Everything else being equal, it’s hard to beat local knowledge as demonstrated on day three of the Sail Port Stephens Commodores Cup Passage Series.

The combination of a stronger-than-forecast south-westerly and a powerful incoming tide pushing into a rain-swollen Port Stephens catchment set the scene for some white eyeball moments on the five divisional start lines off the Nelson Bay break wall on Wednesday.

A press of boats crowding the pin end saw a general recall in the “firsts”, then some adroit close-quarters boat-handling on the restart.

Those that made the most of the upwind beat to a mark off North Arm Cove stayed in the tidal “lanes”, working the wind shifts when they could.

Peter Byford and Rob Aldis’s chic café racer Dauget 2 diced for the division one lead with Ross Hennessy’s Kerr 40 Mk3 Condor until the final 100 metres under spinnaker, when the Mylius 50 clawed its way ahead to take the gun by just nine seconds.

“That made the day,” Byford confirmed with a laugh.

“We were playing cat and mouse with them all day and managed to just get them on the line.”

At 12.5 tonnes, Dauget 2 weighs nearly three times its smaller rival though it is made completely from carbon, including the heads and the “racing” floorboards, while the washing machine and the dishwasher are strategically removed for racing.

Dauget 2’s third on PHS sees them slot into second place in the overall pointscore standings, behind David Hamilton’s Farr 40 Seeking Alpha, with Popeye (Beneteau First 47.7) sitting in third, ahead of a clutch of dedicated race boats.

In division two, the crew of Another Fiasco, staffed by a dedicated complement of sailors from the Cronulla Sailing Club, dedicated their PHS win to injured crew member Stephen “Blackie” Blackman.

Owner Tim Savage said Blackie was very much in the crew’s thoughts after he was injured while doing the runners on the Jutson 43 on the opening day.

Blackie is recovering well and his crewmates put in a good performance in his absence.

“We bought the boat six months ago and we’re still learning what its strengths are,” Savage confided.

Wednesday’s bullet lifts Another Fiasco into 10th in the overall standings, behind Rob Howard’s Beneteau First 40.7 Schouten Passage, which leads from Drew and Pete van Ryn’s Farr 44 Sea Hawk.

Division three saw a close clean sweep for Port Stephens boats, with She’s the One securing the win on PHS from Wubaray and Una Vita.

For owner Michael Kirby and the She’s the One crew, it’s been a long time between drinks.

The NXS 38 last won a race here a decade ago.

“Local knowledge was pretty significant,” Kirby agreed.

“You have to understand the tides and you have to understand the shoals.

“They are unique to the Bay.

“That was a massive tide at the start, there was water going everywhere.”

Kirby, a former Commodore of the Port Stephens Yacht Club, says the locals look forward to taking on the often well-credentialled opposition from sailing clubs near and far.

“The guys from out-of-town take no prisoners, so we have to lift our game,” he admitted.

Overall, in division three, Scott Knights’ Jeanneau Sunfast 3200 from the Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club remains the boat to beat from Matt Doyle’s Beneteau Sense 50 La Trosieme Mi Temps.

It’s a long way from Moreton Bay to Port Stephens.

But, the experience of tide and sandbars accrued on the Brisbane waterway helped Ian and Judith Coombes and the crew of Fontana, a Nautor Swan 40, seal the PHS win in division four.

“We had a good start,” revealed Ian Coombes.

“We paid close attention to what the locals were doing, and we flew a big symmetrical spinnaker whereas some of the other boats were flying asso’s,” Judith added.

Fontana’s bullet lifted them into second place in the overall standings behind Tim Gleeson’s Beneteau First 36.7 Summer Salt.

In the non-spinnaker division, Elysium, John de Meur’s Jeanneau SO 349, has put in a near flawless performance, collecting three wins from three outings.

After a lay day, racing will resume on Friday 4 April when the fleet is expected to thread its way around Port Stephens’s spectacular offshore islands.

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