I was very tempted to use a headline like Hale hits the Jackpot, but I decided to run with One Degree of Separation. Why?
Well - Rob Hale & I have never sailed on a boat together, but we have both sailed many hours on the same boat at different times. I completed several voyages, many harbour races and a short-handed offshore series with my Uncle Roger on his Farr 36 Lontano. Rob subsequently purchased Lontano, renamed her Conquista and raced her with GFS for a few years before buying the J122 Jackpot. I featured a race between two J122’s - Jackpot & Lithium on YouTube 10 years ago https://youtu.be/_UwzHGl4lN4 . Oh how time flies.
So, moving to the present.
Jackpot had a solid set of races during this year’s SPS Regatta snaring first place in The Performance Cruising Division Div 1. Jackpots owners, Robert Hale, Matt Gooden, Peter McNamee are chuffed and appreciate all the dedication from their crew for the series who were Adrian Jones, Mike Westaway, Mike Evans, Jenny and Peter Farrell, Alison and Tim Harrington.
Jackpot fronting the fleet on Saturday24th April 2021- Race 2
After the race I asked Rob a few questions.
How many SPS Regattas have you competed in? Rob: “This is Jackpot’s first SPS. We tried to sail the event 2 years ago after we had competed at Hamilton Island and the Sydney Hobart. However, we could not get a berth at Nelson Bay. Last year we had a berth organised, but the event was cancelled due to Covid. So, it finally happened this year.”
Tell us about the sailing from Sydney to Port Stephens? Rob: “The event commenced on a Monday so needed to organise a trip up to arrive on the Sunday. We wanted to arrive in daylight and assuming the 95 NM trip would take between 12-16 hours we decided to leave on Saturday night at 7:30 pm from GFS. The trip took 14.5 hours and we arrived at 10:00am Sunday morning. We had a great trip in a 10-14 K westerly hoisting our Code 0 at Sydney Heads and carrying it all the way to Port Stephens.”
Crossing The SPS Finishing Line - Friday Race 1 - 23rd April 2021
How do you compare Sydney Harbour racing to Port Stephens Racing? Rob. “The sailing at Port Stephens involved either inshore or offshore courses. Both are very different to sailing on Sydney Harbour. It was great to do the offshore events around outlying islands and buoy markers. Great sailing and very scenic. The inside courses were challenging having to deal with sand bars and being conscious of many channel markers and very significant tidal currents.”
Tell us about your opponents? Rob “There were 22 boats in our division ranging in size from 38 feet to 50 feet with a mixture of dedicated racers and cruiser racers. We had a 12th in the first race and then a 2nd in the next race. We assumed the 40-footer Arch Rival was our main opposition as they convincingly won the 2nd race. The third race saw us gain a second again while Arch Rival came 19th leaving them out of the picture. A 43-footer Quest 3 with a 1st, 6th and 13th gained 2nd place.”
Any Final Comments? Rob “A great week of sailing with the bonus of winning the Port Stephens Performance Cruising Division I. The trip home worked well leaving the marina at Nelson Bay at 8:45 am and arriving back at GFS Club at 11 pm Monday evening. We had a light Westerly to S Easterly and essentially motor sailed all the way back.”
It sounds like Jackpot and her crew will be back next year! A day and a bit from Sydney allowing crews to enjoy a bit of offshore adventure without a major interstate commitment. I truly enjoy photographing the event when I can because there is just something about the light at Port Stephens that I just don’t get in Sydney Regattas.
oo00oo
Other Sail Port Stephens coverage by Andrew Richardson
Enjoy the gallery above & below. Images are Copyright www.crossfirephotography.com For use or print purchases & pricing contact Andrew Richardson or visit the print sales section of the site. 29.4.2021
