Australian Championship – Race
2
Sydney Harbour. |
| By Frank Quealey, the Australian 18 Footers League. |
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Photos by the Australian
18 Footers League
Page edited By Peter Andrews. |
| Sunday January 16, 2011. |
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| Defending champion Seve Jarvin and his Gotta Love It 7 crew of Sam Newton and Scott Babbage came back strongly after a disastrous Race 1 to take out the second race of the Australian 18ft Skiff Championship on Sydney Harbour today. In last Sunday’s first race of the championship, Gotta Love It 7 collided with the starter’s boat, but today, there was no problem as the champion team led all the way to record a brilliant 5 minute and 27 seconds win in the light Easterly breeze. |
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Gotta Love It 7, winner of Race 2 of the Australian 18 foot Skiff Championship
on Sydney Harbour.
Photo © The Australian
18 Footers League.
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| Thurlow Fisher Lawyers, skippered by John Harris (replacing the injured regular skipper Michael Coxon) and crewed by Aaron Links and Trent Barnabas, finished second and holds the points lead (6 points) after the first two races of the championship. |
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Light wind during Race 2 of the Australian 18 foot Skiff
Championship on Sydney Harbour.
Photo © The Australian
18 Footers League.
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Third place today and now second overall on 8 points was Red Claw, with Matthew Searle, Archie Massey and Mike McKenzie who finished a further 15 seconds behind Thurlow Fisher Lawyers.
Kenwood-Rabbitohs (Evan Walker) is third on 10 points, Western Australia’s SLAM (Grant Rollerson) is fourth on 12 points, ahead of Yandoo (John Winning) also on 12 points. Both the first race winner Smeg (Nick Press) and De’Longhi-Rabbitohs (Simon Nearn) have 14 points. |
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Kenwood-Rabbitohs and SLAM, during Race 2 of the Australian 18 foot Skiff
Championship on Sydney Harbour.
Photo © The Australian
18 Footers League.
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The fleet was spread across the harbor on the first windward leg from the north shore to Rose Bay where Gotta Love It 7 led by 1 minute from Jack Macartney’s Rag & Famish Hotel, Thurlow Fisher Lawyers, Project Racing (Andy Budgen), Red Claw and Yandoo (John Winning). Gotta Love It 7 opened up a big break on the rest of the fleet downwind and from that point, led by more than three minutes at every mark in a devastating performance.
While the Gotta Love It 7 team raced clear of the fleet, the battle for the next five placings was tight. Thurlow Fisher Lawyers narrowly moved ahead of Rag & Famish Hotel at the first wing mark and held that place throughout, although De’Longhi-Rabbitohs challenged strongly on the final windward leg. |
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Asko Appliances dropping the kite ahead of Kenwood-Rabbitohs and Smeg, during Race
2 of the Australian 18 foot Skiff Championship on Sydney Harbour.
Photo © The Australian
18 Footers League.
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The Rag continued to hold onto third place over the next lap of the course, but dropped back in the fickle breeze on the long spinnaker run from Rose Bay to Kurraba Point. Yandoo and De’Longhi-Rabbitohs staged a tight struggle on that run with Red Claw close behind.
The last work saw Yandoo drop off the pace and Red Claw come back to edge ahead of De’Longhi-Rabbitohs, Project Racing and Yandoo. |
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A tight rounding at the bottom mark for Kenwood-Rabbitohs, Smeg and Slam,
during Race 2 of the Australian 18 foot Skiff Championship on Sydney
Harbour.
Photo © The Australian
18 Footers League.
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Next Sunday’s third race of the championship should start to sort out the major contenders in what promises to be a tight regatta.
More information and photographs can be found at www.flying18s.com and www.18footers.com.au.
Frank Quealey
Australian 18 Footers League
www.flying18s.com. |
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| Outimage and the
Australian 18 Footers League © 2011 |
