Surprise grabs Division 3 win, claims Round 1 Audi IRC Championship
by Di Pearson / Skandia media on 26 Jan 2009
Surprise - Skandia Geelong Week 2009 Teri Dodds /Skandia
http://www.geelongweek.com.au
A thrilled David Ellis and crew (Surprise) got the surprise of their lives to discover not had they only won Division 3 of the Audi Series; they had been announced winners of the first round of the 2009 Audi IRC Australian Championship, now in its third year.
Ellis left the regatta immediately after the final Race 6 and headed home to the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria where he is the Club Captain, so while he knew they had taken out Division 3, Ellis thought the winner of the Championship would come from Division 1.
'That’s great – how good is that,' he said when told. 'It’s a team effort and I have to mention my crew Troy Croft, Alex Gilbert, Paul Larcher and Jane Richards. They did a superb job, they always do.
Ellis also said a big thank you to Robert Hampshire from host, Royal Geelong Yacht Club and Principal Race Officer Denis Thompson. 'They were great – very helpful and pleasant.'
An interesting character with an even more interesting background, Ellis is a former ship’s captain who has worked with the Port Melbourne Sea Pilots for the past six years which has given him more time for sailing.
'We’re not ocean racers or world beaters, but we have a classic boat (A Borresen BB10) that’s well sailed and I can commit to sailing more often these days.'
In an all-Victorian assault, the Surprise crew came up with an impressive five wins from six races for standout victory over second and third placed Arabelle (Grant Hailes) and Peter Jackson’s Stitched Up, both of which finished 12 points behind the winner.
Series Results [IRC] up to Race 6 (Drops = 1)
Place |
Ties |
Sail No |
Boat Name |
Skipper |
From |
Design |
Sers Score |
Race 6 |
Race 5 |
Race 4 |
Race 3 |
Race 2 |
Race 1 |
1 |
|
R25 |
SURPRISE |
David Ellis |
RYCV |
Borresen BB10 |
5.00 |
1.00 |
1.00 |
1.00 |
[3.00] |
1.00 |
1.00 |
2 |
2.0S |
M3170 |
ARABELLE |
Grant Hailes |
MYC |
Beneteau first 31.7 |
17.00 |
6.00 |
2.00 |
4.00 |
[9.00] |
2.00 |
3.00 |
3 |
|
SM1347 |
STITCHED UP |
Peter Jackson |
SYC |
Beneteau 347 |
17.00 |
5.00 |
3.00 |
2.00 |
4.00 |
3.00 |
[5.00] |
4 |
|
SM49 |
DR UNC |
John Lindholm |
SYC |
Masrm 920 |
19.00 |
3.00 |
5.00 |
[7.00] |
5.00 |
4.00 |
2.00 |
5 |
2.0S |
B25 |
FLYING FOX |
Paul Woodman |
RBYC |
UFFA FOX |
30.00 |
2.00 |
10.00 |
9.00 |
[14.00] |
5.00 |
4.00 |
6 |
|
SM88 |
UPBEAT |
Peter Dunne |
SYC |
Beneteau first 36.7 |
30.00 |
[13.00] |
6.00 |
3.00 |
6.00 |
7.00 |
8.00 |
7 |
|
B6505 |
RECKLESS |
Rory Thomas |
RBYC |
Bavaria 35 Match |
33.00 |
4.00 |
8.00 |
5.00 |
7.00 |
9.00 |
[11.00] |
8 |
|
S62 |
REMEDY |
B Burggraaf R Hibber |
RMYS |
Archambault 32 |
38.00 |
8.00 |
4.00 |
10.00 |
1.00 |
15.00 |
[15.00] |
9 |
|
S47 |
MRS OVERNEWTON |
Leslie Norton |
RMYS |
Bavaria Match 38 |
39.00 |
11.00 |
9.00 |
6.00 |
2.00 |
11.00 |
[13.00] |
10 |
|
B353 |
MAGAZAN 53 |
Nicholas McGuigan |
RBYC |
Farr 1104 |
40.00 |
9.00 |
7.00 |
[12.00] |
8.00 |
6.00 |
10.00 |
11 |
|
B2580 |
DONT PANIC |
Jamie Cooper |
PDYC |
Beneteau Fc 12 |
45.00 |
7.00 |
11.00 |
8.00 |
11.00 |
8.00 |
[12.00] |
12 |
|
SM5050 |
TONIC |
Steve Moore |
SYC |
Beneteau First 317 |
53.00 |
[16.00C] |
14.00 |
11.00 |
12.00 |
10.00 |
6.00 |
13 |
|
B131 |
CLEMENTINE III |
Michael Dalton |
RBYC |
SS 39 |
55.00 |
12.00 |
12.00 |
14.00 |
10.00 |
[14.00] |
7.00 |
14 |
|
B347 |
ROGUE TRADER |
Greg Rayner |
RBYC |
Beneteau First 34.7 |
59.00 |
10.00 |
15.00 |
13.00 |
[15.00] |
12.00 |
9.00 |
15 |
|
SM99 |
PRIMO |
Steve Copley |
SYC |
Benetau |
69.00 |
16.00C |
13.00 |
[16.00S] |
13.00 |
13.00 |
14.00 |
www.geelongweek.com
If you want to link to this article then please use this URL: www.sail-world.com/53236