Seawind Formula 18 Worlds at Queensland, Australia - Day 3
by Rob Kothe 22 Feb 2007 08:14 GMT
17-25 February 2007
Bundock and Ashby lead F18 Worlds after Day 3
After the completion of racing on Day 3 of the Seawind F18 Worlds, Australians Darren Bundock and Glenn Ashby lead the series from the Netherlands team of Mitch Booth and Pim Nieuwenhis, with fellow Austrailans Steve Brewin and Andrew Williams in third place.
Race 2:
At the start of Race 2 today, being sailed in the waters off Rydges Capricorn Resort in Yeppoon Queensland, the wind was blowing at 16 knots.
Australians Darren Bundock and Glenn Ashby led from the start and continued to hold the lead, rounding the top mark in first from Mischa Heemskerk and Cristopher Rasley (NED) with Steve Brewin and Andrew Williams (AUS) in third.
Spanish champions Fernando Echavarri and Anton Paz Blanco (ESP) were in fourth, followed by the French pairing of Billy Besson and Arnaud Jarlegan (FRA).
At the bottom mark, Bundock and Ashby went right and most of the fleet followed. Around the mark the Spanish team had crept up to third, with the Carolijn Brouwer and Jeroen Van Leeuwen (BEL) in fourth. Mitch Booth and Pim Nieuwenhis (NED) were fifth, and it looked like they had suffered some gear failure.
Bundock and Ashby were in the process of giving the fleet a sailing lesson and crossed first, ahead of Heemskerk and Rasley. Echavarri and Paz Blanco finished in third.
Race 3:
At the start of Race 3, the winds were building and it was fast sailing across the start line.
At the mark, Bundock and Ashby led the way from Mischa Heemskerk and Cristopher Rasley with Brian Whitborn and Paul Beazley (AUS) in third. Steve Brewin and Andrew Williams and Mitch Booth and Pim Nieuwenhis followed hot in their wake.
Bundock and Ashby (AUS) clearly won the race from Heemskerk and Rasley (NED), with Echavarri and Paz Blanco (ESP) third. Then followed Brewin and Williams (AUS), Booth and Nieuwenhis (NED), with Thompson and Stevens (AUS).
Race 3 got underway shortly after the finish of race race two, organisers opting for 'back to back races'.
Booth and Nieuwenhis (NED) led into the first mark, from Mourniac and Citeau (FRA) with Bundock and Ashby (AUS) third. Then came Echavarri and Paz Blanco (ESP), with Souben and Bontemps (FRA) fifth.
Booth and Nieuwenhis (NED) held onto their lead from Bundock and Ashby (AUS) who moved up from third. Mourniac and Citeau (FRA) were in third with Echavarri and Paz Blanco (ESP) fifth and Heemskerk and Rasley (NED) sixth. Brewin and Williams (AUS) came around in seventh position.
Race 3 and Booth and Nieuwenhis were first, followed by Bundock and Ashby, then Heemskerk and Rasley with Styles and Peel (GBR) fourth. Echavarri and Paz Blanco were fifth, with Brouwer and van Leeuwen sixth.
Racing was certainly fast and furious with a collision 400 metres from the first top mark, between Yates and Angells, (GBR) who came ashore and Rogers and Rogers (AUS) who sank and then dragged the boat along the seabed and back to the beach. There will be a protest hearing later today.
Race 4:
Race 4 began and at the second mark, Mitch Booth and Pim Nieuwenhis (NED 8) led from Fernando Echavarri and Anton Paz Blanco (ESP) with Darren Bundock and Glenn Ashby (AUS) third. Jean-Christophe Mourniac and Franck Citeau (FRA) were fourth with Billy Besson Billy and Jarlegan Arnaud (FRA) fifth. Mischa Heemskerk and Cristopher Rasley (NED) were sixth and Steve Brewin and Andrew Williams (AUS) seventh.
At the third mark, it was Booth and Nieuwenhis showing their preference for heavy weather sailing, from Bundock and Ashby, followed by Mourniac and Citeau, Echavarri and Paz Blanco, Besson and Arnaud, then Heemskerk and Rasley.
At the finish, Booth and Nieuwenhis (NED) were ahead of Bundock and Ashby (AUS), with Mourniac and Citeau (FRA) in third. Heemskerk and Rasley (NED) were fourth, then Besson and Arnaud (FRA) fifth.
Race 5:
Race 5 commenced in 18 knots of wind. There was a General Recall, then drama on the line with Mischa Heemskerk and Cristopher Rasley losing their mast.
The fleet was finally away for the fourth race of the day. Three quarters of the fleet went left, in 18-22 knots.
At the top mark for the first time, Mark Laruffa with crew Ricky Heasman (AUS) was leading, with Greg and Brett Goodall (AUS) second, ahead of Mitch Booth and Pim Nieuwenhis. (NED). The pack was close with the red and white Nissan hull of the series leaders Bundock and Ashby (AUS) behind a tight pack.
At the bottom mark the first time, the fleet was already stringing out. Bundock and Ashby were just ahead of Hugh Styles and Tom Peel (GBR) with Billy Besson (FRA) third ahead of Mitch Booth, followed by Steve Brewin and then Mark Laruffa. Echavarri was back in tenth place.
At the top mark for the second time, Bundock and Ashby were just ahead of Mitch Booth, with Hugh Styles now third ahead of Billy Besson. Next was Carolijn Brouwer ahead of Steve Brewin and then Mark Laruffa.
Bundock and Ashby took the race from Booth and Nieuwenhis, ten seconds back. Then came Brouwer and van Leeuwen in third, a further three seconds back. Then Brewin and Williams, Besson and Arnaud with Styles and Peel next. The Greenhalgh brothers finished in eighth, just ahead of the Spanish team of Echavarri and Paz Blanco. Laruffa and Heasman finished ninth and Mourniac and Citeau completed the top ten.
Quotes from today:
Darren Bundock, 'Two seconds and two wins today for us, so we are pleased with that.
'It was really close racing. We felt Mitch Booth had more pace on upwind and he was able to hold on. It was another extreme day with some big waves. '
Mitch Booth commented, 'We had some problems in the first race today. We broke a line and we could not pull any downhaul, then we had some traveller dramas.
'No problems in next three races, two wins and a second. We enjoy these conditions. We are heavier than Darren and Glenn, so we can drive through the seastate. If it lightens off they will have more of an advantage.'
Steven Brewin and Andrew Williams (AUS) have not finished worst than ninth overall. Brewin commented on the beach, 'We've been steady so far, it was good to finish with a fourth. Overall its hard to mix it with the top Tornado guys, they are positioning better and trimming better.
Spaniard Fernando Echavarri had a mixed day. 'It is very lumpy, we had a capsize and we lost a lot of places ... 17th in Race 4.'
Brent Vaughan, the Marketing Manager from Seawind Catamarans is back in midfleet, crewing with Steve Medwell. He summed up the conditions just as Australian's do....'This is the most exciting racing we've ever done. We've raced some pretty choppy stuff in Port Phillip, but nothing like this. Its just wild, we had waves where we were fully airborne, the more races you do in that stuff the more you get used to. Its pretty exciting sailing, but its bloody rough.'
Click here for full results so far