Yacht racers ready to set sail

The waters of Mangles Bay will be filled with big and small racing yachts in December when the 61st annual Cockburn Sound Regatta kicks off.

The Kwinana Industries Council’s Race to Rockingham will raise the curtain for the four-day regatta, bringing metro-based yachts to Rockingham before racers set sail in the first official event race on Boxing Day.

Cruisers will race in several separate divisions including a multihull fleet to cater for catamarans and trimarans. About 50 boats are expected to compete in a mixture of windward/leeward, around the buoys and passage races.

Spectators will have grandstand views of all the action across the week, including the crowd-favourite sports boats division, which will be racing on flat water.

For the first time the Cruising Yacht Club will put on a rally division — catering for crews that are more inclined to relax on-board than mix it with racers.

Division winners and the overall champion will be crowned after the final race on December 30.

Cockburn Sound Regatta committee member John Percy encouraged spectators to mingle with yacht club members.

“Some of the boats are always looking for an extra crew member, so there is always the chance of getting a really close view of the action,” he said.

The first race will take place at 10am. All other competition days will start at 9.30am.