Midnight Rambler Racing

31/10/2026

Yesterday was the first race in the Combined Clubs series after Race 1 was postponed due to adverse weather. After a short upwind leg in a 20 to 25 knot northerly we turned and headed down the river to Seacroft Bay.
With winds gusting to 30 knots we had a discussion about putting up a spinnaker but, with only two of us, decided on a poled out headsail. After a while we decided the spinnaker was a better option and opted for the fractional kite and carried that to the mark.
From the turning mark back to the finish was another long beat in about 15 to 20 knots and we carried the J4 which was underpowered at times as the breeze dropped.
The race provided more valuable experience sailing two handed and understanding the performance of the boat, particularly with sail combinations upwind. We will change sails less than if fully crewed and optimise what gear we have up.
The end result yesterday was a second place in the ORC division to the well sailed Farr41 Mx Zephyr, a positive start to the series and invaluable practice for our Sydney Hobart campaign. In the PHS division we finished last of the 10 finishers so maybe the handicappers have a higher opinion of our abilities than we have.

31/10/2026

23/10/2026

18 boats in the Two Handed Division as well as two other Sydney 36’s should make for an interesting race for us

18/10/2026

Yesterday was our second race two handed in preparation for this years Rolex Sydney Hobart and it was a beautiful spring day in Hobart. We had great conditions at the start and got away well in a 15 to 20 knot northerly however conditions in the channel proved to be very light and flukey. A restart just short of Green Island gave all boats a chance and we didn't make the best of conditions after that.
Regardless of the results we were happy with the way we were going while we had breeze, matching the higher rated boats, Corum, a modified Mumm 36 and Redback, a Kaufman 40.
Most of the race was downwind and we had plenty of practice with spinnakers up and down and gybing under autohelm. Looking forward to our next race which is a short race in the Combined Clubs Series followed by the Maria Island Race which is our qualifier for the Sydney Hobart.

04/10/2026

Today was our first two handed race in the Royal Yacht Clubs annual Channel Race to Bligh Point and return. It was an opportunity to build on our practice sessions over the last couple of months with a beat down the river in a 10 to 15 knot southerly and a run home in 15 to 20 knots still from the south.
It was interesting to see how the boat handled with no weight on the rail upwind and gybing downwind with just the two of us.
No doubt as the season progresses we will face more difficult conditions but today was a satisfactory hit out and, as a bonus, we picked up wins in both IRC and ORC divisions.

10/08/2026

The entry is in for this years Rolex Sydney Hobart and it's a big change for Midnight Rambler. Last years race was fairly successful with a 5th place overall however 3 of the 4 boats that beat us were from the Two Handed Division and Ed has decided this year that if you can't beat them, join them.
Joining Ed for the race will be Navigator/Tactician for the last 5 years, Andy Davison and with a combined 56 races between them (Ed 43, Andy 13) there is plenty of experience.
Winter in Hobart has been fairly quiet for Midnight Rambler with a bit of time put into setting up and training with new systems for short handed sailing. Our intention is to complete the local summer series and well as a few long distance races as preparation for the Sydney Hobart in December.

24/05/2026

After a successful season of offshore racing we attended the RYCT Prize Night on Friday night and collected a few trophies.
In addition to the race trophies for the Maria Island Race (1st IRC and 1st ORC) and Bruny Island Race (3rd IRC and 2nd ORC) Midnight Rambler also picked up the Britannia Trophy for Outstanding Offshore Performance as reward for our results in the 2025 Rolex Sydney Hobart (5th overall, 2nd Div 5, 3rd Corinthian and 1st Tasmanian yacht). We also picked up a trophy for the best performed boat in the recent Hope Island Race with a youth crew led by Grace Bottomley.
As well as the team trophies Ed was awarded the Governors Cup for Outstanding Yachting Achievement.

24/04/2026

19/04/2026

On Saturday 18/4 Midnight Rambler took to the water to give some of our youth sailors a taste of offshore racing. Long time Ramblers Ed Psaltis and Andy Davison were joined by 6 local based youth sailors with varying amounts of keelboat racing experience for a 70 nm race to Hope Island near Dover and return. Despite being in the Derwent River and D'Entrecastraux Channel the course threw up some challenging conditions with a cold south westerly wind from 15 to 25 knots with gusts up to 35 knots at times.
Midnight Rambler generally excels in these conditions and our youth crew exceeded expectations as well to sail the boat with minimal input from the "old hands".
After 11 hours on the water we crossed the line ahead of our rivals to claim a win. Hopefully some of our newest Ramblers will join us for some more racing in the future.

19/04/2026

After a successful summer season of racing on Friday night we attended the Combined Clubs Presentation Night at the Bellerive Yacht Club. Solid results in all four races including a win in the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania's Maria Island Race saw us take home the trophies for the Combined Clubs Offshore Championship in both the IRC and ORC Divisions.