Fireball Pre-Worlds at Royal Varuna Yacht Club, Thailand - Day 3
by Cormac Bradley & Ben Schulz 27 Mar 2014 06:39 GMT
23-27 March 2014
A change of leaders
The antipodean leaders of the Fireball Pre-Worlds were dethroned today when Nathan Batchelor and Sam Pascoe racked up two races wins to occupy top spot on the leader board. In perfect weather conditions, again, sunshine and a SW which started at 10 knots and got up to 13 for the second race, allowing the pumping flag to be flown at the second start.
Yet again the left hand side paid but the first race saw near leaders at the top mark – Greg Allison and Allen Blenkle (AUS 15032). Their compatriots Heather and Chris were stuck further back in the pack but by the run had moved into 4th place. Fellow Aussies Ben Schulz and Doug Sheppard came unstuck at the bottom mark in a rather chaotic rounding.
On the second beat Batchelor & Pascoe took over the lead. A right-side breakout benefitted McFarlane & Payne and Birrell and Brearey while Allison and Blenkle suffered going up the middle. While racing between the top five remained tight, there were no further position changes.
The "Fat boys" embraced the flying of the pumping flag with open arms... literally. Schulz and Sheppard were fastest off the line and joined the roll call of first boat round the first weather mark. They were then undone with a broken trapeze wire after setting their kite. This allowed Batchelor and Pascoe to take over at the head of the race. For the Aussies, gear failure would rear its head again with a broken spinnaker sheet.
A good day's work sees Batchelor and Pascoe atop the leaderboard going into the final day of this curtain-raiser. With six races completed a discard kicks in and, combined with two wins today, the complexion of the top five has changed slightly.
Results after Day 3: (top five, 6 races, 1 discard)
| Pos | Helm & Crew | Sail No | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | Nathan Batchelor & Sam Pascoe | GBR15087 | 1 | dns | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 2 | Heather McFarlane & Chris Payne | AUS 15048 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 9 |
| 3 | Ben Schulz & Doug Sheppard | AUS 15062 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 20 |
| 4 | Veronica & Ben Falat | GBR 15092 | 4 | 2 | 11 | 6 | 10 | 11 | 33 |
| 5 | Joe Jospe & Tom Egli | CAN 15024 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 5 | 9 | 6 | 33 |
It would appear that Christian Birrell and Sam Brearey may be keeping themselves in check for next week as their score card includes two DNFs to go with an OCS.
The sole South African entry, David Laing and Mark Dee have counted finishes just outside the top ten to sit in 14th overall. Today Derian Scott joined the action sailing AUS 14747 with Daniel Wolch.
The Royal Varuna Yacht Club continues to excel in the hospitality stakes with sensational food, cold beers and a great atmosphere. A great time is being had by all!
Comments:
Chris Payne (AUS 15048): "Oops peaked yesterday. Two thirds but still happy with our boat speed. And... I think Heather's post race margaritas are the problem, she was only allowed one tonight, so should be better tomorrow."
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