Dalys Insurance wins 50th Lipton Challenge

by Natalie Webster on 12 Jul 2003 Dalys Insurance, co-skippered by Mark Sadler and Rick Nankin won the 2003 Lipton Challenge Cup for the Theewater Sports Club following an outstanding week of racing.

Dalys crossed the finish line third in the final race of the regatta to secure a comfortable eight point win over the second placed yacht, Orion Challenger, sailing for the Royal Natal Yacht Club.

Despite Orion Challenger beating Greenlight on the water a subsequent redress application by skipper Dave Hudson gave Greenlight second place points for the race and therefore second overall.

This after a collision with Dynamic ID Systems at the weather mark cost Greenlight second place on the water.

The drama didn’t stop there for Greenlight either. She was over the line early at the start and had to return and restart before going on to sail a good first leg as one of the first four to reach the weather mark the first time.

Second time at the weather mark was not as good as Greenlight, lying in second place and sailing in a close bunch of four yachts, was hit by Dynamic ID Systems. It was a big collision that forced Greenlight into a crash tack. This is a dangerous situation as it often results in the crew being pinned on the new leeward side of the yacht.

Luckily they all managed to scramble safely to the weather side but Greenlight lost precious places in the incident and the yacht sustained some damage, fortunately above the waterline.

Shortly after the collision, while the crew were still trying to restore order onboard, a rushed gybe saw Ashton Sampson struck on the head by the boom. He was later rushed off to hospital for stitches while skipper Dave Hudson went off to the protest room with a request for redress.

After a drama filled race Greenlight got back to fourth place at the finish.

Defending champion Ian Ainslie, sailing MSC Donna Mia for the Zeekoe Vlei Yacht Club, finally found form to win the day’s race. Dynamic ID Systems, the Hottentots Holland Beach Club entry skippered by Paul Lagesse, led at the first mark of the course but a poor spinnaker hoist cost her the lead. The MSC Donna Mia crew showed superior boat handling skills, hoisting her spinnaker in a flash and blasting past Dynamic ID Systems.

From then on MSC Donna Mia was relatively untroubled, staying clear of the carnage at the second weather mark rounding to finish a comfortable distance ahead of Orion Challenger at the finish.

The rest of the fleet managed an incident free race in the freshest conditions of the regatta. The race was sailed in a westerly wind that strengthened to around 20 knots.

Knowing that they just needed to finish out of trouble Dalys Insurance sailed a quiet race crossing the finish line in third place. They nearly got wrapped up in the carnage at the second weather mark when Dynamic ID Systems narrowly avoided colliding with them shortly after hitting Greenlight. For the rest of the race they sailed close behind Orion Challenger and celebrated overall victory when they crossed the finish line.

It was a well-deserved win for this very talented team. They sailed consistently well throughout the regatta showing steely determination to win this prized trophy.

The top three in the fifth and final race of the series were as follows:

1st MSC Donna Mia, Ian Ainslie., Zeekoe Vlei Yacht Club

2nd Orion Challenger, George Amoils/Martin Lamprecht , Royal Natal Yacht Club

2nd Greenlight, Dave Hudson, Royal Cape Yacht Club

3rd Dalys Insurance, Mark Sadler/Rick Nankin, Theewater Sports Club


The top three overall after five races were as follows:

1st Dalys Insurance Theewater Sports Club 8 Points

2nd Greenlight Royal Cape Yacht Club 15

3rd Orion Challenger Royal Natal Yacht Club 16