18ft Skiffs JJ Giltinan Championship - Gotta Love It 7 again

by Frank Quealey on 23 Feb 2012 Gotta Love It 7's domination of the 18ft Skiffs JJ Giltinan Championship continued today. Seve Jarvin, Sam Newton and Scott Babbage brought the red hulled flyer home an easy winner of race 5 on Sydney Harbour.

The champion team trailed appliancesonline.com.au (Micah Lane, Paul Montague and Tom Anderson) by five seconds at the first windward mark, but a quick gybe soon after spinnakers were set for the run to the wing mark off Shark Island saw Gotta Love It 7 take the lead and from that point were never headed.

7 gave no other team a chance from that moment and finally crossed the finish line three minutes and 16 seconds ahead of appliancesonline.com.au.

New Zealand’s C-Tech (Alex Vallings, Nick Catley, Joshua McCormack) was a further 20 seconds back in third place, ahead of Rag and Famish Hotel (Jack Macartney), Smeg (Nick Press) and Mojo Wine (Archie Massey).

With each team’s worst performance to date discarded, the progress pointscore is Gotta Love It 7 on four points, Appliancesonline.com.au on 13, Mojo Wine 15, Thurlow Fisher Lawyers (Michael Coxon) 18, Smeg 18 and Rag and Famish Hotel on 19.

While 7’s win is likely, the race for second place should be the real highlight of the final two races on the weekend.

In a 12-15-knot North East breeze today, Thurlow Fisher Lawyers, Asko Appliances (Marcus Ashley-Jones), Gotta Love It 7 and Rag and Famish Hotel won the start at the pin end of the line.

Under strong pressure from the 7 team, appliancesonline held on to lead at the windward mark but once Gotta Love It 7 took the lead the margin continually increased throughout the race.

By the second windward mark, the margin was out to one minute and 24 seconds, then two minutes and 12 seconds after the following spinnaker run and finally three minutes and 16 seconds at the finish.

Thurlow Fisher Lawyers and Rag & Famish were third and fourth at the top mark the first time with each improving their position by one placing as appliancesonline dropped back to fourth after the first spinnaker run.

While Gotta Love It 7 was dominating the race, all interest centred on the battle behind.

Thurlow Fisher Lawyers and The Rag were re-joined by appliancesonline with C-Tech, Mojo Wine and Smeg also joining the battle.

With second placing seemingly sealed, Thurlow Fisher Lawyers hit a wave and the spinnaker dragged her into a capsize while saw the skiff drop back to finish eighth.

Appliancesonline took full advantage of the situation and finished second to also take second placing overall in the championship standings.

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