Sting & Nips N Tux share British Trophy series lead

by Rob Kothe on 18 Dec 2002 Howard de Torres and sailmaker Bob Fraser teamed up to take Nips N Tux to joint leadership in the IMS division of the British Trophy series off Sydney Heads today.

After the first two races in the eight race series she shares the lead with Terry Mullen’s Sting. Both of these boats won a race and took a third place.
In third place in the series is Syd Fischer’s Ragamuffin.

Sting is amongst the likely 2002 Rolex Sydney to Hobart handicap winners, having won as Yendys in 1999 and having won at Hamilton Island Race week this year.

However Nips N Tux reminded her Hobart competitors that her Pittwater to Coffs Harbour offshore race victory in 2000 shows she has the potential to be an IMS contender in the race south.

De Torres has shown he has serious intent with a new D4 carbon-aramid inventory powering the IMX-40 for this year's campaign.

Racing in flat seas and light winds, Alfa Romeo, Neville Crichton’s new ninety footer showed why she will start a short priced line honours favourite in the 2002 Rolex Sydney to Hobart race next Thursday.

In the first race she beat the ninety-seven footer Canon by almost 7 minutes in a race which took only a little over an hour. The seventy-nine footer Brindabella was only four minutes before the giant Canon.

Scoring under the IRC handicap system, Alfa Romeo leads one of the two Farr 52's in the series Hollywood Boulevard, with Nips N Tux third.

In the Sydney 38 Class Hugo van Kretschmar’s Bashful-Sunbrella leads from AMI Jade and Chainsaw. 18-year-old John Winning, the current 29’er World Champion continues to call tactics, as he did so successfully during Hahn Premium Hamilton Island race week when Bashful beat a 16 boat fleet.

Unfortunately, the Sydney 38’s are reduced in number in this series as there are five of them racing to Hobart and another seventeen are racing in the Strathfield Pittwater and Coffs series starting only a week after this regatta finishes.

One disappointed sailor is Lou Abraham who has been vocal in his criticism.

He is absent from this regatta because he’s racing Another Challenge south for the third time next week. This will be Abraham’s 40th Sydney to Hobart race and as he explained last week. ‘In previous years we’ve had almost another week to prepare for Hobart, the dates of this years British Trophy series has prevented us and many other from entering a series we’ve not missed in years.’

There are only 10 Sydney to Hobart entrants in this years series, which was once part of the Southern Cross series.

In the Farr 40 Class American Jim Richardson drove Barking Mad into the lead ahead of Buon Giorno and Kokomo.

In the Mumm 30 Class South Australian Chris Tillett’s On The Edge leads from Enigma and Tow Truck.

For progressive results

http://www.cyca.com.au/2002BT.html