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12:04 PM Mon 12 Jan 2009 GMT
Two British crews are tied on the top of the points table after Day 3 of the Audi Penfold Flying Fifteen Worlds, being held on Port Phillip Bay. Melbourne.
Racing was delayed for over two hours due tio a combination of light winds and several attempted starts.
In contrast to previous days the wind was at its most westerly with initial starts being set for a course of 200 degrees.
However as the wind settle.d down it swung east to 165 and then back to 180 degrees the normal direction for the seabreeze on Port Phillip Bay.
Early in the afternoon the overcast skies cleared allowing the sun to break through and warm the land and generate the seabreeze.
Race 4 got underway in a 6-7kt breeze with slight seas.
The lead group soon broke away from the paleton, and had a race between themselves.
It was the turn of Britain's Mike Hart and Richard Rigg to exact revenge for their disqualification the previous night. They led the second British crew of Alan Bax and Bill Masterman around the shorter course with a small but comfortable lead of a couple of lengths, until the final beast when Hart and Rigg stretched away as the wind freshened to 10-12kts and settled back into the south.
Race 5 was again marred by several attempts at starting, and it was only the imposition of the Black Flag by Principal Race Officer David le Roy, that enabled racing to get underway.
This was a make or break race for many crews, and the Australian crew of Grant Alderson and Dean Mcaullay made no race of it by starting at the pin end crossing the fleet and were never challenged for the lead. Hart and Rigg again turned in a masterful performance to take second place with Steve Goacher and Phil Evans (GBR) turning in a very useful third.
The seabreeze built throughout the afternoon, and provided some of the best and closest racing sailing of the series. Certainly there were plenty of incidents at every mark, and groups of five crossing the finish line were not uncommon.
Tomorrow only one race is scheduled. However some iffy weather may disrupt the race schedule, with light winds forecast for Tuesday, and strong Northerlies on Wednesday.
Two races remain to be sailed in the series.
by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World
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Sailing
