Sydney 32 OD result down to the wire

by Peter Campbell on 28 Nov 2004 The final race decided the winner of the Australian championship and Savills Short Ocean Racing Championship for Australia’s newest, and rapidly expanding one-design class, the Sydney 32.

However, one thing was almost certain after race three – defending champion Jester could not repeat that performance after losing the breeze and ending up to leeward of the finish boat.

Instead of placing fourth or better, she ended up 9th and in this no-drops regatta no boat can afford a bad result, as also happened to Raging Bull when she was declared OCS in the third race for the Super 30 class.

In the Sydney 32 One Design class, Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club member Martin Cross came from third in overnight standings, from a 2nd and a 3rd, to win the final two races and finish with 7 points, one clear of Stan Montgomery’s Mainstay on 8 points. Mainstay had won the first race, and followed this with consistent placings of 2-2-3.

Jester, another RPAYC boat, skippered by Dave Bull, looked right in the running to successful defend her national title with a 4-1 on day one, but the luckless 9th in race three put paid to those aspirations. She placed 2nd in the final race to finish third overall on 16 points.

Under JOG ratings, If! also won that class with 7 points, from Mainstay on 8 points, third place going to another Sydney 32, Stuart Muirfield’s Quickie from the CYCA.

The final race for the Super 30 class saw three boats finish with identical corrected times – Kato, Bruce Eddington’s Mumm 30 from Sandringham Yacht Club in Melbourne, Raging Bull, Mark Griffiths’ Young 9.4 from the RPAYC, and Farrout Edake, Jeff Carter’s Farr 9.4 also from the Alfreds.

With Raging Bull out of the running for overall top place after her OCS, the shared win gave first place to Kato with 6 points from a consistent 1-3-1-1 – well worth the long trek up the Hume Highway.

Farrout Edake took second place overall with 8 points – placings 2-2-3-1.

Middle Harbour Yacht Club’s 82-year-old ocean racer John Walker, skippered his 20-year-old Peterson 33, Impeccable, to a corrected time win in the final race for the PHS class, with the series going to Strewth (Ben Johnson) with 12 points from Debonair (Eric Franic) on 18 points and Cuckoos Nest (Nigel Holman) on 10 points.