Rush to top for Cameron Miles -Sydney 38 Nationals

by Skandia Geelong Week media/Sail-World on 26 Jan 2008 The Skandia Geelong Week racing program moved into top gear with the start of five Australian championships, including the Sydney 38s.

Eleven Sydney 38s kicked off the Morris Finance Sydney 38 Australian Championship in light breezes with four windward/leeward races.

The finish of race one and two had to be shifted while the fleet was at the top mark, and the race three marks had to be re-laid as the breeze slowly clocked right and filled in from sou’east, a local summer phenomenon.

Gordon Ketelbey’s Zen led the one design division in race one and finished the final spinnaker run with a comfortable 1 minute 11 second separation to Alan Brierty’s Limit, skippered by well known Sydney sailor Roger Hickman with local Victorian yachtsmen Ian ‘Barney’ Walker calling tactics. Brierty wasn’t on board today, he’s back in Western Australia “making the money” ‘Hicko’ joked in between races.

In race two, the fleet split on the first downhill run, the left side of the course paying off for Chris Way’s Sydney based Easy Tiger which took the win from the Cameron Miles skippered Rush. Fresh from his fourth placing at the Audi Etchells Australian Championship and sailing with a number of ex-Loki crew including Adam Barnes and Stephen Ainsworth, Miles went one better than his third in race one to finish second ahead of Limit.

In race three, which began in a 13-15 knot sou’easter while the sea fret floated over the south east corner of Corio Bay, Miles continued his climb through the top three placings, this time claiming a win over Lou Abrahams’ Challenge. Eighty year old Abrahams, representing Sandringham Yacht Club, recently contested his 44th Rolex Sydney Hobart and today he joined his crew for day one of the national championship in the one design class he has found excellent form in. Zen was third in race three.

Race four was closely fought, the lead changing several times. After hovering in the top three, Limit went on to claim its first win of the day, beating Rush and Challenge which finished just 0.8 of a second apart.

Racing in the three day National Championship will continue tomorrow with racing scheduled for noon.