A healthy fleet of IRC/ORCi yachts is set to line up in the Premier division at the 42nd running of the Sydney Short Ocean Racing Championship (SSORC), hosted by Middle Harbour Yacht Club (MHYC) over the weekend of 23 and 24 November – and it is not too late to enter.

Above: Hooligan is the benchmark TP52 -AndreaFrancolini pic - SSORC

Among the entries are boats preparing for the upcoming Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, including Ken Holmes’ Beneteau First 45, Dreki Sunnan, John Newbold’s Reichel Pugh 51 Primitive Cool and Soozal, a King 40 recently imported from California into Sydney by Keiran and Elizabeth Mulcahy. The trio will be tested by the rest of the fleet, including defending champions. 

Dreki Sunnan is the ‘local hope’, one of six Sydney Hobart entries from MHYC, where she races regularly, while Soozal is new to the Sydney sailing scene. 

“Soozal has enjoyed a very successful racing career and is hoping to re-create her winning ways in a highly competitive IRC fleet. She launched in Sydney last week. I’ve only played on her in the Harbour a couple of times, but I sailed her in California. She is the only King 40 built without any budget and is the best racing cruiser around,” Mulcahy says.

“I’ve done the SSORC before though, on Astral,” he said of the yacht he won PHS Division 2 on last year. “She will be waiting at Constitution Dock in Hobart for us in December and we’ll race together at the Australian Yachting Championships in January,” Mulcahy ended.

This will be Soozal’s first major offshore racing experience on Sydney waters in the lead-up to the Hobart. Primitive Cool will have her first Sydney offshore hit out of the year, while Newbold and crew are flying in from Victoria especially for the SSORC, and their boat will be waiting.   

The three will be joined by some regulars, although one, Peter Sorensen will be there with his latest boat, the newly named ‘Advanced Philosophy’, a Sydney 38. Division1’s top two from last year, Box Cox’s DK46, Nine Dragons and Darryl Hodgkinson’s Carkeek 40, Victoire, also return. 

Above: Nine Dragons breathing fire up the beat - Andrea Francolini pic - SSORC 

Meanwhile, the TP52 fleet has been slightly impacted by damage done in the Cabbage Tree Island Race two weekends ago, but defending champion Hooligan, Frantic, Zen, Woteva, Celestial and Gweilo are all confirmed to start when Day 1’s coastal passage race, which is combined with the CYCA Ocean Pointscore, gets underway.   

High profile entries so far received for the Super 12 Spring Regatta are Little Nico, Adrian Walters’ Rob Shaw 11 Metre design, along with two MC38’s; Chris Way’s Easy Tiger VI and Steven Proud’s Swish. Proud only joined the one-design class last year and finished second at the SSORC. 

Above: Little Nico gets a move on last year - Andrea Francolini pic - SSORC 

MHYC is generously waiving the late entry fee for both the SSORC and Super 12s, so the standard fee will apply until entries close at midnight on 20 November for the SSORC and Midnight 21 November for the Super 12 Spring Regatta, so sign up now. 

MHYC expresses its thanks to sponsors: Helly Hansen, Club Marine, Oatley Wines, Short Marine, Vittoria Coffee and Key Sun Zinke for their support.

All information, including Notice of Race and entry: www.ssorc.mhyc.com.au

SSORC Sailing Instructions: www.ssorc.mhyc.com.au/news/30-race-documents.html

Super 12 Sailing Instructions: www.mhyc.com.au/sailing/regattas-championships/2