18 FOOTERS NSW CHAMPIONSHIP

by Leigh Maloney on 18 Feb 2001 True to its form over the 18-footer season to date, the John
Harris-skippered RAG & FAMISH HOTEL has notched up a trifecta of first
placings after three heats of the NSW 18-footers Championships being sailed
on Sydney Harbour.

With Craig Ferris on sheet and for'ardhand Chris Cleary, the RAG left the
fleet in its wake as it scorched through a light 8-10 knot Easterly breeze
to finish 5min 2secs ahead of Michael Coxon's SUNDAY TELEGRAPH with Hugh
Stodart's EXPRESS POST a further 13 seconds behind in third place.

'We tweaked the boat up a bit before today's race and we're happy with the
way it felt,' said Harris. 'There are still three heats remaining, but
we're feeling good and are delighted with today's result in the light
breeze.'

A third, fourth and second respectively for SUNDAY TELEGRAPH in the three
heats to date, sees them currently in second place overall, with MICROSOFT
(Matt Felton) two points behind in 3rd place. The SUNDAY TELEGRAPH had an
early lead in today's race and were looking an early threat.
'We felt really good in the first beat,' said Coxon. 'But we let Harris
get out to the left of us and he got the jump. Once he had the lead, there
was no catching him. We're pleased with our results in the State titles
and at last are putting in some consistent sailing. We plan to keep that
up.'

Racing will continue next Sunday with Heat 4 of the NSW Championships.

RESULTS:
1: RAG & FAMISH HOTEL/J Harris
2: SUNDAY TELEGRAPH/M Coxon
3: EXPRESS POST/H Stodart
4: TYRRELLS WINES/D Lumb
5: OMEGA SMEG/T Barnabas
6: VERTICAL MARKETS/G Phillips
7: MICROSOFT VISIO 2000/M Felton
8: SPORTS ILLUSTRATED/A Stabback
9: AVAYA COMMUNICATION/P Morrison
10: COMPUTER ASSOCIATES/A Saunders
11: AMP CENTREPOINT/J Winning
12: SP SYSTEMS-TEAM ALFA/T Webster
13: BLUES POINT/M Burnicle
14: BELL PARTNERS/M Walsh
15: PLAYSTATION/T Whitfield
16: BIG FOOT/R McMillan

Margins: 1-2 = 5:02; 2-3 13s

PROGRESSIVE POINTS:
2.25 RAG & FAMISH HOTEL;
9 SUNDAY TELEGRAPH;
11 MICROSOFT;
15 OMEGA SMEG;
23 TYRRELLS WINES;
24 BELL PARTNERS;
26 AVAYA COMMUNICATION