A beautiful warm day with Northerly winds provided lively racing for the final day in the Port Phillip Women’s Championship Series – the BLISS Regatta at Royal Brighton Yacht Club.

Competitors and organisers were delighted to complete the 2021 PPWCS with a fifth day of racing under sunny Melbourne skies, given the challenges of Covid and weather disruptions along the way.

A series of three short course races put competitors through their paces with Northerly winds around 15-20 knots gusting upto 25 knots at times. There was some challenging racing and tight mark roundings.

Local Brighton boats did well with Wild Child from RBYC skippered by Marg Neeson taking out the BLISS series trophy on PHS and AMS and Serious Yahoo from RBYC skippered by Katie Holroyd first on IRC. Wild Child also took out the Associates Cup (PHS for a Brighton boat and skipper) as well as being the top RBYC boat and skipper in AMS. Marg Neeson regularly competes as boat owner and skipper. She has a loyal crew and helms twice a week throughout the year. Marg’s commitment to sailing is an inspiration to other women in the series who aspire to boat ownership and regular helming. Marg found the shifty conditions challenging, and the racing competitive, particularly in the last race when there was an altered course and new marks to find.

Hartbreaker skippered by Cate Parsons was first RBYC boat and skipper in IRC for the BLISS Regatta. Cate only started sailing five years ago but has since sailed almost every week building her skills so she can do every role on the boat. She loved helming the boat that she regularly crews on in bay and ocean racing and felt greatly supported by the boat owner and regular crew. It was only the second time she’s had the opportunity to helm the boat in a race. Cate enjoyed the short course format and found that there was an opportunity to learn from race to race. She says BLISS exceeded all her expectations with the great community spirit in the club after the race, talking with all the different boat crews and sharing stories. Cate believes networking and the social side of sailing is key to finding new sailing opportunities on a variety of boats and having fun.

Ca Bouge from RMYS skippered by Liah Hunter was second on PHS in BLISS with Bullet from Sandringham skippered by Robyn Ragauskas coming third. Liah Hunter found the gusty conditions challenging  requiring constant attention to trimming the headsail and main to maintain power, as well as juggling two spinnakers on short legs so they didn’t have to pack them between legs. She felt there was an advantage in heading offshore which Ca Bouge was able to capitalize on.

In the BLISS AMS division Oobleck from RBYC skippered by Eliza Ewart came second and Hartbreaker came third.

The Revelle Trophy (best PHS boat on the day entered in the PPWCS series) was won by Ca Bouge., Best AMS boat in the PPWCS was Bullet while Serious Yahoo won IRC.

It was great to see local women skippers so well supported by their crews and RBYC. The feedback from all the competitors was really positive. There was a great buzz in the restaurant as teams enjoyed their free glass of French champagne and purchased food from the kitchen which stayed open longer to support the event.

Special thanks to Race officer Lou Hutton, the RBYC volunteers and staff, along with Sue Phillips from Australian Sailing.

Results from BLISS and the Associates Cup can be found here.

Winners of the Port Phillip Women’s Championship Series will be announced next week.

Race report Cath Hurley

Photos: Dave Hewison