By Molly Magennis
The 2022 Festival of Sails kicked off on January 22, with the Passage Race from Melbourne to Geelong departing from Williamstown.
More than 200 boats departed from Williamstown at 9.30am, beginning their 32 nautical mile passage race, the official curtain raiser to the 2022 Festival of Sails.
The opening Passage Race fleet consisted of boats of all shapes and sizes, including Grand Prix racing yachts, cruiser/racer keelboats, multihulls, classic yachts, and trailer sailers.
At the end of the four hour battle, it was Geelong-based yacht ‘Extasea’ skippered by Paul Bucholz who took out the top prize, followed closely by Queensland-based ‘Maritimo’ and Melbourne-based R33 ‘Chutzpah’.
Winner Paul Bucholz said having won a hometown race with a hometown boat was sensational.
“I’ve been sailing this race for the last 30 years and it’s getting better and better every year. Love this event.”
Festival chair Roger Bennett said Saturdays race was is in perfect conditions and was a great way to welcome back sailors to the iconic event which had been heavily impacted by COVID restrictions over the past two years.
“It’s even better that we also get to celebrate the win of one of our long-standing club members, so a huge congratulations to the Extasea crew,” he said.
