS. Yet again we were supported by many companies in the industry for spot prizes through the evening, most notably The Quays Marine Centre who provided two $1,500 vouchers towards antifouling. A big thank you to the following companies for their generous support.
– Harken
– North Sails
– Zhik
– Boat crew gear.com
– Musto
– White Bay 6
– Cruising Helmsman magazine
– Hood Sails
– Club Marine
– Skinner Shipwright Services
– SB Marine Trimming
– Boat Stripes
– Elite Yachting Services
– Marine Tune
– Michaels Boat Detailing
– Ocean Phase Marine Electrical
– Vacuwash
– Seldon Contender
– Rogue Wines
The function finished shortly after 9.30 when crews returned to their yachts after a very enjoyable day. The following morning having fueled up with coffee’s yachts departed at the 8.30 bridge opening with smiles on their faces after what has been widely described as the best PBS Rendezvous to date.
It is our great pleasure to host these events for our valued clients, and we get an enormous amount of satisfaction from seeing how much these days are enjoyed. I would like to say a huge thank you to my team of Nicola Rai, Jay McEvoy and Damien Goff for their outstanding help in making this year’s event such a success, and to Andrew Hawkins from Mainsheet Media for being official photographer on the day. See the photos at this link on the Jeanneau Australia Facebook page.