Sail Sydney – Chesterman on top in Laser 4.7 fleet

by Peter Campbell on 17 Dec 2011 Sail Sydney is being held from 16th to 18th December. Today racing was sailed in light to moderate breezes on Botany Bay.

Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania sailor Sophie Chesterman scored two straight wins to take her to the top of the leaderboard in the Laser 4.7 class on the second day of competition.

Sophie Chesterman took over the lead from fellow RYCT sailor Jock Calvert who slipped back from first to fourth overall with a sixth and a 13th place in the 22 boat fleet.

Three Tasmanians are in the top ten with Anna Vaughan notching up a fifth and seventh place today to be seventh overall.

In the Laser Radials, Emma Barton is fourth overall after finishing second in race five and Amelia Catt is seventh.

Fifteen Tasmanians, most from the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania’s Dinghy Group are contesting Sail Sydney under the guidance of Yachting Tasmania’s State high performance coach Richard Scarr.

The Sabot one-up class got away to an early start in light winds and after completing nine races the five Tasmanian sailors are all in the top 16 of the 25 boat fleet, with three more races scheduled for Sunday.

Gabriel Morrison slipped back slightly after her impressive 8-1-7-13 score on day one, but is still seventh overall and third placed girl in the fleet. Today she placed 5-16-22-9-11.

Lachlan Hargreaves had the best place today, finishing second in heat nine after the first two boats to finish, overall leader Matthew Lang (NSW) and Jordam Makin, both NSW, were disqualified for being OCS (premature starters).

Two other Tasmanians placed in the top 11 in the same race, Morgan Davis finishing seventh and Angus Calvert ninth.

In addition to Gabriel Morrison’s seventh overall, Morgan Davis is 13th overall. Edmund Hargreaves 14th, Lachlan Hargreaves 15th and Angus Calvert 16th.

Hugh Jones is the sole Tasmanian in the Techno Bic sailboard class, sailing consistently with three third places and three fourth places so far in the regatta.