Grrrrrrreat racing on the Flying Tigers at Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta

by Lisa Ratcliff on 8 Mar 2009
Andrew and Gae Bristow have made a spectacular return to racing following a 12 year break. At the Flying Tiger 10 metre state championships last month they placed second and today they finished their debut Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta with a perfect scorecard – six wins from six races.

Heavy campaigners with their previous boat Cape Fear, the pair took time out to rest and reorganise their life, and their five acre garden at Dural that had 'gone to rack and ruin' before launching Hello Tiger in December last year.
Hello Tiger’s stunning pointscore win was a family affair with the Bristows joined by their two sons, son in law and thirteen year old grandson, plus one ring in, an old family friend.

'The courses were good and we had plenty of wind. It was a bit like ocean racing surfing down waves at Sydney Heads but without having to go offshore,' grinned Andrew Bristow, the winning skipper.

Of the 20 divisions racing at Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta, conducted by Middle Harbour Yacht Club, the Flying Tiger 10 metre class probably boasts the best boat names - Balmain Tiger, Hello Tiger, Sabre, Shere Khan and Tiga just some of the clever derivatives of the class name.

Nine of the fifteen one design Flying Tigers based in Sydney are sailing as part of this weekend’s record fleet, including Australian class president Neil Hamilton, skipper of Balmain Tiger which sports the Balmain Sailing Club burgee.
'This international class was developed in conjunction with a lot of enthusiasts who provided feedback to the Sailing Anarchy website on what they’d like to see in a sports boat,' said Hamilton.

'The result is a lightweight boat with a lifting keel that comes in a 40 foot container and takes two weeks to assemble. It’s fast, reasonably priced and it’s trailerable,' Hamilton added - not that he’s made plans to hit the road anytime soon given the racing in Sydney is top notch.

The first of the Australian ex-pat Rob Perry designed owner/driver class arrived in Australia in October 2007 with this weekend’s Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta their second class hit out following the NSW Championship hosted by RANSA in Rushcutters Bay last month.

Semi retired accident and emergency doctor and cancer specialist Rod Gibbs, skipper of Shere Khan - named after the tiger in Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book - is having a blast with his Flying Tiger, and he’s impacting the results sheet.

'When people see how much fun we are having, and when we roll over the top of them they become interested in the class. It’s great having a level playing field,' Gibbs said of the one design competition.

In their class debut at Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta, now in its fourth year, the Flying Tigers along with the Adams 10m and Farr 30s, enjoyed the best of the conditions, their course area capturing the best of the sou’easter as it funnelled in though Sydney Heads.

Andrew Bristow is one of 20 divisional winners eligible for the Audi Final Challenge on Monday at Oran Park Raceway, the final stage that will decide the winner of the major prize, the brand new Audi Q5 mid-size SUV.

Top three Flying Tiger 10m results

1st HELLO TIGER Andrew Bristow BSC 6 points – 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1
2nd BALMAIN TIGER Neil Hamilton BSC 16 points – 2, 2, 4, 2, 3, 3
3rd OPHIR Bruce/Neil Tavener DSC/MHYC 23 points – 3, 4, 2, 10Q 2, 2

Further information: www.audisydneyharbourregatta.com