Form St Helens crews have raised the flag for the home yacht club on Sunday and waved it higher the next day amid the 91st running of the prestigious Stonehaven Cup.
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Two invitational trophy races had launched the cup's national championship for the Australian 12-foot cadet class that started on Monday.
St Helens Sailing Squadron will host 10 heats over five days in nearby Georges Bay. Each year the event is rotated between yacht clubs on either side of Bass Strait.
St Helens vessel Robert McIntyre, steered by Daniel Matzolich, won the Andrew Linacre Memorial invitation race from Spirit of St Helens, skippered by Darcey Scott.
Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron's Heather took out the Spirit of Tasmania invitational ahead of King Island rival Pacific Gull.
Royal Brighton's fleet had led the St Helens' charge early for series points during the opening heats that caught an ideal fresh breeze.
But the Robert McIntyre claimed a second race in the first heat from John Akhurst.
ELSEWHERE IN SPORT
The leading boat from St Helens finished the three heats in second place overall.
Club commodore Glenn Stewart said it was a proud start for East Coast boats.
"There were some mixed results on Sunday, so the placings were very much shared around between the whole fleet," he said. "Our guys did sail a very good second race, so they did well."
The consistency of Scarlett shone through on the bay.
A fourth-place finish to start the day of sailing was preceded by a first in race two and a second in race three to lead the Robert McIntyre by three points.
The 14 crews from both Tasmania and Victoria will drop off their two worst results from the week and points will be allocated to places to determine the 2020 Stonehaven Cup winner.
Racing is set to continue on Tuesday until Friday.
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Andrew Mathieson
The day I realised I wasn't good enough to play for St Kilda or be the No.1 spinner for Australia was when I realised journalism was the closest I could come to follow my passion for sport. And it's not just about the scores for me. It's the back story behind the game.
The day I realised I wasn't good enough to play for St Kilda or be the No.1 spinner for Australia was when I realised journalism was the closest I could come to follow my passion for sport. And it's not just about the scores for me. It's the back story behind the game.
