Veteran sailors in rare dead-heat on Derwent

11:48 AM Sat 14 Feb 2009 GMT

'Replica of the Lady Nelson heads down the Derwent with a Valentine's Day party aboard as a yacht finishes the Derwent Sailing Club's Summer Pennant distance race.' Peter Campbell &copy

Veteran Hobart yachtsmen Don Calvert, skippering Intrigue, and David Taylor, helming Pisces, figured in a rare, if not unique IRC handicap dead-heat in today's Derwent Sailing Squadron Summer Pennant distance race on the Derwent River.

Intrigue, the Castro 40 that represented Australia at the Admiral's Cup in England in 1985, finished fourth across the line, two-and-a-half minutes ahead of the lower-rating Pisces, a Sydney 36 that was top-scoring Tasmanian boat in the recent Rolex Sydney Hobart Race.

On IRC handicapping, the two Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania boats each finished with the same IRC corrected time in Division 1 with third placing going to Doctor Who (Rod Jackman) also from the RYCT.

'In my time in race management I don't remember a dead-heat for first place under IRC ratings,' DSS sailing manager Tony Nicholas said.

Sailing conditions were perfect on the Derwent today, with a steady 12 knot south-easterly seabreeze throughout the 20 nautical mile race to Pigeon Holes, near Opossum Bay and return for Division 1, while other divisions raced a 15 nm race course to the White Rock buoy.

Pisces won Division 1 under PHS handicaps by one minute 50 seconds from Marineland (Gary Smith) and Doctor Who (Rod Jackman).

The 9-metre division saw the first five boats cross the line within 24 seconds of each other, with Sunview Homes (Rob Wheeler) getting the gun off Castray Explanade by just seven seconds, while first place on PHS handicaps went to DSS member John Williams in Playright, from Rouseabout , skippered by Graham Inglis from the RYCT and Bellerive Yacht Club member Chris Sheehan, skippering Saga.

Peter Haros' Northshore 38 Wings III from the DSS won Division 2 from the RYCT's Farr 37 Silver Mist (Andrew Sutherland) and DSS member Dr John Hunn's Atilla.

Division 3 went to veteran yachtsman Dr Tom Kirkland in Ragtime from Don't Bugg Me (Peter Bugg) and Ross Mannering's Epoxy Warrior.