Sail-World.com : Woods takes out Lake Macquarie Etchells Regatta
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Woods takes out Lake Macquarie Etchells Regatta |
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'Tom Woods receives fluid resuscitation from Lake Macquarie Yacht Club Manager Ken McLeod - Lake Macquarie Etchells Spring Regatta'
Anna Wrack
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Local trio of Tom Woods, Keith Jensen and Dean Blatchford in ‘Echo Beach’ took out the annual Etchells Spring Regatta on Lake Macquarie over the October Holiday weekend with consistent racing and two bullets in testing and very variable conditions.
Second place went to last year’s winner, Dave Clark and his team of Andrew Smith and Shaun Leonard, and third went to another local trio of skipper Kane Sinclair and crew of David Gleadhill and Mark Phillips.
A quality field of 21 entries included 11 visiting teams, the visitors outnumbering the local entries for the first time ‘in living memory’ - an indication of the increasing popularity of this early-season event in the busy Etchells calendar. Flat-water racing on beautiful Lake Macquarie and a well-run but relaxed event undoubtedly added to the appeal!
Among the favourites were local hero Peter McNeill, former Etchells World Champion (Mooloolaba 2004) and winner of multiple state titles in the class; Rob Brown, 18 foot skiffs legend and former Etchells National (2006) and Winter National (2005) Champion; Julian Plante, former Winter National Champion (2000) and fourth-place finisher in Mooloolaba (edging out Dennis Conner) the year McNeill captured the World title; and Dave Clark, regular front runner at major Etchells regattas and holder of the Lake Macquarie title. Other local talent included a number of former winners at state, national or world level in a range of dinghy classes, from Cherubs to 49ers to 505s, including John Boyd, Kane Sinclair and eventual winner Tom Woods, all of whom have recently joined the competitive Etchells class. Woods and Blatchford raced together for many years in 505s (although in reverse roles) winning the Worlds in 1984 in Germany and three straight National titles between 1986 and 1988, so they are not unfamiliar with the top step of the podium.
The racing was, as ever in Etchells regattas, close throughout the fleet, and after six races with one drop, two points separated the first three places. Tom Woods was the only skipper to win two races, with the other victories going to Rob Brown, John Sheehan, John Boyd and Peter McNeill. Tight racing and consistency were as usual the order of the day in this high quality Etchells fleet, and the boats that ended the regatta placed second to fourth didn’t get a win a race but amassed a succession of podium finishes.
The regatta began in excellent conditions, a sou-wester of 10 to 12 knots, although a shift to the right just before the start caused the race to be a bit of a procession, as Race Officer Russell Cummings was obliged to continue the race to accommodate other fleets. The race was won by Rob Brown, with Dave Clark second and Kane Sinclair third.
The second race began in lighter airs of 6 to 8 knots, but this fell away to almost zero after the first beat, and the fleet struggled to the end of a shortened course in heavy rain. Tom Woods kept his nerve in the fickle conditions and won the race, followed by Dave Clark and local team of Todd Wyborn, Brendan Quinlan and Dean Wyborn.
The wind freshened again for the third race, which was sailed in a southerly at 8 to 10 knots. John Sheehan, sailing out of Pittwater, started from the pin end and crossed the fleet to lead at the first weather mark, and then sailed a well-balanced race to maintain separation from the fleet and cross the line with a winning margin of almost 30 seconds. Two seconds separated the next three boats at the finish, with Jan Muysken from Sydney in ‘Etch’ taking second, Kane Sinclair in Why Be Flat taking third and Tom Woods fourth.
At the end of the day’s racing cold wet crews were heard to mutter 'Four seasons in one day'. Sun hats had been needed before the start to protect skin, and hot showers were needed after the finish to restore circulation.
At the end of the first day, last year’s winner Dave Clark, on 15 points with 2,2,6, had a five-point advantage, with the next four boats separated by four points (Woods 15 (10,1,4); Sheehan 15 (7,7,1); Sinclair 16 (3,10,3); Plante 16 (4,4,8); Brown 18 (1,6,11); McNeill 19 (6,8,5).
The second day’s racing started with a steady breeze of 8 to 10 knots from the south, but there were rumours that it would move to the left.
The day began, like the first, with a black flag, but most of the fleet got away cleanly at the second time of asking. A steady race by Tom Woods, in which he picked the right shifts on each beat, saw him take his second win of the series, followed by Jervis Tilly from Sydney and Kane Sinclair, who took his third place for the third time in four races.
The wind pressure fell again at the start of the second race of the day, but the Wyborn twins and Brendan Quinlan, after taking a far left course, were looking at a commanding lead at the first weather mark, when a mark infringement and a 720 turn sent them back into the pack. Another local boat, skippered by John Boyd, went on to win the race, followed by Julian Plante and Dave Clark.
At the start of the last race, with the wind again light, any one of six boats could still win the regatta. Locals McNeill, Sinclair and Woods, perhaps expecting the shift to the left (which finally came), went far left on the first beat, and reached the first mark close together at the front of the fleet. McNeill, in a local fleet loaner boat and sailing for the first time with crews Michael Bellingham of Sydney and local Richard Grimes, started to show his class and went alone to the right side of the first downwind leg, building up a comfortable lead which he steadily extended. Kane Sinclair sailed to a strong second place, followed by John Rose, previously of Alice Springs but now based in NSW. Tom Woods secured fourth place and the regatta.
Tom Woods was delighted to pick up his first regatta in the Etchells class, and put his result down to teamwork and preparation: 'Keith, Dean and I have been racing together in the Etchells for a couple of years and we’re starting to get some pretty consistent results. I’ve recently been to the Worlds in Chicago with Peter McNeill and David Gleadhill, both from this club, and we put in some pretty intensive training for that event. The training program and competing in the Worlds have both helped improve my skills at sailing an Etchells, and I’m hopefully passing this on to my team.' And about the regatta: 'It was really good to see such a strong fleet and so many high-quality visitors from Sydney coming to this regatta. It made the racing really tight and made the win all the better!'
After the event Peter McNeill said: 'It was a good weekend’s racing; we won the last race, and it was pleasing to see the Doyle sails go so well'. McNeill has recently joined the Doyle team, and makes his own-design sails in his loft near Lake Macquarie; four of the top six boats in this regatta (including first and third) were using Peter’s Doyle Sails.
This early season regatta provided exciting racing for locals and visitors alike, in very variable conditions, and provided a taster for the close racing to be anticipated at the forthcoming events in the Etchells calendar: in late November - the Queensland, NSW and SA Titles in Southport, Gosford and Adelaide respectively; in January 2009 - the National titles in Adelaide; and, of course, in early March 2009 - the World Championships in Melbourne - where some of the best one-design racers in the planet will congregate.
Be there…
Full results:
Place Sail No Skipper Sers Race 6 Race 5 Race 4 Race 3 Race 2 Race 1
1 1192 T Woods 19 4 9 1 4 1 [10]
2 876 D Clark 20 7 3 [9] 6 2 2
3 1084 K Sinclair 21 2 [20] 3 3 10 3
4 1254 J Plante 23 [22] 2 5 8 4 4
5 1052 J Sheehan 26 5 6 [19] 1 7 7
6 1346 P McNeill 27 1 [13] 7 5 8 6
7 1164 J Boyd 31 9 1 8 [21] 5 8
8 1021 J Tilly 34 8 8 2 [14] 11 5
9 750 T Wyborn 34 10 10 4 7 3 [12]
10 892 J Rose 50 3 14 15 [15] 9 9
11 1326 R Brown 51 22 [22] 11 11 6 1
12 994 P Minter 53 11 12 6 12 12 [13]
13 1049 D Williams 54 13 7 [16] 9 14 11
14 1360 J Muysken 58 14 [19] 10 2 15 17
15 831 J Chant 59 15 4 12 [17] 13 15
16 768 H Visser 76 12 11 [21] 13 20 20
17 1146 I Knight 77 6 16 20 [20] 17 18
18 1253 M Doyle 77 17 15 13 16 [19] 16
19 867 S Chapman79 [22] 5 14 18 21 21
20 1013 W Bagnall 80 16 17 17 [19] 16 14
21 1336 R Griffits 83 [22] 18 18 10 18 19
by Anna Wrack
9:44 AM Thu 9 Oct 2008 GMT
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