Estate Master team proves hot property -Top Jocks

by Peter Campbell on 26 Mar 2006 'We are over the moon…a fantastic result…second last year and today we are the winners…the Top Jocks!’ an elated Martin Hill said this afternoon after his Estate Master team won the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s Mt Gay Rum Top Jocks Regatta on Sydney Harbour.

Hill, the Australian champion owner/skipper with his Sydney 38 class yacht, Estate Master, was joined by two of his regular crew, Olympians Michael Blackburn and Malcolm Page – ‘the best crew in the world!’ – in an outstanding victory in what was billed as a ‘sailing with the stars’ regatta.

The Estate Master team finished the light wind regatta with a scorecard of 2-1-1-1-7-1 to end with 13 points under the low scoring system. Runners-up were the CYCA’s Youth Sailing Academy team of Evan Walker, Kyle Langford and Mark Langford with a 1-ocs-4-4-1-5 scorecard totalling 26 points.

A late entry, the Youth Sailing Academy team sailed an outstanding regatta and but for the OCS in race two would have been much closer in the overall pointscore. Evan Walker and Kyle Langford both won gold medals at the 2006 ISAF Youth Worlds.

Team Knuckle Heads, comprising one-time ocean racing tyro Warwick Rooklyn, Clinton Lehman and Bruce Savage, placed third overall. They scored 5-3-8-3-5-6 for 30 points, three points ahead of the defending champions, Mothy’s Men, comprising Steve Jarvin, his son Seve and Euan McNicol, who filled the gap when one team pulled out only yesterday morning.

Mothy’s Men finished with 33 points from a scoreboard of 8-ocs-2-2-3-7 to take fourth place on a countback, ahead of the strong Foreign Affair team of Matt Day, Michael Dunstan, Stuart Pollard and Sarah Roberts-Thompson.

Under the rules, no one crew member can helm in more than two races. ‘We all had a go at the helm, in the middle and even on the bow,’ Martin Hill explained. ‘I finished second in the first race and thought that was great; then Michael scored two firsts and we were away out in front,’ he added.

Estate Master got a big break in race two when the principal race officer called seven of the ten boats OCS (On Course Side) \for breaking the start. None returned to re-start, leaving Estate Master, Noakes Youth and Team Knuckle Heads to fill the only three placings in that race.

‘We came in just a little late at the committee boat end of the line and could see they were all over the line,’ recalled Michael Blackburn, who is aiming for his fourth Olympic Games in the single-handed Laser class in at Beijing in 2008.

Malcolm Page is also planning another Olympic campaign with Nathan Wilmot in the 470 class, the pair being former World champions.

‘They are fantastic guys to sail with, both on the Sydney 38 and in the Elliott 6s today,’ added Martin Hill. ‘It’s been a great summer season for us, winning the Sydney 38 OD Nationals and finishing a close runner-up in the InterNations Cup.

The winning crew highly praised the concept of the Mt Gay Rum Top Jocks Regatta. ‘It’s a chance to match your skills against some of the best sailors in the nation,’ said Hill. ‘How often do you get the chance to get inside Colin Beashel at the leeward mark?’

Blackburn added: ‘It’s a unique event where you can sail in such a wide cross section of sailors – America’s Cup and Olympic veterans, ocean racing skippers and crew and youngsters from the CYCA Youth Sailing Academy and Noakes Youth.’

The fleet for the 2006 Mt Gay Rum Top Jocks Regatta included two former America’s Cup sailors, one Olympic gold and two Olympic bronze medallists, several current and past World and National Champions as well as leading skiff sailors and ocean racing skippers and crew.

Monique Fehon, representing Mt Gay Rum, said the makers of the ‘sailor’s rum’ were proud to be associated with the Top Jocks Regatta and the CYCA, adding: ‘We look forward further involvement.’

 

Mt Gay Rum - Top Jocks Regatta 2006 –

RESULTS _SHEET

Team Name	Team	Boat #	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	TOTAL	Overall  Place
Humungus	Angus Reid Matthew Owen Tara Thomas	7	10	ocs	9	9	6	10	55	10
Foreign Affair	Matt Day Michael Dunstan Stuart Pollard Sarah Robert-Thompson	3	4	ocs	5	6	4	3	33	5
Noakes Youth	Sean Langman James Christian Luke McClean	1	9	2	10	7	10	9	47	9
Evolution	Darren Jones Andrew Palfrey Colin Beashel	8	6	ocs	3	10	8	2	40	7
Estate Master	Martin Hill Michael Blackburn Malcolm Page	9	2	1	1	1	7	1	13	1
The Lads	Simon Reffold Nick Garland Murray Gordon	5	3	ocs	6	8	2	8	38	6
Quantum Racing	Steve McConaghy Allen Stormon Zac Seymour	10	7	ocs	7	5	9	4	43	8
Team Knuckle Heads	Warwick Rooklyn Clinton Lehman Bruce Savage	6	5	3	8	3	5	6	30	3
Mothy’s Men	Steve Jarvin Seve Jarvin Euan McNicol	2	8	ocs	2	2	3	7	33	4
Youth Sailing Academy	Evan Walker Kyle Langford Mark Langford	4	1	ocs	4	4	1	5	26	2

Full results:
www.cyca.com.au/youth