David Clark, Andrew Smith and Mike Hughes sailing Fifteen from the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia took the bullet in Race 1 of the Audi Etchells Queensland Championship on Moreton Bay giving them a positive leap into the lead up regatta for the Australian Championship in January.
35 Etchells took to the start line for day one of the Queensland Championship with all crews dealing with light oscillating breeze and strong tide.
'The conditions were tough! I have never sailed on Moreton Bay before but it would seem the rumors are true. It’s a hard place to sail, challenging, tough, and you have to think! We had to change modes all the time to keep up with the velocity changes in the breeze, and managed to pull off a win which we are really happy about,' said David Clark. 'This puts us in a positive frame of mind for the rest of the regatta now'.
Originally from New Zealand, Clark raced with the Kiwi team in the 1987 Americas Cup and then with the Australians in 1992 after gaining dual citizenship. Bowman Mike Hughes, and Clark campaigned for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games in the Soling and although missing out on a team position, have continued racing together in Etchells. Middle man Andrew Smith and Clark have been racing Etchells together 'for years'. 'We make a great team, we have an awesome time racing together whether we win or lose,' said Clark.
Race 2 saw the breeze decrease in strength considerably making conditions tough for the fleet. The high humidity caused havoc amongst the crews with most requiring more water to get them through the hot and sticky conditions.
Brisbane Fleet members, Racer XY, sailed by Jason Muir, Matt Chew, Paul Wyatt and Adrian Finglas used their local knowledge to cross the line in first position for the second race.
'It was really shifty out there and if you weren’t at the port end of the line at the start you were basically out the back door due to the massive shift at the start,' said Muir.
Overall the conditions were challenging and talk amongst the crews is mainly about tide and what may happen with the conditions over the next few days. Locals remind the visiting sailors that anything can happen and probably will!
Racing continues tomorrow with Races 3 and 4 from midday.
Regatta Website – www.ethcellsregattas0708.com
Friday 7 December Results
RACE 1
|
1 |
AUS 876 |
Fifteen |
David Clark
Andrew Smith
Mike Hughes |
|
2 |
AUS 875 |
Men at Work |
Bucky Smith
Godfrey Smith
Mitch Smith
Ryan Ashworth |
|
3 |
AUS 915 |
Koolong X |
Peter McNeill
Greg Torpy
Dean Blatchford |
RACE 2
|
1 |
AUS 874 |
Racer XY |
Jason Muir
Matt Chew
Paul Wyatt
Adrian Finglas |
|
2 |
NZL 950 |
Velsheda |
Alistair Gair
Dale Ridley
Carl Peters
Derek Scott |
|
3 |
AUS 1347 |
Funky Cold Medina |
VaughanPrentice
Darren Hutchison
Will Thompson
Chris Anderson |
Full results – www.etchellsregattas0708.com/results
Regatta Website – www.ethcellsregattas0708.com
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Audi Etchells Queensland Championship 2007. Photo:Tom Johns - © . |
by Suellen Hurling
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11:59 AM Fri 7 Dec 2007 GMT
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