| Light conditions for Race 9, Audi Winter Series 2009. |
| By CYCA Event Media. |
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Photos By Peter
Andrews. |
June 28, 2009. |
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With another week of winter rains and then sun, Race 9 of the Audi Winter Series 2009 saw early rain showers clear just in time for the start of racing.
The largest fleet of the Audi Winter Series to date of 148 yachts took to the start line and racing commenced on time in 7-8 knots of westerly breeze with a Course A being sailed. |
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Geoff Lavis’ UBS Wild Thing finished first in Division A, during Race 9 of the Audi Winter Series on Sydney Harbour.
Photo © Peter Andrews.
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John Hurley said that today’s wind conditions were light and they continued to lighten throughout the afternoon, making the decision to shorten the course a popular one.
‘We commenced in 7-8 knots of westerly breeze which allowed the fleet to start on time. The shifty wind conditions made the first leg of the course interesting. Conditions held in to allow for a nice upwind beat up to Robinson’s Point and Garden Island,‘ said Hurley. |
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The spinnaker fleet, during Race 9 of the Audi Winter Series on Sydney Harbour.
Photo © Peter Andrews.
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| ‘The breeze lightened throughout the afternoon and with little gradient in it, the decision was made to shorten the course. This proved to be the right decision as some yachts were forced to finish in 3 knots (or less) of breeze,‘ added Hurley. |
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David Pescud's Sailors with disABILITIES, during Race 9 of the Audi Winter Series on Sydney Harbour.
Photo © Peter Andrews.
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In Division A, Geoff Lavis’ UBS Wild Thing finished first, with Bob Steel’s Quest second, and Geoff Morgan and Andrew Banks’ You’re Hired third.
‘We had a really good today, a nice clean start and we managed to get clear of all the other boats in the fleet, so you could say that the ‘Gods’ favoured us this week,‘ said Lavis. |
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Bob Steel’s Quest finished second in Division A, during Race 9 of the Audi Winter Series on Sydney Harbour.
Photo © Peter Andrews.
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| ‘We were lucky to get clean air, at one point we had to make our way through the Sydney 38’s. But after a little tussle we got clear of them. When we got to Cannae Point, I took a look back down the harbour and all I could see was a sea of kites. I haven’t seen the harbour that congested in awhile,‘ added Lavis. |
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The spinnaker fleet, during Race 9 of the Audi Winter Series on Sydney Harbour.
Photo © Peter Andrews.
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| ‘At North Head, we were down to half a knot of breeze. There was a conflict between 2 breezes, but we eventually found a consistent breeze that took us right to the finishing line, keeping all the others in our division behind us. We were thankful that the course was shortened. A pleasant day of sailing for the Flying Toothpick,‘ concluded Lavis. |
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Geoff Lavis’ UBS Wild Thing finished first in Division A, during Race 9 of the Audi Winter Series on Sydney Harbour.
Photo © Peter Andrews.
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Today’s lighter conditions favoured some of those yachts in Division E. David and Olivia Price’s Bitter & Twisted finished first, with Scott Ryrie’s Clandestine second and Vaughan Stibbard’s The Business third.
‘It was a very enjoyable and social day for us all onboard today. With Olivia away in Europe with the Australian Sailing Development Squad, there was only one skipper onboard today to listen to and it was me! Cat Trew, a member of the CYCA YSA joined us onboard today. She managed to keep us all tidy‘ said David Price. |
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David and Olivia Price’s Bitter & Twisted finished first in Division E, during Race 9 of the Audi Winter Series on Sydney Harbour.
Photo © Peter Andrews.
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| ‘It’s been awhile since Bitter & Twisted scored a win, and in today’s conditions the number of tacks that we had to do to maintain air and position tripled. We stayed really low on the course and had a good beat up to the Junction Bell buoy mark, which put us in a strong position,‘ added Price. |
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James Bevis’ Tio Hia finished first in Division K, during Race 9 of the Audi Winter Series on Sydney Harbour.
Photo © Peter Andrews.
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| ‘We were quite surprised when we crossed the finish line and the gun went off. With a small crew of five, a couple of regulars and one new crew member from Port Macquarie, we were a tight, happy winning crew,‘ concluded Price. |
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The start of the Sydney 38OD fleet, during Race 9 of the Audi Winter Series on Sydney Harbour.
Photo © Peter Andrews.
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In Division F, Alan Mather’s Akela finished first with Rob McConchie’s Wave Dancer second and Robert Skol’s Scarlett O’Hara third.
Other division winners included Rob Reynolds’ Exile (Division B), Scott Beach’s Ruth Star (Division C), Desmond Fagan’s Lisdillon (Division D), Brian Carrick’s Velocity (Division G), Guy and Lachlan Irwin’s Clewless? (Division H), Ted Tooher’s Chancellor (Division J), James Bevis’ Tio Hia (Division K) and Phil Barnes’ Livewire (Sydney 38OD). |
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Guy and Lachlan Irwin’s Clewless finished first in Division H, during Race 9 of the Audi Winter Series on Sydney Harbour.
Photo © Peter Andrews.
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For Full divisional results please log on to:
http://www.cyca.com.au/sysfile/downloads/2009/club/aws09/09RGrp1.htm
For Sydney 38 One Design results please log on to:
http://www.cyca.com.au/sysfile/downloads/2009/club/awss38/09RGrp2.htm
For more information about the Audi Winter Series and the host club, the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, please visit their website at http://www.cyca.com.au/. |
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| Outimage and CYCA © 2009 |
