Pindar it is at 18ft Skiff European Grand Prix

by media on 26 Jun 2008
Andy Richards, Andrew Fairley and Dave Richards on Pindar, won the first round of the European 18ft skiff Grand Prix with a superbly consistent set of results. Day 3 of the first round started with what promised to be classic Garda conditions. In bright sunshine the northerly Peler wind faded away during the morning and was replaced bang on time with the beginnings of the Ora at around midday.

Anxious to get the fleet away to make up for races lost on the Friday the committee had called for a midday start. However, no sooner had the Ora started to build but the sky clouded over and the breeze started to fade. After a short postponement the breeze filled in enough to start racing but with a distinct port bias that gave the crews a difficult choice. Head for the cliffs and the expected increase in pressure or play the shifts out to the left.

The first race got underway with a number of the top teams, including Pica helmed by Dave Evans, Denmark's Flemming Clausen on GP Covers and Ronstan UK driven by Ian Turnbull at the pin end. Pica got the best of the start and all three teams headed left towards a line of pressure in the middle of the lake. Pica and GP tacked in the pressure to cover the fleet and take what appeared to be a good early lead.

However, Ronstan UK continued out to the left and when they finally tacked were able to cross the entire fleet to lead around the top mark, closely followed by Pica then GP Covers. The two UK teams stayed locked together for the remainder of the race, Ronstan keeping a tight cover on Pica throughout, the two teams seldom more than a couple of boat lengths apart, but steadily drawing away from the rest of the fleet.

Ronstan held their nerve to take the bullet from Pica with GP Covers leading the fleet home in third, Mason Woodworth on Investec took forth and the consistent Pindar team helmed by Andy Richards came in fifth.

Race two started in similar conditions, again with a number of teams vying for the pin end of the line. Pica got the best of the start and lead around the top mark followed by Stefano Lagi on Elcotec, GP Covers and Ronstan. Ronstan pulled through to third on the run and a slow drop by Elcotec allowed them through to second at the start of the second beat right on Pica's heels.

Pica covered up the beat but Ronstan crossed ahead on the final tack. Ronstan held the lead until the final run when Pica gybe set and headed back to the cliffs while Ronstan headed out to the left of the course. Pica were able to find extra pressure and crossed the finish line to take the win by half a boat lengh. Meanwhile Andy Richards' Pindar, the overnight leaders, had worked their way through the fleet to come in third, followed by Investec and GP Covers.

With less than two hours left till the time limit the race committee flew the shorten course flag, limiting the next race to two laps, in an attempt to get four races in. In the increasingly shifty conditions the fleet confounded the race officers intentions, their overeagerness on a now committee boat biased line forced the first general recall of the event.

The fleet got away cleanly on the second attempt. Ed Browne on Gill/ Wild Graphics and Pindar, elected to tack off immediately and head for the shore. As the fleet headed up the beat the wind swung sharply right and Gill/Wild Graphics and Pindar were able to fetch to the windward mark while those boats to the left of the course now found themselves at the back of the fleet.

With the run now a tight reach the race became largely processional, the only issue being holding the kite for the increasingly tight reach downwind. Gill/Wild Graphics successfully held off Pindar to take the race win, with Miklos Uhelyi-Gasper helming Liberty Sailing Team, one of two Hungarian entries, into a well deserved third place.

With no further racing possible, Andy Richards, Andrew Fairley and Dave Richard's won the event with a superbly consistent set of results.

An all the more impressive achievement as the team had not set foot in their boat since the previous year. Leading by three points going into the last race, Ian Turnbull, Paul Constable and Alec Mckinlay on Ronstan UK could only manage a fifth place in the final race leaving them one point adrift in second.

Pica, with top 49er sailor Dave Evans and double Olympic medallist Simon Hiscocks guesting on the helm on main with regular bowman Stu Mears were unfortunate to loose two races to the failure of their main shroud. With the second discard only coming in to play on the 9th race they were forced to count a dnf and a 9th from the last race when their spinnaker halyard block blew, thus marring a set of results that otherwise included nothing worse than a second place and relegating them to third overall.

18ft Skiff - Final overall results

1 Pindar 1 5 1 2 8 5 3 2 19
2 RONSTAN UK 5 4 18 1 2 1 2 5 20
3 Pica 2 1 12 18 1 2 1 9 28
4 Wet & Wild 8 2 5 4 5 6 6 1 29
5 Sailgroup Denmark 7 3 2 18 9 3 5 4 33
6 Investec Private Bank 3 8 6 18 3 4 4 6 34
7 LIBERTY SAILING TEAM 6 9 7 5 18 7 8 3 45
8 Eclotec 18 6 18 3 4 8 11 8 58
9 Bodotex 4 7 4 10 18 9 7 18 59
10 Spacemodels 18 11 3 6 7 10 12 13 62
11 Magic Marine 13 10 18 18 6 11 10 7 75
12 Steinlechner Bootswerft 10 18 12 18 18 13 13 11 95
13 Raiffeisen 11 13 18 18 18 16 9 12 97
14 4US 12 18 18 18 18 16 14 10 106
15 skiffteam.de 18 18 18 18 18 12 16 14 114
16 Sons of a Beach 9 18 18 18 18 18 18 18 117
17 Berlinsyndikat 18 12 18 18 18 18 18 18 120

The fleet now head to Six-Fours in the South of France for their European International Championships where they will be joined by boats from the USA and Australia to compete in one of the classes three annual international events.