Sailing Maverick double-handed, Rod Smallman and Tom Vaughan have cleaned up in the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria’s 48th Melbourne to King Island Yacht Race, taking out IRC, PHS and Double-Handed divisions and capping off with a second in AMS in the 114 nautical mile race to Grassy in Tasmania.
Double-handed racing is fast becoming à la mode in Australia, and Jeanneau Sun Fast 3600’s like Maverick are topping the podium at events in Australia and overseas.
Punching above her 11.7 frame is nothing new for Maverick. She and others like her have proved time and again they will not be bullied by their larger fully crewed counterparts, and Smallman’s years of experience, including placing top three in the ORCV’s 2018 Melbourne-Osaka Double-Handed Yacht Race, make the two a formidable package.
“Tom (Vaughan) and I have previously done Westcoaster (Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race) together and he did the last Sydney Hobart with me. He’s amazing – for such a young head (24 years-old) he’s very stable. I love sailing with Tom. For his 18th birthday present, his dad, Martin (Commodore of the ORCV) took Tom on his first Sydney Hobart race on Wild Side in 2014 and he hasn’t looked back,” Smallman commented.
“I did the race with my son Tyson last year, and we pretty much had the same result, except Tom and I finished one better in AMS with second place this time. Last year’s race was really light though, and this year it was very heavy.”
Smallman gives credit to his boat too. “The Jeanneaus are incredible for double-handed sailing. The Sun Fast goes through the Bass Strait waves very well and we were fast. But we did well tactically too. I didn’t think we would be that competitive, as we didn’t have the weight for the rail in the heavier air. I think the tactics got us there in the end.”
Di Pearson/ORCV media
Maverick is for sale exclusively with 38 South Boat Sales at a reduced $279,900.