Ryves ends Rogers run in Dragon class Prince Philip Cup

by Peter Campbell on 16 Jan 2004 Sydney yachtsman Carl Ryves today showed defending Australian champion Nick Rogers from Hobart that he cannot expect a walkover in the Prince Philip Cup International Dragon class Australasian championship being sailed on Sydney Harbour.

Ryves, at the helm of Sidewinder, inflicted the first defeat on Rogers, sailing Leander, in heat four of the seven race series.

However, the Tasmanian, with three firsts and a second still holds a handy overall points lead in his bid to achieve a record eight Prince Philip Cup wins.

Sydney today provided a magnificent sailing breeze from the nor’ nor’easter at 15 knots, with veteran Gordon Ingate in Whim leading early from Ryves in Sidewinder.

Rogers came out the worse from the start and had to tack away from the dirty air, taking 12 sterns before he could clear his air, tack back onto starboard and resume the favoured left hand side of the course towards Bradley’s Head.

Passenger ferries chose to come to a complete halt as 20 odd Dragons converged at Bradley’s Head, around which most harbour ferries travel.

Ingate, with Geoff Morris and World Yngling Champion Neville Wittey aboard, reached the windward mark first, in close company with other locals, Matt Whitnall in Abracadabra, Norm Longworth in Karabos VIII, and seven others.

Ryves, sailing with Simon Hadlow and Dick Sargent, sailed brilliantly to take the lead at the windward mark for the second time.

Whim suffered the worst nightmare for sailors, a very tight line of boats on the starboard layline and no place for a port tacker to enter. They finished eighth.

However, results are provisional because of possible protests to be heard tonight. Racing resumes tomorrow with Heat 5 scheduled to start at 1300hrs.

Provisional results, Prince Philip Cup, Heat 4:


1st Sidewinder (Carl Ryves, NSW)

2nd Leander (Nick Rogers, Tas)

3rd Imagination (Ian MacDiarmid, NSW)
4th Karabos VIII (Norman Longworth, NSW)

5th Toogara (Richard Franklin, NSW)

6th Abracadabra (Matt Whitnall, NSW)