Protests change points, not overall BMW Series

by Peter Campbell on 7 Jul 2006 Protest decisions last night have not changed the overall standings of the top three boats in Divisions D, G and F going into Sunday's final pointscore race of the BMW Sydney Winter Series. However, two yachts now have additional points as a result of being penalised.

The protests arose from incidents in last Sunday's Race and resulted in:

In Division F, Jagged Edge being penalised four placings in Race 9, dropping her from first to fifth. She retains her third place overall, but is now nine points behind the equal first placed yachts, Carnaval and Umbakumba which are both on 15 points going into the final race. A protest against a third boat, Silhouette, did not proceed after she retired after finishing.

In Division D, MRX being penalised six placings in Race 9, dropping her from second to eighth place. She remains second in overall standings but is now six points behind the overall pointscore leader Scarlett O'Hara, with Windflyt third in standings.

In Division G, Lunch on Sunday withdrew from the race and a protest against her did not proceed. As a result, she has been able to discard Race 9 and still retain third in overall standings. With a lead of seven points, Naughty Girl, Greg Watson's Robertson 950, appears unbeatable for the pointscore. Obsession II remains second overall, just three points ahead of Lunch on Sunday, but only three points separate the next four boats on the pointscore.

A fleet of more than 140 boats is expected to line up for the final pointscore race on Sunday in the BMW Sydney Winter Series, with the leading two boats on equal points in two divisions and only three points between the leaders in four other divisions. The forecast for Sunday is for a sunny winter's day with winds of 10-15 knots from the West and North-West.