Fog, Frost and First Place
SBSC 2026 Brass Monkey Winter Pursuit Series · Race 4 · 28 June 2026
Safety Beach Sailing Club · Port Phillip Bay
There are winter mornings on Port Phillip Bay that make you question leaving a warm bed, and others that make you glad you did. Sunday started as the former and became the latter.
When we arrived at Safety Beach, a thick, still fog shrouded the breakwater, turning everything beyond twenty metres into a grey suggestion. It was the kind of quiet, persistent cold that gets into your hands before you’ve finished tying off the dock lines.
Five of Eight
Shimmer, a Hanse 505 owned and skippered by Steve Twentyman, will be Steve’s ride in the Rolex Sydney to Hobart 2026. Sunday marked a rare alignment in the crew calendar: five of our eight Hobart team members were on the water together.
Sam Backwell, Andy Rentoul, Scott Pimlott, and I joined Steve, with Terry Kourtis, James, and John filling out the crew for the absent Martin Vaughan, Justin Hickey, and Ben Thompson.
Five of eight is a critical mass. It’s enough to start finding the rhythms that matter—who moves where at the tack, and how the communication shifts as the breeze comes in. These are nuances you only learn by sailing together. The Sydney Hobart is months away, but standing on the boat in the morning mist, the campaign felt entirely concrete.
The New Staysail
We also had new kit to test: a secondhand staysail sourced from a TP52. For a boat like Shimmer, adding a sail with that pedigree is a significant upgrade.
It went up for the first time and performed flawlessly. It gives us one more versatile option in the sail wardrobe depending on our angle and the breeze. Piece by piece, Shimmer is being properly prepared for the offshore challenges ahead.
The Race and The Standings
Race 4 of the Brass Monkey Winter Pursuit Series was sailed in light, unforgiving conditions. The breeze was barely enough to fill the sails as the sun began to break through. In light-air racing, every trim decision is magnified; there is nowhere to hide. Fortunately, Shimmer didn’t need to.
Just before the start, the fog cleared to reveal a completely glassy bay. The water was so transparent you could see straight to the sandy bottom beneath the hull—a rare sight for Port Phillip in June.
We finished second on the day, crossed by Patriot, a J/133 recently acquired by Peter Russell. Patriot sailed a strong, clean race and deserved the win. Crucially, our second-place finish was enough to keep Shimmer in first place overall in the series standings as we head into the second half of the winter season.
| Place | Boat | Skipper | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shimmer (SB5005) | Jac & Steve Twentyman | SBSC | ABD | (3) | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 2 | Patriot (SM133) | Peter Russell | SBSC | ABD | (5) | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| 3 | Happy Days (445) | Paul Copeland | SBSC | ABD | 1 | 5 | (6) | 6 |
| 3= | Ninjo (SB2) | David Phillips | SBSC | ABD | 2 | (5) | 4 | 6 |
| 5 | Echo Beach (8405) | Anthony Creed | MYC | ABD | 4 | 5 | (7) | 9 |
| 6 | Marrakesh (SB450) | Neil Hawker | SBSC | ABD | (10) | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| 7 | Perception (G6432) | Fiona Jones | SBSC | ABD | 10 | 1 | (10) | 11 |
| 8 | Fransiska (SB880) | Peter Morrison | SBSC | ABD | 10 | (14) | 3 | 13 |
| 8= | Assassin (AUS9999) | Scott Doughty | MYC | ABD | 10 | 3 | (10) | 13 |
| 8= | 11:11 (SB1111) | Till Brauckmann | SBSC | ABD | 8 | 5 | (10) | 13 |
| 11 | Summer Breeze (SB3) | Brett Millar | SBSC | ABD | 6 | 8 | (10) | 14 |
| 12 | Rawhide (SB110) | Cameron Barwick | SBSC | ABD | 10 | 5 | (10) | 15 |
| 13 | Anthea (SB3107) | John Wemyss | SBSC | ABD | 10 | (14) | 10 | 20 |
| 13= | Empara (SB161) | Peter Jones | SBSC | ABD | 10 | (14) | 10 | 20 |
| 13= | Balance (M333) | Mark Bulka | SBSC | ABD | 10 | (14) | 10 | 20 |
| 13= | Bêtise (B349) | Philippe Etienne | SBSC | ABD | 10 | (14) | 10 | 20 |
| 13= | Lumiere (SB501) | Ian Pearse | SBSC | ABD | 10 | (14) | 10 | 20 |
A new staysail, a podium finish, and maintaining the series lead made for an excellent Sunday’s work.
The momentum of our Hobart preparation is building. Every winter race is another lap of familiarity with the boat, the tuning, and each other. Martin, Justin, and Ben—you were missed, but the foundation is locking into place.
Blogs
Celebrating Legacy and Grit at the 2026 ORCV Awards
Go behind the lens at Sandringham Yacht Club for the 2026 ORCV Annual Awards. This photo-driven retrospective captures the grit and triumphs of the offshore season, celebrating champions like Matt Setton and Nigel Jones while tracing the historic continuity and community defining Victorian ocean racing.
Smoke, Sparks, and 25 Knots
Before racing the ORCV Winter Series opener, the crew aboard Shimmer stepped onto the swim platform for a spectacular, 25-year-old tradition: a live marine distress flare drill off Sandringham. From orange day smoke to high-altitude rockets and brilliant handheld red pyrotechnics, this vital safety training offered a rare, firsthand look at handling hot emergency ordnance on the water.
Time Out goes north
Follow the delivery of the stunning Hanse 458, Time Out X2, on her maiden winter passage under the new owner John Corrie as it leaves from Martha’s Cove to Bermagui. This coastal adventure captures everything from navigating the Rip and anchoring at Refuge Cove to spectacular encounters with breaching whales along the Australian coast.
Port Douglas Race Week 2026
Working the bow aboard Y Knot at Port Douglas Race Week 2026, racing for the iconic Clipper Cup on the Coral Sea. Five days of tropical sailing — from glassy Day One conditions to 25 knots of south-east trade wind. Shaun McKenna reports from one of Far North Queensland’s sailing events.
North by Northwest
Pinned in Nelly Bay by the south-east trades, we waited four days before heading north aboard YKnot, a Hanse 430. What followed was 199 nautical miles of downwind sailing — island anchorages, unexpected hospitality at Dunk, a sea turtle at Fitzroy, and a tide-dependent entry into Port Douglas. The difficult days are always worth it.
ORCV Coastal Sprint #3
Sam Backwell’s first ocean race. Six yachts crossing ahead of an inbound cargo ship. Ginan sweeping all three handicap divisions. The third ORCV Coastal Sprint packed a full season’s worth of sailing into 27 nautical miles off the Mornington Peninsula — and Shimmer was right in the thick of it.
Luxury cruising
Some boats are built for the marina. Others are built to move. Shooting Baruch — a 2019 Nautitech 542 — for Inspire Marine, it was clear from the first frame which one she is. Fast, refined, and strikingly photogenic, she’s a French multihull design that earns its reputation both offshore and at anchor.
Salt
On Salt, a 2021 Solaris 50, I sailed as bow person with James Marshall and Ian Fankhanel. Festival of Sails 2026 saw us win Division 1, thanks to a skilled team including tactician, navigator, and Peter Dowdney. Aaron Cole added sail expertise, highlighting how experience and teamwork make a high-performance yacht excel.
Shimmer
Shimmer, beautifully maintained by Steve Twentyman, is sailed regularly from Safety Beach Sailing Club. With a versatile sail inventory including J0, Code 0, and asymmetric spinnakers, I’ve gained experience across bow, trimming, and helming roles. Calm leadership and preparation make her a reliable platform for club racing, ORCV coastal events, and Category 2 offshore races.
S2H 2025
White Spirit – 80th Rolex Sydney to Hobart
I completed the 2025 Rolex Sydney to Hobart as 2IC and Navigator aboard White Spirit (Beneteau First 50), skippered by Cyrus Allen. Responsible for routing, weather analysis and sail strategy, I supported the helm and watches through a demanding, multi-system offshore race.
Cabbage Tree Island Race
As part of White Spirit’s Hobart preparation, I helmed through extreme conditions in the Cabbage Tree Island Race, sailing into a rapidly building southerly front with apparent winds peaking at 74 knots. The execution and boat handling through the system resulted in my appointment as Second in Command for Hobart.
Airlie Beach Race Week 2025
Airlie Beach Race Week tested sail handling, coordination, and timing across long island legs. On Y Knot, managing the bow meant staying ahead of multiple sail changes under shifting trade-wind breezes. The combination of fast offshore conditions, complex courses, and a skilled crew made it an intense and rewarding experience.