18ft Skiff Queen of the Harbour
by Frank Quealey 23 Mar 2014 07:27 GMT
23 March 2014
Annika Rose became the 18ft Skiffs' Queen of the Harbour when she teamed with John Winning Jr., Andrew Hay and Tom Slingsby on Yandoo to take out the annual race on Sydney Harbour today.
Yandoo led from the first set of 3-buoy windward marks but had to withstand a race long challenge from Asko Appliances (James Dorron, Marcus Ashley-Jones, Jeronimo Harrison and Odette Rushton) before taking the victory by just 6s.
Third place went to Fisher & Paykel (Grant Rollerson, Peter Nicholson, Niall Kinch and Sonya Hagarty), which was a further 3m16s back.
Thurlow Fisher Lawyers (Dave O'Connor) was fourth, followed by Smeg (Nick Press) and De'Longhi-Rabbitohs (Jonathan Whitty).
The race was sailed in a light North East breeze which faded during the race.
Appliancesonline.com.au (Nathan Wilmot) and Thurlow Fisher Lawyers won the start at the pin end of the line then shared the battle for the lead with Yandoo, Asko Appliances and Mojo Wine (Andrew Divola) in the early stages of the race.
Yandoo edged away from the rest of the fleet down the first spinnaker run and held a 30s margin over Asko Appliances at the bottom mark.
Fisher & Paykel had established a clear third place at the point ahead of Pure Blonde (Nick Daly), Appliancesonline.com.au, Thurlow Fisher Lawyers and De'Longhi-Rabbitohs.
Asko Appliances matched Yandoo up the next windward beat but Yandoo edged away again due to the difference in the 3-buoys rounding.
The three leaders had clearly established their positions by the end of the second lap where Yandoo was 1m35s ahead of Asko with Fisher & Paykel another 35s back behind Asko.
As the breeze continued to drop it was a tough day for all teams.
Yandoo still held a 30s. lead at the final mark so Asko Appliances gybed inside the leader.
Spectators were compensated for the lack of speed with a really tight finish as Asko Appliances almost nailed Yandoo near the finish.
Next Sunday's Race 11 of the Club Championship is the last race of the 2013-2014 Season.
Video coverage of the race can be seen on www.18footerstv.com. Enter pick the podium and win TVs, sunnies, yachting gear and much more.
The club's regular spectator ferry will follow the race, leaving Double Bay Wharf at 2.15pm.