Sail-World.com : Etchells off to a strong start on Tuesday Night Series
Etchells off to a strong start on Tuesday Night Series
|
|
|
'Close racing in the Etchells World Championship Sydney Australia 2012.'
© Ingrid Abery
|
A tremendous start to the Auckland Etchells Tuesday Night Season in fickle conditions felt like high-stakes poker, with displays of calculated ambition, misjudged caution and all-in kahunas at each shuffle of the deck.
The results (scrawled, fittingly, on a bar napkin) eloquently describe how the chips changed hands often over the three races (although familiar high-rollers ultimately remained in the money).
Race one started in a modest, but building breeze which spread the fleet of ten starters across a broad front. After a close start, the first mark was surprisingly processional (with your correspondent thrillingly, but fleetingly sneaking around in third), but the deck was radically reshuffled on the first downwind leg as a dying, shifting breeze compressed the fleet.
After a ding-dong at the leeward mark, the second work was effectively a do-over which saw the fleet re-consolidate through the middle of the course in the flooding tide. However, the Stolen Rum kite on Feng Shui popped while most were some distance from the lay-line, followed by 914 and 1379.
Race two was a different can of worms, with boats crowding the boat on a rather short line. Two boats were inevitably pushed over early, while the fleet persisted on starboard with the left looking good (at least from the right from where your correspondent had a depressingly clear view). The spring tide and clocking wind spread and compressed the fleet around two laps, in which Upfront ultimately triumphed.
Race three was a punchy (but inspired) call in the dying breeze and fading light and your correspondent was regretting his night-vision goggles on the final low speed circuit. At the top mark 1240's skipper was relying on 'the Force' to pick his way through the tail of the fleet in the gloaming and encountered 1114 in a version of 'rounding by braille'. Evidently, the near total darkness prevented a definitive ruling on whether 1240 had completed its tack prior to a load-speed collision....
Upfront was on a roll, however and, eyes on the ‘first to the bar’ prize, held out a surging Echelon to win the final hand.
Many thanks to Warwick Gair and his volunteers aboard the committee boat.
Racing an Etchells in Auckland could not be any easier. Leave work and get to Westhaven Marina around 5 o'clock, your boat's already in the water. Only about 5 minutes' sail from the dock and you're in the racing area - just off the Viaduct Basin between Prince's Wharf and Wynyard Quarter.
A lively, competitive fleet enjoys 3 or 4 closely-fought races, before returning to dock to de-brief and tell lies over a couple of drinks at Swashbucklers Bar and Grill. You can leave the boat in the water - she'll be hauled out for you in the morning.
To find out how to join the fleet, or register as a crew click here
Summer Series 2011-2012Results are final as of 7:37 on November 1, 2012OverallSailed: 3, Discards: 0, To count: 3, Entries: 10, Scoring system: Appendix A | Rank | Boat | SailNo | HelmName | R1 | R2 | R3 | Total | Nett |
|---|
| 1st | Upfront | 814 | Scott Kennedy | 5.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 7.0 | 7.0 | | 2nd | Feng Shui | 1348 | Andrew Wills | 1.0 | 3.0 | 4.0 | 8.0 | 8.0 | | 3rd | Echelon | 1379 | Al Gwyer | 3.0 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | | 4th | Valsheda II | 950 | Alastair Gair | 6.0 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 13.0 | 13.0 | | 5th | Footloose | 914 | Phil Pryde | 2.0 | 8.0 | 7.0 | 17.0 | 17.0 | | 6th | Waiwera | 1240 | Alex Webster | 4.0 | 7.0 | 10.0 | 21.0 | 21.0 | | 7th | Foundation | 1236 | Allan Kearney | 9.0 | 5.0 | 8.0 | 22.0 | 22.0 | | 8th | Windward | 1114 | Charles Maud | 8.0 | 6.0 | 9.0 | 23.0 | 23.0 | | 9th | Quantum | 1314 | Lindsay Kennedy | 7.0 | 11.0 OCS | 6.0 | 24.0 | 24.0 | | 10th | Affinity | 17 | Craig Greenwood | 11.0 DSQ | 11.0 OCS | 3.0 | 25.0 | 25.0
|
by Alex Webster
Click on the FB Like link to post this story to your FB wall
http://www.sail-world.com/index.cfm?nid=103485
10:42 AM Sun 4 Nov 2012GMT
Click here for printer friendly version
Click here to send us feedback or comments about this story.
|
|
|
|
Our Advertisers are committed to our sport, please support them!
This site and its contents are © Copyright TetraMedia Pty. Ltd and/or the original author, photographer etc. All Rights Reserved.
Photographs are copyright by law. If you wish to use or buy a photograph you must contact the photographer directly (there is a hyperlink in most cases to their website, or do a Google search.) with your request.
Please do not contact
Sail-World.com
as we cannot give permission for use of other photographer’s images.
Only if the photographer named on the image is Sail-world.com, Powerboat-world.com, Marinebusiness-world.com or NZBoating-World.com.
Contact us
.
Ph: +61 2 8006 1873
or complete our
feedback form
Contact us
.
View our Privacy Policy.
[ Go Home]
[ Banner Advertising Specification]
[Bot Archive ]
Customised news feeds -Marine Industry companies, Clubs and Associations have their own customised version of our news feed on their website.
Look_here_to_see_examples
|
CLD
| | |
