Vallings tops first day of SsangYong 18ft Trials

by Brad Marsh on 10 Dec 2005 The first day of the SsangYong Auckland Champs has concluded with two races completed in variable breeze dying as the day wore on. The long courses gave a good chance for each crew to make gains and also make costly mistakes.

Alex Vallings proved he had superior boat speed with his new carbon fibre racks. The weight gains helped to keep him moving through the light spots and greatly assisted him to accelerate in the puffs that placed themselves around the harbour. Alex took both races convincingly, leaving behind a tough fought battle for second and third place.

In second equal place stand Chris Hirst and Graeme Catley. Hirst had an excellent second race to take second place and finished the day with a second and a third. This is a fantastic result himself and his crew of Greg Collier and Simon Everest who have switched from the Magic 25 class to the 18 footers and have put in a huge amount of training since their boat arrived from Sydney a few months ago.

The race committee are hoping to sail another three races tomorrow. The first race is at 11am. The boats then return for a lunch break before returning to the water in the afternoon to complete the final two races.

The association would like to thank SsangYong for their support of the class and would also like to thank the volunteers on the race committee who with the help of the Auckland Sailing Club resources have helped to make this event possible.