ANZAC 18ft Skiffs - Thurlow Fisher shrinks Yamaha lead on Day 3
by Sail-World.com on 24 Apr 2016
Knight Frank (NZL), Harken (USA) Events Clothing (NZL) - Day 2 - ANZAC 18fters - April 2016 Richard Gladwell
www.photosport.co.nz
Day 3 of the Maersk Line 18' Skiff Auckland Championship started with rain, clouds and a touch of winter.
Fourteen 18ft skiffs from three countries are contesting the four-day event.
Racing got underway on time, and it was Yamaha (NZL) who took the gun for the sixth race. These guys are setting the tone for what they hope will be a regatta win. But as skipper David MicDiarmid said yesterday, 'it's not over yet.'
'We had a full range of setting changes today because the conditions went from 5-15 knots. '
Race 7 saw Knight Frank take the cake with their second gun of the regatta. The lads were pretty happy to be showing signs of awesomeness.
'The lads (John Little and Matt Coutts) were so good today! They called perfect tactics.' said skipper Riley Dean.
Race 8 was won by Thurlow Fisher Lawyers, bringing them just three points shy of first place overall, which is still held by Yamaha.
The final race of the day had a dramatic effect on the leaderboard when many of the boats sailed the wrong course, including series leader Yamaha NZ, and they scored maximum points for the race.
'Play of the day on the Thurlow Fisher went to Trent (Barnabas), who busted his ankle halfway through the second race.
'We thought we were done for the day, and then we went fishing with the spinnaker in the final race of the day, but noticed that most of the fleet was then heading off in the wrong direction, and we found ourselves in the lead!
'Trent's injury almost vanished after we got a shot of adrenaline with being in the lead!' continued skipper Michael Coxon.
In the handicap point score, Noakes Youth has overtaken the Harken guys are are now 7.5 points ahead.
The final day of racing is taking place on ANZAC Day. Two races are scheduled to finish the series.
Top three off scratch after eight races:
1 NZL Yamaha 13 pts
2 AUS Thurlow Fisher Lawyers 16 pts
3 AUS Peroni 34 pts
Top three handicap places after five races
1 AUS Noakes Youth 31 pts
2 USA Harken 38.5 pts
2 NZL C-Tech 39.5 pts
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