First championship for the MC38

John Bacon's Dark Star comes out on top on Pittwater

At Sevenstar International MC38 One Design Championship on Pittwater it was John Bacon and his crew on Dark Star, who battled it out over the seven races to take home the inaugural Championship title.

Five MC38s took to the starting line on Saturday morning, for some exceptional racing on Pittwater. Dark Star took the first race, but saw exactly how quickly the tables could turn in the close racing when Leslie Green steered his crew on Ginger to take first in the second race.

After three windward-leeward races and a short passage race on day one, Dark Star had the lead over Ross Hennessey and his crew on Ghost Rider by 4 points, and only 8 points separated first and fifth place. “We were the overnight leaders, with four points clear,” said Bacon. “We knew that if we came last in the first race on Sunday and Ghost Rider came first the regatta would be wide open, and in a self-fulfilling prophecy that is exactly what happened. Spinnaker handling is key, we made a mistake and we came last, that's what this racing is all about.”

Sunday saw more very close racing between the fleet of MC38s with all boats applying the pressure, Vino, Ghost Rider and Ginger all scoring a bullet during the day. “We had a solid finish in the second race over Ghost Rider,” continued Bacon. “The last race everyone was pushing hard, Ghost Rider and Vino had the pressure on. They sailed a brilliant race – thanks to Ross for putting it to us.”

In John Bacon’s acceptance speech he thanked everyone for coming out and competing, McConaghy Boats, the Sponsors, Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club and his crew including Cameron Miles who left straight after the presentation for the birth of his third child.

“It is exactly what we dreamed of for the MC38s,” commented Jono Morris Managing Director of McConaghy Boats, “Everyone had such a great time on and off the water and we are very pleased to see such a strong fleet and close racing. We had such a range of people competing in the event and everyone came away with a smile on their face, congratulations to everyone who competed, it was such a thrill to watch. The RPAYC did a great job in organising the racing.”

The MC38 Class is working on the calendar for the next 12 months and expects to see the next race in March next year.

Read our review of the McConaghy 38 here