MC38 2016/17 Summer Series Championship Act 1 at Pittwater - Overall
by Lisa Ratcliff 9 Oct 2016 08:56 BST
8-9 October 2016
Menace's heavy air prowess on day one of act one of the MC38's four-part Summer Championship series gave them an advantage the local lads couldn't close-up during a second breezy Pittwater outing, this time north-east winds up to 22 knots by the final race.
It's been sometime since the Kiwi outfit on Menace has overcome an Aussie team, and an eight point victory for Royal Akarana Yacht Club is "sweet as" says owner Howard Spencer's mainsail trimmer Alastair Gair.
"We got our head back in the game at the last regatta; we are doing the basics right - starting and getting to the top mark in a good position rather than fighting from the back. It's hard to get the speed advantage in this class, everyone's sailing so well and the races are short.
"It was nice to begin the day with a win, we wanted to start strong and ease a bit of pressure on us, and second in the second race closed it out for us. It was really fantastic to get breeze both days, Ray Davies did a nice job on the tactics and Howard's really happy...which is what you want," Gair added.
Menace regularly sails with at least two women crew and Gair says having an eighth body on the boat works well and is good for team dynamics. "We don't take things too seriously and let things get out of control, we have fun too."
Steve Barlow helming Leslie Green's Ginger turned a costly day one yesterday - both in terms of sail damage and points - into a North Sails boat of the day performance with 2,1,1 results. Tactician David Chapman said Ginger's usually brilliant crew work wasn't up to scratch in the gusty sou'east winds up to 28 knots on Saturday October 8, and the guest skipper needn't have shouldered the blame.
"Steve was a bit upset with himself afterwards," admitted Chapman. "He did a good job yesterday... we weren't our usual polished selves. He took us out to dinner and we had a few attitude adjusters and today he was rewarded with the North Sails boat of the day. To jump in to the class for the first time and be straight on the pace is a credit to him."
On Menace's series victory, an honour Ginger hasn't shared with any of its classmates since the MC38 Winter Regatta in June 2015, Chapman said, "Howard's very good in really strong breeze; they are a polished team and they don't make many mistakes."
Third overall with a three point shortfall to Ginger was John Bacon's Dark Star, sailing for the regatta host, the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club.
Principal Race Officer Steve Merrington added that today's execution of three final races back-to-back was straightforward compared to running racing on a blustery white-capped Pittwater on Saturday.
Act two of the 2016/17 MC38 Summer Series Championship is scheduled for November 5-6 and the Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron at Kirribilli will host.
Overall Results:
| Pos | Sail No | Boat Name | Skipper | Club | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | R6 | R7 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | NZL38014 | MENACE | Howard Spencer | RAYC | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 12 |
| 2 | 38011 | GINGER | Stephen Barlow | CYCA | 4 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 20 |
| 3 | 38002 | DARK STAR | John Bacon | RPAYC | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 23 |
| 4 | NZL80 | MASERATI | Neville Crichton | RNZYS‑CY | 2 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 26 |
| 5 | HI101 | VINO | Chris Hancock | RPAYC | 3 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 32 |
| 6 | AUS9999 | ASSASSIN | Robin Crawford | CYCA | 5 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 34 |