Sydney 40 World Championships - Day 3
by John Roberson 3 Jul 1999 17:16 BST
MERIT CUP HAS RUN-AWAY WIN, MK CAFE STILL LEADS SERIES
On a day of sparkling conditions on the Solent, Vasco Vascotto and his crew of the European entry Merit Cup, romped away to a win by nearly two minutes in the fifth race of the "Race 1 Sydney 40 World Championships".
However another third place for Karol Jablonski and the MK Cafe team, representing Germany, puts the trophy within their reach, with just two more races to sail on Sunday.
The improving British boat Arbitrator, steered by Chris Law, chalked up a second place today, to move into third place on the scoreboard.
The 25 mile long inshore race, sailed in 20 to 22 knots of breeze, made the crews work hard, as every upwind leg was against the strong flood tide, forcing them to short tack up the shore.
This in itself produced its own dramas, with four boats running aground, temporarily, as they tried to dodge the tide soon after the start.
Merit Cup grabbed the lead early on, and held it throughout, showing good upwind speed in the breezy conditions, as she had in the second race of the
series, but on the downwind legs Chris Law and his Arbitrator crew managed to close up the game, but never quite enough to catch Vascotto.
MK Cafe found herself in the second rank at the start, and for the early part of the race struggled to get up into the pack, while Australia's Sledgehammer and the Commonwealth entry, Turbo UK, were early starters, and had to re-start.
The Australians recovered better than Jonty Sherwill's Turbo crew, to finish fifth, again showing good upwind speed, and managing to fight her way back into the race.
RESULTS (After five races):
Boat Owner Pts Races
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1 MK Cafe Thomas Friese 11 2 1 2 3 3
2 Merit Cup Marco Greggio 17 1 2 6 7 1
3 Arbitrator Stephen Bailey 19 8 3 5 1 2
4 Invicta Massimo Mazzaroma 22 5 4 1 8 4
5 Trust Computer Jochem Visser 24 3 5 3 5 8
6 Blue Yankee Pride Farley Towse 26 4 8 4 4 6
7 Sledgehammer Ron Jones 28 7 6 8 2 5
8 Turbo UK David Walters 33 6 7 7 6 7
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:
On the regatta:
John Roberson
ph:+44 (0)1983 295144
e-mail: robo_bandana@compuserve.com
On Sydney 40:
Louise Bashford
ph: +61 (0)2 9979 8044
website: www.bashford.com.au
On Race 1:
Jonny Falkner
ph:+44 (0)1243 573333
e-mail: sydney40@race1.demon.co.uk
THIS CHAMPIONSHIP IS ALSO SUPPORTED BY:
Bashford International
Jacobs Creek Wines