New ORCV offshore series working a treat for father and son duo

Experienced yachtsman David Lynch and his son Andrew, newly initiated into the joys of ocean racing, have successfully sailed their Northshore 369 Pegasus into the lead of the of the West Offshore Products Coastal Sprint Series, hosted by the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria (ORCV).

The pair, who finished Race 3 in second place to Justin Brenan’s Alien on the weekend, are co-owners of Pegasus. And while the duo has raced together one way or another for 40 years, Andrew is new to offshore racing, launching into it via the ORCV’s new Category 3 series.

Andrew Lynch at the helm of Pegasus - Geoff Onions pic - West Offshore Products Sprint Series ORCV

“We’ve had two boats. We co-owned an 11 Metre One-Design, Blue Tack, and now we have Pegasus. We’ve been racing it together for two years, but this is our first offshore series with it,” Andrew says. “Dad was the teacher and me the pupil. It’s a good father and son team. We have a good partnership and share the helm.”

The Lynch’s are now pinning their hopes on a solid final race in May., when the popular Apollo Bay race will decide the series, which Pegasus leads by one point – from Alien and her experienced crew.

“We had close race with Alien until they took off from us on the downwind leg after bravely putting up a chicken chute. They just took off. They had sensational race, nailing the rhumbline, sailing deep and fast on the downwind. And they had a brilliant upwind leg too.

Andrew admits: “The series will probably come down to the three of us – Alien, Pegasus and Ca Bouge,” he says of the yacht owned by Aaron Marlow, which finished Race 3 in third and is third overall in the pointscore, five points adrift of Pegasus.

“We had gear failure – the brace pulled out of the spinnaker pole beak no fewer than six times,” Andrew admitted.

To win the Series pointscore, he admits: “Better preparation next time and a little bit more preparedness to take a risk. We are green and still learning, so we’re more conservative than Alien’s crew, who are more experienced and have more confidence. We’ll have to put it all on the line in the final race.”

Alien (background) going head-to-head with Pegasus - Geoff Onions pic - West Offshore Products Sprint Series ORCV 

Whatever happens, the Apollo Bay Race on 22 May is shaping up to be a thriller, with so little in it between the top three. And as Andrew points out, “We’re all very conscious of not getting ahead of ourselves.

“One of the races in the series was a war of attrition sailed in very light air with a lot of parking going on, so anything can happen. I’m really looking forward to the Apollo Bay Race and to the outcome,” he ended.

Meanwhile, Justin Brenan (Alien) could not be happier, as the ORCV’s Vice Commodore and Sailing Captain came up with the concept for the West Offshore Products Coastal Sprint Series.

Brenan explained the rationale behind the Cat 3 series. “I wanted to promote a stepping stone approach to ocean racing with more Category 3 races, which supports people getting into ocean racing.

“We did a fair bit of research and looked at three things: Cat 2 racing has time pressures on it and the fleet numbers declining – all to do with time – so what we wanted was something that required no more than a single day commitment.

“The other problem was we needed a pathway to ocean racing – a skills thing – so we needed a progression – you can’t go from bay racing straight into ocean racing without some experience.

“Third, we wanted Cat 3 racing in its own right. Two thirds of the fleet in the bay are not interested in longer offshore races.”

Brenan went on to say that organising day offshore events wasn’t easy, “As we have to take tides and other clubs’ races into account. All the top end clubs have been very cooperative, for which we are thankful.

“Our first Cat 3 race had seven boats and we had 22 starters this weekend. The program is working. We have 42 boats entered for the series in total – including 18 first-timers,” he said of the Sprint Series, which is open to fully crewed, double-handed and 4+Autohelm entries.

Of his Race 3 win, Brenan said, “It’s about preparation, getting the right gear and having good crew and good sails. The Pegasus guys have a good boat and sail it well. They’ll do alright and might become future champions.”

Alien on the way to winning the West Offshore Products Coastal Sprint Race 3 - Geoff Onions pic - ORCV

Race 3 top three results:

AMS

• 1^st Alien (Justin Brenan) 
• 2^nd Pegasus (Andrew and David Lynch)
• 3^rd Ca Bouge (Aaron Marlow)

IRC

• 1^st Wingara (John Hall) 
• 2^nd Wicked (Mark Welsh) 
• 3^rd Maverick (Anthony Hammond)

PHS

• 1^st True Colours (John Strahan) 
• 2^nd Alien
• 3^rd Ca Bouge 

PHS Double-Handed

• 1^st Maverick

4+Autohelm

• 1^st True Colours

Line Honours Carrera S (Gerry Cantwell)

For full results on the Race 3 of the West Offshore Products Coastal Sprint Series go to: www.orcv.org.au/results/2020-21/

Entries are now being accepted for the final event of the Series, the Apollo Bay Race. To enter, please go to: https://www.orcv.org.au/apollo-bay-about-the-race

Race Updates - West Offshore Products Coastal Sprints Race 3

Updates of Race 3 - 24th April 2021

1.45pm Approaching Mark 4 and not far to go

Enjoy these shots taken from onboard Skullduggery.  Photos Sjaak Lemmens

 

 

10.30am Clear of the heads and rounding mark one

Photos: from Mark Welsh onboard Wicked and enjoying the downwind sailing

 

9.30am The start

Enjoy this Drone footage of the start off Queenscliff below too.

 

 

Weather West Offshore Products Coastal Sprint Race 3

This weekend's West Offshore Products Coastal Sprint Race 3 fleet will take on winds coming from a westerly type direction (NW at the start, W around midday and SW afternoon) with predictions of 15-20 knots. Daylight start, short ocean course not far from the heads will ensure all our competitors are home that night. Perfect day sailing don't you think? 

A Growing Fleet Are Challenging this Weekend 

Coastal sailing is growing in popularity with twenty-four entrants signed up to join the fleet on Saturday, April 24th.   

Pegasus (SM0369) skippered by Andrew and David Lynch have “enjoyed the races to date, a great initiative” allowing them to expand their experiences with David passing knowledge and allowing Andrew, his son, to take the lead.  “There’s a very supportive community out there, both with fellow members and also the resources of the ORCV that has helped us along the way to get ready,” said Andrew Lynch. 

Pegasus leading the series after 2 races.  Photo Bruno Cocozza

With a daylight start of 9.30 am, the fleet will race from Queenscliff through the heads and will travel to a point before returning to finish outside the heads later that afternoon. 

After the first two races being shortened and suffering from light winds, Race 3 has a forecast of 12-15kt of breeze from the West.  This will offer some opportunities for those out there, looking at the coastal series leader board.  

We welcome back to the fleet Cadibarra 8, Faster Forward, Skullduggery, Ruyjin and Bundaberg who will join what’s now newer regulars of Foggy Dew, True Colours, Foxy Lady and Hot Chipps. 

Taking that next step to Category 3 racing is Magic Bullet (R374) after completing the recent King Island Rally. 

It’s a great size fleet with many opportunities for those who wish to be challenged or challenge for Coastal Series and Offshore Championship points.  After the second race of the series, Pegasus is leading (based on AMS) with 12 points although there are a number of challengers within points. 

“We enjoy the Coastal Sprints as they allow for us to practice and build as a team whilst enjoying a different style of sailing out on the ocean,” explained Cyrus Allen Skipper of White Spirit (R500). 

With this strength in fleet size, we expect a record number of entries for the 68th race to Apollo Bay on May 22nd.  It’s likely that Apollo Bay results when added to the series will determine both the Coastal Championship and Offshore Championship. 

Follow the race on the day via Social Media (Facebook and Instagram) and see whose's sailing here 

Apollo Bay Entries are open here  

Ca Bouge enjoying Coastal Sprint 2 Photo Bruce Parry