Australian Championship – Race
3
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 23, 2011. |
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Trevor Barnabas won his second race from the three races sailed so far in the Australian Championship, but he won’t be declared champion after the series concludes next Sunday on Sydney Harbour. The five times Giltinan champion retired a couple of years ago, but is still in heavy demand to sail when many of the current skippers are unable to on any day.
Barnabas won race one on Smeg when Nick Press was unavailable, while successfully defending his Inter-dominion 12 foot Skiff title, and today won race three on Thurlow Fisher Lawyers as replacement for the injured Michael Coxon. |
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Thurlow Fisher Lawyers, during Race 3 of the Australian 18
foot Skiff Championship on Sydney Harbour.
Photo © The Australian
18 Footers League.
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Today’s win was even more remarkable as Barnabas and his crew of Aaron Links and Trent Barnabas (Trevor’s son) missed the start by 45 seconds.
Taming the 15 to 20 knot northeasterly wind and choppy waters, Thurlow Fisher Lawyers scored a 1 minute and 14 second win over Yandoo, sailed by John Winning, Andrew Hay and Dave Gibson. Third place went to Red Claw, Matthew Searle, Archie Massey and Mike McKenzie, which finished a further 3 minutes and 33 seconds behind Yandoo. |
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Red Claw, during Race 3 of the Australian 18 foot Skiff Championship on
Sydney Harbour.
Photo © The Australian
18 Footers League.
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Defending champion Seve Jarvin with Gotta Love It 7 will now have a difficult time successfully defending his title, as the skiff’s spinnaker pole broke in half while holding a narrow lead. As a result, the team of Jarvin, Sam Newton and Scott Babbage struggled around the course without a spinnaker and limped home in 11th place.
Gotta Love It 7 had already had one bad result when the skiff collided with the starter boat in race one, and was forced to retire with damaged gear. |
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The first spinnaker run, during Race 3 of the Australian 18 foot Skiff
Championship on Sydney Harbour.
Photo © The Australian
18 Footers League.
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With two races still to be sailed, Thurlow Fisher Lawyers leads with 7 points lost, followed by Red Claw on 11, Yandoo 14, Smeg (Nick Press) 18, Western Australia’s SLAM (Grant Rollerson) 21 and Asko Appliances (Marcus Ashley-Jones) on 23.
After two general recalls, the race began sensationally when many of the teams badly miscalculated the restart. Searle and his Red Claw team easily won the jump with SLAM, TF Collect (James Dorron), Asko Appliances (Micah Lane) and The Kitchen Makers Kenwood (Brett Van Munster) the next best.
Gotta Love It 7 showed brilliant upwind speed to overhaul Red Claw and lead narrowly at the Beashel Buoy windward mark. Yandoo was third, followed by the brand new CST Composites skiff, skippered by US champion Howie Hamlin, Thurlow Fisher Lawyers, Pure Blonde (James Francis) and Smeg. |
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Yandoo, during Race 3 of the Australian 18 foot Skiff Championship on Sydney
Harbour.
Photo © The Australian
18 Footers League.
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As the two leaders raced towards the wing mark off Shark Island, Gotta Love It 7’s spinnaker pole broke, leaving Red Claw to fend off the charging Thurlow Fisher Lawyers.
The conditions saw a number of teams suffer gear failures and there were several capsizes. At the bottom mark, Red Claw still held the lead but the margin was reduced to just 8 seconds over Thurlow Fisher Lawyers. Thurlow Fisher grabbed the lead on the second windward leg to the Beashel Buoy, but the margin was still a slender 15 seconds.
The battle ended on the next spinnaker run down the centre of the course when Red Claw capsized after receiving some turbulent air from a harbor ferry. From that point, the result was never in doubt but the spectators on board the official ferry were treated to some exciting downwind action. |
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Pure Blonde, during Race 3 of the Australian 18 foot Skiff Championship
on Sydney Harbour.
Photo © The Australian
18 Footers League.
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Race 4 of the championship will be sailed on Wednesday, 26 January, however there will be no spectator ferry available to follow this race. The usual spectator ferry will be available for the last race of the championship next Sunday, January 30.
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 |
