16ft Skiff Nationals down to protest

by Di Pearson on 20 Jan 2007 The 16ft Australian Championship at the International Skiff Regatta on Corio Bay came to a dramatic close on the final day of the Sail Melbourne event, with the provisional current overall second place getters Savage Bee (Bruce Savage/Greg Windust/Damon Zemanek) protesting the provisional winners Bob Jane T Marts Edgecliff (Lee Knapton/Peter Hubble/Dean Williams) over a buoy room incident.

As the two boats came into the top mark on port tack with slightly cracked sheets, due to a major wind shift, Bob Jane T Marts Edgecliff allegedly told the Savage Bee crew they did not have an inside overlap.

Savage Bee, apparently with with nowhere to go, executed a last minute tack, which forced them to do a 360 degree turn to round the mark. Savage Bee has protested Bob Jane T Marts Edgecliff over the incident, saying Knapton and crew did not give them buoy room.

The protest hearing is set down for 5.30pm, so the results of the Championship will not be known until the protest hearing has been completed.