JJ Giltinan 18ft Skiff Trophy - Team Daly rear-ended by camera boat
by Frank Quealey edited by Sail-World on 18 Feb 2013
Collision in Race 2 - JJ Giltinan Championship 2013 Thomas Quigley
There was a collision in the JJ Giltinan 18ft Skiff Trophy at the climax of Race 2. Thomas Quigley, son of 1996 Giltinan Championship-winning skipper and Class Measurer Stephen Quigley, was on hand to catch the action as it unfolded on Sydney Harbour on Sunday.
The budding young photographer was on the Australian 18 Footers League spectator ferry with his dad when leader Team Daly's race came to an unfortunate end.
Skipper Nick Daly and his crew of John Walton and ‘Pistol’ Pete Nicholson were more than half-a-minute ahead of their nearest competitor on the second spinnaker run when the incident occurred.
Daly said afterwards: 'We were being followed by a camera boat when we hit a wave and slowed dramatically',
'The camera boat hit the back of our boat causing damage in the form of a hole in the transom'.
Obviously, the team were forced to retire and the incident has become a subject of redress hearing to be held later this week.
Later TV footage of the incident, taken from the same camera boat shows the incident occurred as the race leader was being followed by the camera boat.
With just two on the wire and a third crewman inboard, Team Daly suddenly nosedived. The camera boat took immediate corrective action, but unfortunately both motors stalled at a critical moment, and a collision became unavoidable. http://www.jj18footerstv.com/!Click_here to see full coverage of the race and all incidents.
Repairs will now have to be done in time for Tuesday's race three of a closely-fought championship.
Crowds at yesterday’s race were more like those seen for the last race of Giltinan Championship regattas.
Even the Australian 18 Footers League were surprised with the unexpected crowds on their race ferry.
