Last weekend SoPYC yacht King Canute participated in the 76th running of the Bunbury Return Race conducted by Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club.
King Canute is a Spacesailer 27 (SS27) owned & skippered by Matt Rose and crewed for this race by David Staniforth-Smith, Chris Hind & Chich (Baptiste) Traillou.
Starting off Fremantle on Saturday morning the 170 nm race is a continuous passage to a turning mark in Koombana Bay, Bunbury and return to Fremantle. As is expected in a race of this length the fleet experienced a wide range of wind strengths from zero to 25 knots.
There was a fleet of 6 boats ranging in size from the very racy 52 foot Crush to King Canute. That is, King Canute is only a whisker over half the length of the biggest boat in the fleet. King Canute was always going to be significantly slower than the much larger yachts in the fleet but the magic of the PHS (Performance Handicapping System) which provides a handicap factor derived from previous performances showed that King Canute beat Crush by a mere 2 mins 42 secs. This is a remarkable result as the crew of Crush were tucked up in bed at home before King Canute finished in the early hours of Monday morning. To win a race on PHS essentially means that the boat sailed better than would be expected based on previous performances, or in other words, its performance is improving.
This excellent result builds on the boat’s recent success in the Fremantle – Geraldton race and is a credit to Matt & his crew. WELL DONE!
This result demonstrates that even small boats can effectively compete in ocean racing & it is hoped to increase participation in the very rewarding style of racing. If you have any queries or would like to participate either as crew or with your boat please contact the Offshore Sailing Captain, Matt Rose,
