RYCT members have figured prominently in results of the 2009 Hydro Tasmania Three Peaks Race sailed over the Easter weekend.
Rob Gourlay sailed his Thompson 920 Tas Marine Constructions to win the new monohull line honours trophy in the main racing division, finishing third overall astern of the two Chamberlin-designed catamarans Phil Marshall’s Neil Buckby Motors Subaru and Trevor Travers’ Mersey/Westbury Pharmacy. 

Gourlay and his team recovered well after leaving Lady Barron last in the fleet on Easter Saturday when one of the runners became ill in the 65km mountain run on Flinders Island. David Taylor’s Sydney 36 Pisces crossed the line first in the fully crew division,  but may receive a time penalty for receiving outside assistance after running aground on Shag Rock in the Tamar River shortly after the start from Beauty Point on Good Friday. Prominent club sailor Charlie Nolan was a member of winning catamaran’s crew, achieving five wins in five starts in the Three Peaks, while his skipper, Phil Marshall, is now the most successful skipper in the history of the event with five consecutive victories in the main racing division. While the winners of the two main racing divisions, multihulls and monohulls, were confirmed by Easter Monday night, it was not until 2.57am on EasterTuesday that the first fully-crewed entry crossed the finish line. The race’s sole female skipper, RYCT member Dianne Barkas, finished second in the fully-crewed division in her Sydney 38 Sullivans Cove Whisky. The team’s runners stopped the clock at 3.26am, one hour and 20 minutes ahead of third-placed fully-crewed entry Haphazard, skippered by Nick Edmunds. Chairman of the Hydro Tasmania Three Peaks Race is RYCT immediate past commodore Alastair Douglas, while other club members were among the many volunteers who manned control centres throughout the four-day event, a unique combination of offshore sailing and endurance mountain running.  – Peter Campbell