17th Monica Geddes Memorial Trophy Sydney Harbour Islands Race

The race also marked the start of the Grant Thornton Short Haul Pointscore Series, with a fleet of 35 yachts taking to the Point Piper start line. Racing commenced at 12:00hours with a moderate 13-18 knot north easterly knot breeze greeting competitors.

Winner of the Monica Geddes Memorial trophy and Short Haul PHS Division (Non
Spinnaker) was Les Goodridge's X-50 Wax Lyrical from John and Ann Kirkjian's Jarkan 38 Lady Ann with Karen Hawkett's Beneteau 305 Broulee third. 

"We were fortunate today that there was substantial breeze which got us going,"
Goodridge said this afternoon. "The conditions were perfect for us to use our
furling jib - we saw 17 knots of breeze.

"There was lots of competition at the marks between both non spinnaker and spinnaker
boats. We had very close sailing with Lady Ann - she was snapping at our heels the entire race." There was only 19 seconds between the two on corrected time.

"Today's win has probably blown my handicap for the entire season but we've had a
beautiful day on the Harbour which bodes well for a fantastic summer sailing
season," Goodridge waxed lyrical post prizegiving.

"I don't have too many trophies - so this one will take pride of place," he added.

Wax Lyrical was only launched in April this year, after Goodridge sold his beloved 61 year old classic 8 metre Erica J. She now resides in the United Kingdom where
her new owner has given the old girl a loving refurbishment and has since raced
Erica J in the 8-metre Worlds in Cowes this past July.

Ian and Shane Guanaria's Beneteau First 35 One More No More, with Shane at the helm, took IRC Non Spinnaker Division honours with Lady Ann second and Jon Short and Miles Bastick's Farr 34 MRX third.

"The Beneteau likes these conditions - we saw 17 knots on our way to the finish. It
was a great day on water and a perfect start to the season," Shane Guanaria
said.

"It was a very competitive start and we had a good duel with Love Byte (Anthony Pickering's Sydney 38)," he added.

It was a triple delight for Tony Kirby as he sailed his X-41 Patrice Six to glory taking the IRC and PHS Spinnaker divisional double win and line honours.

"It was a perfect way to open the summer sailing season. A lovely nor'easterly breeze of 10-15 knots that was stronger than predicted and perfect summer sailing conditions," Kirby said dockside this afternoon.

"We were neck and neck with Balance at Sow & Pigs Reef and back down the Harbour. We managed to catch them at Snapper Island, get in front and hold them off to the finish. The breeze got very fluky on the other side of the Harbour Bridge - we just made it around the corner in some breeze, and then saw others in the fleet had to tack.

"It was good practice for the upcoming Flinders Islet race next weekend (the second
race in the CYCA's Blue Water Pointscore series). The crew had to work hard with all the spinnaker drops. We definitely blew the cobwebs away," Kirby added.

Paul Clitheroe's Benetau 45 Balance finished third in IRC Spinnaker Division with Larki Missiris' Sydney 38 Wild One taking second place to Patrice Six. Wild One also finished third in PHS Spinnaker division with Greg Mason and Barb Maunsell's Davidson 37 Sinewave second behind Patrice Six.

Trophies were presented by Louisa Geddes, the daughter of Monica Geddes. Monica was
President of the Associates Committee in 1994 and 1995 and was a prominent volunteer of the CYCA.  

Leading accounting and business advisory firm Grant Thornton renewed its sponsorship of
the  Grant Thornton Short Haul and Short Ocean Pointscore series in April this year, for a further three seasons up to and including the 2014/2015 series.

As part of the Season Opening day activities CYCA Members and their guests had the opportunity to get to 'Know their Own Skin'. 

The Know Your Own Skin initiative has been developed by leading physicians to raise awareness about sun damage. Former IronMan Guy Leech hosted a skin awareness session that provided people with the opportunity to visualise any sun damage (that often can't be seen), through use of a non-invasive UV camera booth.

Additionally, members were able to race against each other using remote control miniature yachts.

Click here for full race results

By Jennifer Crooks, CYCA Media