Hobart yachtswoman has her sights set on Sydney Hobart race

10:43 AM Sat 24 Oct 2009 GMT

'Sally Rattle - owner Archie' Peter Campbell &copy

Hobart yachtswoman Sally Rattle and her skipper Scott Brain got off to a winning start today in their Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race campaign when Sally's Archambault 35 Archie won Division 1 of Bellerive Yacht Club's Pennant race on the Derwent.

Archie has been a most successful harbour and offshore racing yacht over the past three seasons, winning the Bruny Island Race, the Maria Island Race and the Combined Club Offshore Series in southern Tasmania and also the 2008
Melbourne to Hobart Race.

Sally now has her sights set on the 628 nautical mile bluewater classic in late December, with the same successful crew from last year's Melbourne to Hobart and an investment in new sails. Archie will be one of up to seven
Tasmanian yachts in the fleet.

Sally's campaign actually began in Wednesday night's first Combined Clubs Offshore Series race to the Isle of Caves but, after being in a potentially winning position at the Iron Pot on the return leg, Archie fell into a windless 'hole' in the river.

Sally and her crew had to settle for second place in the IRC division to another Sydney Hobart contender, David Bean's Beneteau 44.7 Auch.

Today, while the breeze swung from south-west to north-west on the river during the afternoon, Archie held her position in the fleet to win on AMS corrected time from Mark Ballard's newly acquired Stomp 38, 42 South, third place going to Jeff Cordell's Mumm 36, Host Plus Executive.

Under Performance handicaps, 42 South won from Ian Stewart's Tas Paints and Host Plus Executive, the two Mumm 36s performing spectacular 'chinese' gybes under spinnaker when a 25 knot rainsquall hit the fleet.

Bellerive Yacht Club's new Performance Cruising division saw a win for rear commodore John Mills in his Huon 10 Jibe Talkin' in a close race with Stephen Keal's Cyclone.

The Half Ton division went to Chad Grafton's Half Hearted, Division 2 to Serica (Charles Peacock) and Division 3 to Odyssey 2001 (Steve Logan).

by Peter Campbell