The River Derwent will come alive this weekend with over 100 boats and hundreds of sailors celebrating the 21st Crown Series Bellerive Regatta.

In a first for the Bellerive Yacht Club (BYC), sailors will also contest the Tasmanian Yachting Championship (on IRC and ORC handicaps) and the SB20 Australian Championship.

Alongside these two championship events will be a strong program of sailing for racing and performance keelboats as well as an Off-the-Beach program of International Cadets, Optimists, ILCAs, WASZPs, Sailboards and Sabots.

Felicity Allison, General Manager of Australian Sailing-Tasmania, is excited about the next three days of sailing.

“The Crown Series is one of those regattas that has small dinghies with youth sailors right through to people in their 80s.

“While keelboats have always been part of this regatta, the Tasmanian Yachting Championship now raises the profile of them for the State, and by having it in the same place each year, it helps people plan for the event.

“There will be numerous boats involved in the keelboat regatta…it’s a way of celebrating sailing as part of our community and demonstrating that sailing is open to everyone,” said Allison.

Wayne ‘Banger’ Banks-Smith, skipper of War Games, has sailed in every Crown Series and certainly sees the regatta as a championship event.

“I consider it the championship of the year because all the yachties enter and try their hearts out to win it, and for me, that’s a Tasmanian championship, because if you can win a division in that you’ve really achieved a lot,” said Banks-Smith.

Allison, also an SB20 skipper in the regatta, expects top performances from Intrigue (David Calvert), Guilty Pleasures VI (Gary Cripps), Eye Candy (Malo Leseigneur) and Saga (Troy Grafton) in the event.

Robert Cumine, skipper of performance cruiser Excalibur, has sailed in several Crown Series Regattas and loves the atmosphere and the sailing.

“There’s plenty of on-water action, and it doesn’t matter what yacht you’re in or if you’ve got a young crew or an older crew, there is something there for everybody, and there’s a big party on Saturday night which is enjoyed by all of the sailors,” said Cumine.

New BYC Commodore Hughie Lewis is thrilled with the extensive contingent of volunteers from clubs across the River Derwent and the entertainment program.

“There will be music on Friday night, a big band on Saturday night, and more music on Sunday – we have great food, great entertainment and a big atmosphere,” said Lewis.

Late Saturday afternoon, Ian Johnston, skipper of Zephyr Insurance Masters, will shave his ponytail off as a fundraiser to support prostate cancer research.

Johnston shaved his head five years ago raising thousands of dollars for this important cause.
Sailing starts for the SB20s and keelboats on Friday afternoon.

by Jane Austin