Fifty Boats for Fifth Hanse Rally in Australia
The Fifth Pittwater Hanse Owners Rally organised by Team Windcraft on 26th March 2011 was the largest ever.
Team Windcraft were delighted to welcome over 50 boats (45 Hanse yachts, 5 Moody yachts, one Dehler yacht and one Dragonfly). so all the Hanse group brands were represented. A number of owners came up from Melbourne to join the party.
The Pittwater Rally is a race but the emphasis is on fun. Around half of the entries were non-racers. Team Windcraft experts jumped on board to help less experienced owners. Owners loved the chance to have a go at something new, compare notes with other Hanse group owners, make new friends and just enjoy being part of the Hanse family.
The first race up Pittwater to Hungry Beach was downwind - the Southerly varied from 10-20 knots throughout the morning. This made for a wonderful extras race with some gorgeous spinnakers filling a largely grey Pittwater with colour.
Rob Salterri on Hanse 545 “One O Nine” was first across the line in the extras race. And John Ball on the 53 foot Hanse “Ballistic” took line honours in the non-extras morning race.
Lunch anchored off Hungry Beach was a very relaxed affair. Seeing 45 Hanses anchored up in a bay together was quite a sight.
The Southerly picked up to 15-25 knots in the afternoon which made for tight racing in the trophy race. A staggered start with the small yachts starting first kept the fleet tightly packed together.
The trophy race winners were:
- 32 foot Adrian Barnes on “Liquid Leisure”
- 35 foot Ken Wallace on “Kemara”
- 37 foot Jeff Rice on “Hansky”
- 40 foot Charles Smith on “Bling”
- 43 foot Arthur Psaltis on “Into the Mystic”
- 54 foot John Ball on “Ballistic”
John and Sarah Ball on “Ballistic” were the overall winners of the Hanse Owners Rally for the second year running. John and Sarah always race 2 up - the way Hanse yachts were designed to be sailed. And when you see John at the helm he makes it all look incredibly easy.
With 220 attending the after Rally dinner, the Royal Motor Yacht club was bursting at the seams. The atmosphere was very relaxed. It was great to see new friendships form after a wonderful day out on the water.
After dinner Team Windcraft introduced a charity called Bear Cottage. Bear Cottage in Manly is NSW's only children's hospice. The facility offers respite and palliative care to children with life limiting illnesses and respite for their families. Jo and Lyle Townsend are parents to Harry, a very special boy with a life limiting condition. The audience were clearly moved when Jo and Lyle spoke about the incredible help Bear Cottage provide for their whole family.
Next Windcraft's Peter Hrones, Managing Director of Windcraft announced a huge initiative for 2011. He explained that Team Windcraft are raffling a brand new Hanse 355 to raise money for Bear Cottage. There are just 5000 tickets for sale at $100 each. Tickets go on sale on 29th March - head to Team Windcraft Website to buy your ticket. The winning ticket will be drawn at the Sydney International Boat Show.