Daronmont Technologies 2013 South Australian Cherub Championship Day 1

by Michael Tozer on 1 Dec 2013 As the sea-breeze settled the first race of the Daronmont Technologies 2013 South Australian Cherub Championship was underway. Race one started in 10 knots as eight boats lined up for first blood. It was all on at the pin end which proved to be a crucial tactical decision for eventual leaders.

The fleet became separated by the top mark but competition remained tight at the front as Cunning Linguist lead Quick Spoon and Boobs R Us who followed in close succession.

A tight first reach saw the top three pull away from Harvey Wallbanger and Block Party as the back-pack of the fleet rounded.

Harvey Wallbanger closed the gap on the reaches putting themselves in a fighting position on the second upwind where they then challenged quick spoon. Cunning Linguist and Boobs R Us battled for the lead before Linguist pulled away at the mark to lead by one minute, followed by quick spoon, who would eventually get Linguist on starboard to pinch the lead and race 1 win.

Race 2 saw the pin end become a favourite among sailors again, the crowd forcing several boats to tack out to sea. The fleet was grouped together bringing tactical decisions to the forefront.

Quick Spoon led at the top mark putting 30 seconds between a tight trio of Block Party, Boobs R Us and Harvey Wallbanger who took advantage of a slower Boobs R Us to claim third at the bottom mark. Dark Horse recovered from first race issues to round the mark in fifth and finding the groove in his first sail in the boat. Beam Me Up found themselves in an isolated mid-fleet position as they did in the first race, putting almost an entire leg on the trailing boats.

Quick Spoon dominated the second upwind to lead the tight pack by five minutes, claiming a comfortable victory. Harvey Wallbanger sailed a conservative upwind leg to slip into second place at the top mark followed by Boobs r Us who overtook Block Party to re-claim third position.

Cunning Linguist took a chance by gibing off at the top mark in an attempt to overtake Dark Horse whose stern they had been on for the whole race. Nothing had changed until a wayward gibe saw Cunning Linguist finally pull ahead.

Harvey Wallbanger sailed well downwind to pull away from Block Party who took third over Boobs R Us in yet another lead change.

The final race of the day began as the breeze began to peak at around 15 knots. A great start by most competitors with a serious jostle happening at ‘the championship pin end’. Tacks were aplenty, with the exception of Boogie Nights who hit the corner hard, as sailors did what they could to find clean air and capitalise on their starting positions.

An uncharacteristic upwind capsize threatened Quick Spoons push for championship honours, letting through a small fleet who were more than happy to make the most of their opportunity.

Block Party held a solid position as they showed the fleet the way around the top mark. Harvey Wallbanger followed in second after a well-sailed upwind but were stopped in their tracks by a blown tack line when successfully chasing down the leader. Quick Spoon were determined to make up for their loss and climbed high to get over Boobs R Us and claim second and a chance to re-claim the lead. Cunning Linguist, with their ideal weight combination, were able to close the gap between the leading pack and pull away from their rival for the day in Dark Horse.

Block Party held onto a comfortable lead at the end of the final beat of the day as Quick Spoon desperately hunted them down, but to no avail. Cunning Linguist held their lead over Boobs R Us and sailed to a well deserved third.

'Everything seemed to work out alright,' said Jack Ramsey (Block Party).

The story wasn’t the same for a disappointed Tom Crease (Harvey Wallbanger), though.

'That should have been a first, we were going to roll him,' said Tom when discussing his tack line breakage.

'Just when we finally got enough wind to really get up and going, our tack line breaks. We should have gotten a first.'
The damage was inflicted by a sharp shackle pin which effectively sliced the tack line in two.

Day one victor Ashleigh Emery (Quick Spoon) was content with her performance despite a minor hiccup.
'We had a swim in that last race but we seemed to pop out okay,' she said.

'We probably could have come first but Jack was hard to catch. He was very quick; we couldn’t keep up with him downwind.'

Racing continues tomorrow with three back-to-back races remaining.

Day 1 Provisional Results:

Pos Sail.no Boat Skipper Race 1 Race 2 Race 3 Score

1 3149 Quick Spoon A. Emery 1 1 2 4
2 3109 Block Party J. Ramsey 3 3 1 7
3 3148 Cunning Linguist G. Emery 2 5 3 10
4 3141 Boobs R Us S. How 4 4 4 12
5 3122 Harvey Wallbanger T. Crease 5 2 DNF 17
6 2999 Beam Me Up D. Robinson 6 7 5 18
7 3115 Dark Horse M. Morley DNF 5 6 21
8 3072 Boogie Nights L. Trenorden 7 8 7 22
9 3056 No Clew L. Potter DNF 9 DNF 29