International J24 class sailors Kaye Roberts and Stewart Geeves today had a first-up victory with their newly-acquired yacht Mrs Pickles in the opening race of the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania’s Winter Pennant Series on the River Derwent.

Mrs Pickles led the Division 3 fleet around the course in a light 5-10 knot northerly breeze and also won on handicap Australasian Dragon class champion Nick Rogers sailing the Elliott 5 sports boat. 

International J24 class sailors Kaye Roberts and Stewart Geeves today had a first-up victory with their newly-acquired yacht Mrs Pickles in the opening race of the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania’s Winter Pennant Series on the River Derwent.

Mrs Pickles led the Division 3 fleet around the course in a light 5-10 knot northerly breeze and also won on handicap Australasian Dragon class champion Nick Rogers sailing the Elliott 5 sports boat. 

Third place went to Ragtime (Tom Kirkland) with the Winter Pennant opening race attracting a good fleet competing in four divisions on a sunny late autumn morning.

Kaye Roberts is the current Tasmanian J24 champion, skippering their previous boat Kaos to victory in the title series earlier this year.

Stewart Geeves will join fellow Hobart J24 sailor Peter Bingham when Bingham skippers a chartered J24 in the 2009 International J24 Asia-Pacific Winter Championships in Adelaide from 6-8 June.

Division 1 saw close racing between the bigger boats, with the Farr 40s duelling for the lead around the short mid-river course before Stephen Boyes got the gun and first place on handicap with Wired from War Games (Wayne Banks-Smith).   Third place went to the Sydney 38 Creese Property (David Creese)..

Graeme Inglis’ Rouseabout got the gun in Division 2, but on handicap had to take place to the syndicate owned Team Wildfire,  third place going to Miss Conduct (Robin Fleming).

Only two boats started in Division 4,  with No Bananas winning from A Little Shaken. - Peter Campbell