Maersk Line 18ft Skiff ANZAC Championship - Day 3
by Auckland Skiff League 24 Apr 2016 08:33 BST
22-25 April 2016
Numeral Pennant 8?
Day 3 of the Maersk Line 18' Skiff Auckland Championship started with rain, clouds and a touch of winter. The day ended with almost all the fleet googling what numeral pennant eight looks like.
Racing got underway on time and it was Yamaha (NZL) who took the gun for the sixth race. These guys are setting the tone for what they hope will be a regatta win. But as skipper David MicDiarmid said yesterday, "it's not over yet".
"We had a full range of setting changes today because the conditions went from 5-15 knots. Bit painful really.
"We are off to Burnsco in the morning to get ourselves a $2.50 sticker that shows all the code flags and numeral pennants..." continued McDiarmid.
Race seven saw Knight Frank take the cake with their second gun of the regatta. The lads were pretty happy to be showing signs of awesomeness.
"The lads (John Little and Matt Coutts) were so good today! They called perfect tactics. But we don't know what numeral pennant eight looks like..." said skipper Riley Dean.
Race eight was won by Thurlow Fisher Lawyers, bringing them just three points shy of first place overall, which is still held by Yamaha.
Skipper Michael Coxon was in high spirits. He knows what numeral pennant eight looks like.
"It definitely pays to know your flags!" laughed Coxon.
"Play of the day on the Thurlow Fisher went to Trent (Barnabas), who busted his ankle half way through the second race. We thought we were done for the day, and then we went fishing with the spinnaker in the final race of the day, but noticed that most of the fleet was then heading off in the wrong direction and we found ourselves in the lead! Trent's injury almost vanished after we got a shot of adrenaline with being in the lead!" continued Coxon.
In the handicap point score, Noakes Youth has overtaken the Harken guys are are now 7.5 points ahead.
The final day of racing is taking place on ANZAC Day. Two races are scheduled to wrap the series up.
Results after Day 3: (top three, 8 races)
1 NZL Yamaha 13pts
2 AUS Thurlow Fisher Lawyers 16pts
3 AUS Peroni 34pts
Handicap Places: (top three)
1 AUS Noakes Youth 31pts
2 USA Harken 38.5pts
2 NZL C-Tech 39.5pts
Full Results here
www.rayc.co.nz/aklskiffleague