 |
10:45 AM Sat 7 Mar 2009 GMT
Ideal sailing conditions under sunny skies heralded the start of the Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta on Sydney Harbour today, but some had a better day than others, Bob Steel proving that Quest is still best after he and his TP52 crew won the opening two races and finished Race 3 in fifth place to give them the lead of IRC Division 1.
Despite preferring 15 knot plus of breeze, Bob Steel, who won his second Rolex Sydney Hobart race overall in 2008,made do with breezes that dwindled away from a top of 17 knots to around 8 knots by the time Race 3 came around.
'We didn't think we liked lighter air, but we hung in as best we could in Race 3; you'd have to be happy,' said Steel this evening.
'I flogged the crew - I made them work really hard. Last year we broke our pushpit in this series, but this time we're going to hold it altogether with glue,' Steel laughed, adding: 'More seriously, Wot Now (Graeme Wood) is formidable. We won't be able to make a single mistake if we are to win this regatta,' he said.
Steel had Jamie MacPhail at the helm of his yacht, long time crew boss Mike Green and Katie Spithill, an Australian international match racing champion and younger sister of famous America's Cup sailor James, calling tactics for him today.
His adversary, Graeme Wood, also sailing a TP52, is currently in second place overall just two points adrift of the leader following 2-3-4 placings on Day 1. Bob Oatley's 66ft canting Keel Wild Oats X did a superb job in the range of breezes and are third overall, five points off the lead after winning Race 3.
One of the Regatta favourites, Stephen Ainsworth's new Reichel/Pugh 63, Loki, had a bit of bad luck in Race 1, breaking her vang and having to withdraw from the race. A quick repair job between races paid dividends when Cameron Miles steered the yacht to a pair of second races. Loki is fifth overall and will be dangerous tomorrow.
In Division 2, the main contenders, Alegria (Rod Jones) and Ruth Magic (Peter Hill) had a cat put amongst their pigeons when Pittwater sailor Bill Ebsary and his Le Billet scored two bullets and a fifth place to take a two point lead over Alegria, with Perpetual Mocean (Bruce Hogan) filling out the top three.
Ruth Magic is outside the top five placings, helmsman Peter Sorensen saying this afternoon: 'We had a good first race, but then it went from bad to worse. We are off the pace in the light air - tomorrow is looking better for us,' he said referring to the forecast of 13-18 knot winds.
In Division 3, the 2006 divisional winner and winner of the Audi Final Challenge, and therefore the Audi A4 Avant, Howard Piggott is leading with his entry Brilliant, while a well-sailed Crusher (Brent Lawson) is in second place overall after winning Race 2, with Mark Griffith's Raging Bull in third place overall.
Vying not only to win their divisions for a chance at the ultimate prize, a brand new Audi Q5 compact SUV, the three IRC divisions are also competing for the Audi IRC Australian Championship made up of four events, the Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta being the second event of the series.
The PHS classes; four Spinnaker Divisions, including the Sydney 38's, Non-Spinnaker, Sports Boats and the Classic and Gaff Rig all sailed on their various Sydney Harbour courses on nice flat seas, making for spectacular viewing and adding colour not just to Middle Harbour Yacht Club's annual Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta, but to Sydney Harbour Week.
As John Clinton, owner skipper of Holy Cow, and member of the famous country blues band 'The Wolverines' said: 'How could you not enjoy today? We stopped dead in the water a couple of times when the breeze got lighter, but we had a ball anyhow - I think everyone did.'
For those boats preferring the heavier winds, forecasters have said to expect 13-18 knots - and rain - but that should not bother the record 304 boat fleet.
The Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta, conducted by Middle Harbour Yacht Club with the assistance of CYCA, Manly Yacht Club, RANSA, Royal Prince Alfred, Royal Prince Edward, Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron and Sydney Amateur Sailing Club, will be completed tomorrow afternoon.
Results:
IRC Division 1 top five following three races:
Series score R3 R2 R1
1 QUEST Jamie MacPhail 7 5 1 1
2 WOT NOW Graeme Wood 9 4 3 2
3 1.0S WILD OATS X Robert Oatley 12 1 8 3
4 YENDYS Geoff Ross 12 3 4 5
5 LOKI Cameron Miles 16 2 2 12S
IRC Division 2 top five following three races:
1 LE BILLET Bill Ebsary 7 5 1 1
2 ALEGRIA Rod Jones 9 4 2 3
3 PERPETUAL MOCEAN Bruce Hogan 14 2 6 6
4 3.0S CARBON CREDIT Geoff Pearson 15 3 4 8
5 IMAGINATION Robin Hawthorn 15 6 5 4
IRC Division 3 top five following three races:
1 2.0S BRILLIANT Howard Piggott 8 5 2 1
2 CRUSHER Brent Lawson 8 4 1 3
3 RAGING BULL Mark Griffith 13 2 6 5
4 LOCAL HERO Peter Mosely 14 7 5 2
5 IF Martin Cross 18 1 9 8
PHS Sports Boats top five following three races:
1 CHAMELEON Kevin Karaloff 5 3 1 1
2 MERLIN John Lehmann 8 2 3 3
3 OZAD FORCE 8 Peter Gale 13 4 4 5
4 LADY BUG Erin Mander 16 6 8 2
5 NO COMMENT Heath Walters 21 1 9 11
PHS Non-Spinnaker top five following one race:
1 TOP ODDS Peter & Karen Hockin
2 SAN TOY Graham Radford
3 BRITANNIA Glen/Mark Ilic/Moran
4 MRX Jon/Miles Short/Bast
5 JAI-DEE Peter Hunt
PHS Classic top five following one race:
1 CATAPULT David Nock
2 LAHARA Mike Warner
3 TANAMI David Mandelberg
4 EUDORIA John Sturrock
5 EOS Brian Wilson
To follow the Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta and for all full results, go to: www.audisydneyharbourregatta.com
by Di Pearson
|
|
 was the boat of the day in IRC Division 1 - Andrea Francolini, Audi pic.jpg)
Sailing
