The Alfred's News The Alfred's News Winter Edition 2018 | Page 26

Club Marine Pittwater to Paradise News
Within hours of the Notice of Race going live, the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club’s sailing office accepted its first Club Marine
Pittwater to Paradise Regatta entry – John Bacon’s Class 40 Nexba Racing.
Figure 2 - Nexba_Racing_training_in_Sydney_credit_Bob_Fowler
Until Cyclone Iris sent competitors to a safe place to wait out the worst conditions, Nexba Racing was tracking well in the
double-handed Melbourne to Osaka fleet. Bacon and crewmate David Sampson made for the port of Gladstone on the advice
of organisers but weren’t able to return to their position within the prescribed time, due to ongoing extreme weather. Two
days later, on April 6, they made the difficult decision to withdraw, 11 days into the 5,500 nautical mile challenge.
Bacon was back at the RPAYC in Sydney this week when the Club Marine Pittwater to Paradise Regatta Notice of Race went
live and he took the opportunity to put Nexba Racing forward as the first entry for the annual coastal race starting at 1pm on
January 2, 2019 just north of Barrenjoey Headland at the entrance to Broken Bay.
“The boat is a beautifully prepared offshore boat and we always had intentions of campaigning it at other races and regattas
in Australia,” Bacon said. “We aren’t sure whether we’ll sail double-handed or crewed; either way we are fully committed to
being part of the Club Marine event.”
For the 2019 edition of the annual Category 2 passage race the RPAYC has clarified some ambiguity around what they will
accept as equivalent crew experience, which is a minimum 150 nautical miles of offshore yacht racing by at least 50% of the
planned crew aboard the yacht entered.
Race director Nick Elliott explains: “In keeping with the club’s philosophy of supporting boat owners with ambitions of
offshore racing and reducing the number of hurdles to qualify for major events we’ve established simpler pathways to gain
the necessary experience in order to tackle our premier race to Southport.