JJ Giltinan Trophy - Waka wall helps Yamaha to Hat-Trick in Race 1

by Richard Gladwell | Images: Michael Chittenden on 25 Feb 2017 A group of 20 wakas paddling across the course for the opening race of the JJ Giltinan Trophy helped New Zealand's Yamaha to win the first race of the seven race series.

Yamaha, skippered by Dave McDiarmid with Matt Steven and Brad Collins, in fact, scored their third successive win on Sydney harbour - having won the final two races of last year's JJ Giltinan.

'The wakas were massive,' said McDiarmid. 'We couldn't get to the bottom mark. They were in a solid line - about four deep - there was no gap.

'There was one gap that C-Tech and the other guys got through, but we had to gybe out - which I thought was the wrong thing to do but it turned out to be OK, so we got a bit of luck there.'

'We were forced to do something we didn't want to do and gained.'

There were more obstacles than usual on Sydney harbour for the first-weekend race.

The massive 300metre long cruise line, Queen Elizabeth was anchored at the western end of the course, having a big impact on the options for the 26 strong fleet. 'It was like a massive apartment block,' said MacDiarmid, 'It affected the start and the bottom mark. It halved the first beat because you couldn't go right because there was a ship in the way. I'm not sure why they put the start line there - but it was the same for everyone.

The heavy rain started around midnight in Sydney and continued through the day and into the first race. Wind conditions ranged from 8-20kts - ideal for Yamaha's #2 rig.

The race took three attempts to get away with two general recalls - something McDiarmid puts down to the presence of the cruise liner. 'We got the best start on the two recalled starts and then got rolled in the third and were very deep in the fleet at the first mark.'

Yamaha broke away from the rest of the fleet, electing to gybe at the mark instead of playing follow the leader. 'We gained ten boats as soon as we gybed,' he said.

That move set the tone for Yamaha's recovery, and at the end of Leg 2 she was up to ninth on the water, and the climbed back into the front group at the end of the second beat, or Leg 3.

'We passed the rest of the fleet except for Coopers Rag and Famish, who were miles ahead and it took us a while to catch them - then we passed and kept going.'

McDiarmid doesn't think Yamaha had a speed advantage. 'We just had a really good race and didn't put a foot wrong, apart form the start. We didn't miss too many shifts. Our boat handling was very good, when came into the bottom mark and hit the waka wall, we had to crash gybe out and then crash gybe back without any problem. The others had to battle their way through the boats, and we just got away.'

The only changes made to Yamaha since last years JJ's has been the addition of rig tensioners, which they didn't bring into play until after they had hit the front in today's race. They have two new jibs and have just spent more time in the boat having now sailed together for just 17 months. 'Our combinations just get better and better,' he added.

Series favorite Thurlow Fisher was not so slick at the end of the second leg, gybing during a drop and capsizing when in the lead group. 'It was surprising to see them go in. But we did the same in the JJ's last year, and it really cost us in the rest of the series.'(Yamaha was second in the 2016 JJ Giltinan Trophy, missing the win by just a single point.)

The wind was up and down - varying between 8-20kts, with some boats even being becalmed for a short period.

'The breeze was coming in very narrow bands right down the harbour - which was why we were doing so many gybes on the runs, and boat handling comes into that. Every time we gybed we made a gain on Coopers. Every gybe and tack we made we were coming out fast, and the other guys were slow - that is why we kept gaining the whole way around.'

'Our #2 rig does carry the power down the range very well - today was definitely our favoured conditions. It is a bit of a weapon in those conditions.'

'C-Tech went very well today, finishing fourth. Knight Frank was the fastest on the water but had some gear failure and sailed for every beat but one without her boom vang. The wind was a bit up and down for Maersk.'

The forecast is for lighter winds from the same direction for Race 2, and the expectation is that the crews will be using their #1 rigs.

[Sorry, this content could not be displayed]