| Club Championship,
Race 12. |
| By Frank Quealey, the Australian 18 Footers League. |
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Photos by the Australian
18 Footers League
edited By Peter Andrews. |
| Sunday, February 13, 2011. |
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Two great 18 foot Skiff crews provided spectators with a wonderful race as they battled the 20-knot southerly winds, in Race 12 of the Australian 18 Footers League Club Championship on Sydney Harbour today.
After racing alongside each other for most of the long south course, the Smeg team of Nick Press, Daniel Phillips and Dave Ewings took the honours by just 13 seconds from the Gotta Love It 7 team of Seve Jarvin, Sam Newton and Scott Babbage. |
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The Smeg team ahead of Gotta
Love It 7, during Race 12 of the
Club Championship Race.
Photo © Australian 18
Footers League.
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Third place went to Rag & Famish Hotel (Jack Macartney, Tom Clout and Drewe Waller), which finished a further 2 minutes and 44 seconds back.
Western Australia’s SLAM, Grant Rollerson, finished fourth, followed by Yandoo (John Winning) and De’Longhi-Rabbitohs (Simon Nearn). |
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Rag & Famish Hotel with Jack Macartney, Tom Clout and Drewe Waller,
during Race 12 of the Club Championship Race.
Photo © Australian 18
Footers League.
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Yandoo leads the championship from Red Claw (Matt Searle), with Gotta Love It 7 in third place, ahead of Thurlow Fisher Lawyers (Michael Coxon), Smeg and Rag & Famish Hotel.
All teams chose their smaller Number 2 rigs and it was a tight battle to the windward mark off Clarke Island where Smeg held a 5 second advantage over Rag & Famish Hotel. Chasing their tails were The Kitchen Maker (Brett Van Munster), Gotta Love It 7, Thurlow Fisher Lawyers, TF Collect (Mark Kennedy), Fisher & Paykel (Andrew Chapman), De’Longhi-Rabbitohs and Asko Appliances (Marcus Ashley Jones). |
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Western Australia’s SLAM skippered by Grant Rollerson passes by a
capsised Moth, during Race 12 of the Club Championship Race.
Photo © Australian 18
Footers League.
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Smeg held an 8 second lead after the long spinnaker run to Obelisk Bay, then revelled in the tough conditions on the following work back to Rose Bay.
Gotta Love It 7 had improved their boat speed to move ahead of Rag & Famish Hotel at Rose Bay, while SLAM moved into fourth place ahead of The Kitchen Maker, De’Longhi-Rabbitohs, Yandoo and Thurlow Fisher Lawyers. |
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Rag & Famish Hotel and Smeg in the early
stages of the race, during
Race 12 of the Club Championship Race.
Photo © Australian 18
Footers League.
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All teams elected to have a two-sail reach back to bottom mark at Athol Bay, where Gotta Love It 7 managed to narrowly get ahead of Smeg.
From that point the two leaders staged a match race for the remainder of the course and the crews were superb in an exhibition which produced one of the best racing for some time. |
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De'Longhi-Rabbitohs skippered by Simon Nearn, during Race 12 of the Club
Championship Race.
Photo © Australian 18
Footers League.
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With Smeg regaining 12 seconds ahead at the final rounding mark, the windward leg back to the finish had spectators cheering for their favourite team.
Gotta Love It 7 was ahead from Athol Bay, but Smeg’s windward position proved the deciding factor when the Gotta Love It 7 team had to put in one last tack to make the line. If that’s the type of racing we can expect next month at the Giltinan then we are in for one great championship. |
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The difference between Smeg and Gotta Love
It 7 at the finish, during Race
12 of the Club Championship Race.
Photo © Australian 18
Footers League.
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| Next Sunday will be a 3-buoys race with the usual spectator ferry leaving Double Bay wharf at 2pm. |
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The Kitchen Maker skippered by Brett Van Munster, during Race 12 of the
Club Championship Race.
Photo © Australian 18
Footers League.
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More images will be published on the newly upgraded www.flying18s.com website, as well as at www.18footers.com.au.
Frank Quealey
Australian 18 Footers League
www.flying18s.com. |
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| Outimage and the
Australian 18 Footers Leaguea © 2011 |
