Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta - Day 1
by Di Pearson 7 Mar 2009 09:54 GMT
7-8 March 2009
Sirius on day one of the Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta © Andrea Francolini / Audi
Beautiful conditions and great racing
Ideal sailing conditions under sunny skies heralded the start of the Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta on Sydney Harbour today, but some had a better day than others, Bob Steel proving that Quest is still best after he and his TP52 crew won the opening two races and finished Race 3 in
fifth place to give them the lead of IRC Division 1.
Despite preferring 15 knot plus of breeze, Bob Steel, who won his second
Rolex Sydney Hobart race overall in 2008,made do with breezes that
dwindled away from a top of 17 knots to around 8 knots by the time Race
3 came around.
“We didn’t think we liked lighter air, but we hung in as best we could
in Race 3; you’d have to be happy,” said Steel this evening.
“I flogged the crew – I made them work really hard. Last year we broke
our pushpit in this series, but this time we’re going to hold it
altogether with glue,” Steel laughed, adding: “More seriously, Wot Now
(Graeme Wood) is formidable. We won’t be able to make a single mistake
if we are to win this regatta,” he said.
Steel had Jamie MacPhail at the helm of his yacht, long time crew boss
Mike Green and Katie Spithill, an Australian international match racing
champion and younger sister of famous America’s Cup sailor James,
calling tactics for him today.
His adversary, Graeme Wood, also sailing a TP52, is currently in second
place overall just two points adrift of the leader following 2-3-4
placings on Day 1. Bob Oatley’s 66ft canting Keel Wild Oats X did a
superb job in the range of breezes and are third overall, five points
off the lead after winning Race 3.
One of the Regatta favourites, Stephen Ainsworth’s new Reichel/Pugh 63,
Loki, had a bit of bad luck in Race 1, breaking her vang and having to
withdraw from the race. A quick repair job between races paid dividends
when Cameron Miles steered the yacht to a pair of second races. Loki is
fifth overall and will be dangerous tomorrow.
In Division 2, the main contenders, Alegria (Rod Jones) and Ruth Magic
(Peter Hill) had a cat put amongst their pigeons when Pittwater sailor
Bill Ebsary and his Le Billet scored two bullets and a fifth place to
take a two point lead over Alegria, with Perpetual Mocean (Bruce Hogan)
filling out the top three.
Ruth Magic is outside the top five placings, helmsman Peter Sorensen
saying this afternoon: “We had a good first race, but then it went from
bad to worse. We are off the pace in the light air – tomorrow is looking
better for us,” he said referring to the forecast of 13-18 knot winds.
In Division 3, the 2006 divisional winner and winner of the Audi Final
Challenge, and therefore the Audi A4 Avant, Howard Piggott is leading
with his entry Brilliant, while a well-sailed Crusher (Brent Lawson) is
in second place overall after winning Race 2, with Mark Griffith’s
Raging Bull in third place overall.
Vying not only to win their divisions for a chance at the ultimate
prize, a brand new Audi Q5 compact SUV, the three IRC divisions are also
competing for the Audi IRC Australian Championship made up of four
events, the Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta being the second event of the
series.
The PHS classes; four Spinnaker Divisions, including the Sydney 38’s,
Non-Spinnaker, Sports Boats and the Classic and Gaff Rig all sailed on
their various Sydney Harbour courses on nice flat seas, making for
spectacular viewing and adding colour not just to Middle Harbour Yacht
Club’s annual Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta, but to Sydney Harbour Week.
As John Clinton, owner skipper of Holy Cow, and member of the famous
country blues band ‘The Wolverines’ said: “How could you not enjoy
today? We stopped dead in the water a couple of times when the breeze
got lighter, but we had a ball anyhow – I think everyone did.”
For those boats preferring the heavier winds, forecasters have said to
expect 13-18 knots – and rain – but that should not bother the record
304 boat fleet.
The Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta, conducted by Middle Harbour Yacht Club
with the assistance of CYCA, Manly Yacht Club, RANSA, Royal Prince
Alfred, Royal Prince Edward, Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron and Sydney
Amateur Sailing Club, will be completed tomorrow afternoon.
IRC Division 1 (top five following three races)
1 QUEST Jamie MacPhail 7 5 1 1
2 WOT NOW Graeme Wood 9 4 3 2
3 1.0S WILD OATS X Robert Oatley 12 1 8 3
4 YENDYS Geoff Ross 12 3 4 5
5 LOKI Cameron Miles 16 2 2 12S
IRC Division 2 (top five following three races)
1 LE BILLET Bill Ebsary 7 5 1 1
2 ALEGRIA Rod Jones 9 4 2 3
3 PERPETUAL MOCEAN Bruce Hogan 14 2 6 6
4 3.0S CARBON CREDIT Geoff Pearson 15 3 4 8
5 IMAGINATION Robin Hawthorn 15 6 5 4
IRC Division 3 (top five following three races)
1 2.0S BRILLIANT Howard Piggott 8 5 2 1
2 CRUSHER Brent Lawson 8 4 1 3
3 RAGING BULL Mark Griffith 13 2 6 5
4 LOCAL HERO Peter Mosely 14 7 5 2
5 IF Martin Cross 18 1 9 8
PHS Sports Boats (top five following three races)
1 CHAMELEON Kevin Karaloff 5 3 1 1
2 MERLIN John Lehmann 8 2 3 3
3 OZAD FORCE 8 Peter Gale 13 4 4 5
4 LADY BUG Erin Mander 16 6 8 2
5 NO COMMENT Heath Walters 21 1 9 11
PHS Non-Spinnaker (top five following one race)
1 TOP ODDS Peter & Karen Hockin
2 SAN TOY Graham Radford
3 BRITANNIA Glen/Mark Ilic/Moran
4 MRX Jon/Miles Short/Bast
5 JAI-DEE Peter Hunt
PHS Classic (top five following one race)
1 CATAPULT David Nock
2 LAHARA Mike Warner
3 TANAMI David Mandelberg
4 EUDORIA John Sturrock
5 EOS Brian Wilson
To follow the Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta and for all full results, go
to www.audisydneyharbourregatta.com