Schweppes Viper World Championship at Perth, Western Australia - Day 2

by Bernie Kaaks 21 Feb 2018 05:57 GMT 19-23 February 2018

After the second day of the Schweppes Viper Worlds in Perth, Western Australia, a total of eight races have been completed and scores recalculated to include a single drop. A second drop will be allowed if thirteen or more races are completed. Conditions today could hardly have been more different from yesterday. Shifty south easterly breezes rarely reached more than twelve knots, in stark contrast to the 25-plus knots blasting across the Swan River yesterday.

The resilience of this fleet of sports boats is quite amazing. As the survivors limped ashore after four brutal races yesterday, they reviewed the carnage. Six of the 25 boat fleet suffered sufficient damage to force their retirement. There were two dismastings, a broken boom, a holed hull and many minor issues. Amazingly all yachts appeared on the start line today, ready to race, suggesting that some crews had very little sleep last night and the locker containing spares was given a serious raiding by those in need.

It is said locally that the only certainty about Perth's weather when a tropical cyclone is brewing off the north western coast is that nothing is certain. That is defintely the case this week. With the windward mark at the south eastern extremity of the course, the surrounding land mass created challenging shifts and those who did best were unafraid to throw in a short tack on approach.

Britain's Lawrence Crispin, who has been sailing exceptionally well, was the beneficiary of a big shift in race 6. Working the right hand side of the course early, along with countryman David Hitchcock, he picked up a shift along the western shoreline allowing him to establish a match winning lead by the time he reached the top mark and bowl away to a convincing win. Hitchcock was less fortunate, swallowed up by the chasing pack and finishing seventh.

The surprise of the regatta, to many except the man himself, has been Flying Fifteen champion Nick Jerwood, who heads the points table after eight races, scoring five wins in the process. His crew includes son Matthew, a prominent skipper on the world match racing circuit and boat owner Brian de Vries. Jerwood has started near the centre of the line in most races and with the exception of a "U" flag disqualification in race 3, has emerged among the leaders each time. His defensive strategy in race 8 was classic.

Approaching the finish line with Denis Jones well ahead in a seemingly invincible position, Jerwood found himself locked in a battle with match racer Keith Swinton, Matt Jerwood's sailing partner Alex Landwehr and American Justin Scott. The final outcome saw New South Welshman Martin Webster steal first place by sailing around the rest of the fleet and flying home in good pressure. Unfortunately an arbitrary penalty cost him his first place. Jones maintained his position and Jerwood, sailing deep after several defensive gybes, was able to crank up the angle on the final approach to narrowly take the points from Landwehr, Swinton and Scott.

With fourteen races scheduled, the regatta is now past the halfway mark. Jerwood would seem the logical favourite from here, but Keith Swinton is a seasoned battler in hard campaigns and remains in contention as does the British champion Lawrence Crispin.

Results after Day 2:

Pos	Sail No	Boat Name	Skipper	Crew	Crew 2	Crew 3	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	Pts
1	AUS272	STEAL DE BREEZE	Nick Jerwood	Brian DeVries	Matt Jerwood		1	1	[26U]	1	1	2	1	3	10
2	AUS281	GREEN MAMBA	Keith Swinton	Arlyn Mattinson	Ben Marler	Bruce Mattinson	4	4	[26U]	2	2	5	6	5	28
3	GBR274	HISSING SID	Lawrence Crispin	Hector Cisneros	Luka Crispin		3	3	1	5	[16]	1	10	13A	36
4	AUS118	HISSTERIA	Alex Landwehr	Patrick Vos	Sam Monkhouse		6	[14]	4	14	10	3	4	4	45
5	AUS278	ATHERIS	Murray Howson	Jorman Mears	Mark Lovelady	Sue Howson	7	6	3	8	8	10	7	[17]	49
6	AUS217	HIGHLANDER	Martin Webster	Sam Gilmour	Shannon Wright	Zoe Thompson	5	9	8	10	5	6	[14]	9A	52
7	USA237	MAMBO KINGS	Justin Scott	Conor Nicholas	Luke Elliot		9	5	[26U]	6	11	17	2	6	56
8	AUS280	NOTHING TOO SERIOUS	Rod Beurteaux	Jon Stubbs	Rupert Leslie		[17]	11	5	7	7	15	8	7	60
9	AUS216	YOU GET IN THE BOWL	Denis Jones	Colin Spence	Graeme Spence		8	13	[26U]	3	14	26B	3	2	69
10	AUS116	VELOCITY	John Park	Paul Liddington	Seamus Mulholland Pa	Tony Johnson	[26U]	8	6	11	21	9	13	9	77
11	AUS113	DONT FORGET ALICE	Peron Pearse	Ethan Brough	Hamish McGill	Jacqueline Harding	12	10	11	[26S]	4	11	18	13	79
12	AUS279	HISSING IN THE WIND	Graeme Monkhouse	Heather Monkhouse	James Williams	Robbie Stout	10	2	2	[26R]	20	19	15	12	80
13	AUS112	FIZZ	Nick Lewins	Martin Attwill	Michael Navarro		11	7	7	4	18	18	17	[19]	82
14	GBR285	P - POPSEY	David Hitchcock	Ian Nicholson	Julian Bleddyn		2	[26R]	26F	26F	3	7	12	15	91
15	AUS197	FLY	Terry Riley	David Jordon	Glenn Foley		14	17	9	13	9	[20]	19	14	95
16	RSA290	RAFIKI	Gavin Davies	Alex Schon	Bo Szalek	Greg Plunkett	15	20	13	[26F]	13	8	5	22	96
17	1	KOALAS ON TOAST	Paul Young	Craig Wilusz	Nathaniel .		18	15	12	12	12	13	[21]	21	103
18	AUS117	KISS MY ASP	Terry Foster	Harob Keay	Miles Dracup	Paul Fabricius	20	12	10	9	[25]	23	20	18	112
19	CAN288	OSHUNMARE	Steve Chapman	Christophe Ledent	Warren Walhaug		13	22	[26F]	26S	19	14	9	16	119
20	AUS218	BITE ME	Michael Cameron	Jake Flintoff	Travis Keay		[26R]	26S	26S	26S	6	4	22	10	120
21	AUS198	VFORCE	Mark Griffith	John Learmonth	Richard Stainton		16	[26R]	26F	26F	17	12	11	24	132
22	AUS215	GREY NOMAD	Chris O'Keefe	Chris Gilmour	Kim Leunig		[26U]	18	26U	26F	15	16	23	11	135
23	USA118	FLIGHT RISK	Tony Chapman	Glenn Van Heel	Nigel Brownette		22	21	[26R]	26F	23	21	16	20	149
24	AUS114	FANG	Stephen dines	Job Mayberry	Lawson Terputra	Thomas Mears	19	16	[26R]	26F	22	22	25	23	153
25	AUS139	CALIBRE RACING	April Jorgensen	Adam Shand	Danielle Hodgkinson	Jayson Oates	21	19	[26F]	26S	24	24	24	26R	164