Flying 15 Australian Championship day 2

by Susan Thompson on 2 Jan 2013 Conditions for day two of racing at Davey’s Bay for the Flying 15 Australian Championships were 5-8 knots from the SW, but the swell that had built up from the overnight winds made for a difficult day’s racing. A change of sailing instructions brought the first race forward to midday, which made life interesting for those who celebrated the start of the New Year late into the night.

Third time lucky for the start of Race 3, after two general recalls the fleet headed into a black flag start. Ashley Smith and Adam Kingston were first to the top mark and definitely the ones to catch, followed by Sue Thompson and Cam Taylor in the shifty conditions which saw numerous position changes. A mix up at the leeward gate after the final reach saw two boats round the wrong mark and head upwind towards the finish line. Peter Milne suffered the most after realising his mistake, going from a strong fourth he re-hoisted his kite and rounded the correct mark, finishing 22nd in race 3.

But in the light and sloppy conditions Jim Callahan and Andrew Peck (nephew of Nigel Peck, recipient of the Uffa Fox Medal) made up ground when it counted and scored their first race win ahead of Smith and Kingston, followed by David Tabb from the UK sailing with Davey’s Bay Commodore Scott Lidgett with the ever consistent Rainey brothers finishing fourth.

Race 4 saw dual Olympian Jeni Danks, sailing with husband Peter, leading the fleet at every mark. Jeni remarked 'It’s so much easier up in front!' back on shore, but her lead was taken in the duel to the finish by Victorian State Champions Adam Hawkins and Ben Jones sailing ‘Idswapthisforabundy’. The top ten was made up of the usual suspects plus some newcomers; British team Ian Cleaver and Steve Jobson, David Williamson and Craig Morton and Chris Hall sailing with highly sought after crew, sixteen year old John Radnell.

After four races we have four different winners, overall the positions are

1. Smith/Kingston 10pts
2. Rainey/Rainey 13pts
3. Thompson/Taylor 20pts
4. Hawkins/Jones 20pts
5. Owen/Reed 24pts
6. Danks/Danks 37pts

Full results are at Daveys Bay