29er National Championships - Grech and Hubbard maintain lead

by Clare Murray on 14 Jan 2012 The Australian 29er National Championships are being hosted by Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron in Manly, and on the second day of racing there were inconsistent results across the three races held for each of the fleets.

The conditions were unpredictable with a northerly averaging ten to twelve knots. One start was abandoned by the race committee after a 60 degree wind shift during the starting sequence.

Felix Grech and Jack Hubbard of New South Wales on Charlie the Pelican continue to lead the regatta after a relatively consistent day placing first, second and seventh in the yellow fleet.

'It was a solid day, we’re very happy,' skipper Grech said. 'We have a good set up for the rest of the regatta.'

The standard of racing is high and extremely competitive with only four points separating second from fifth place. Harry Price and crew Nathan Edwards on Crunchie moved into second overall after placing second, fifth and first in the blue fleet.

'The wind was shifty but we handled it pretty well. We’ve been pretty consistent which has been our main goal the past few regattas,' said Price. The pair placed second in last week’s Australian Youth Championship also held at RQYS.

Tomorrow’s racing will prove interesting as the completion of a sixth race will allow for a discard. Turbo skippered by Jacqueline Gurr and crewed by Steven Thomas along with Unwanted skippered by Josh Franklin and crewed by Alexander Gough will both drop black flags from their scores moving them to the front end of the standings.

'We’re feeling better now we have some more consistent results under our belt,' Gurr said. 'We’re carrying a black flag but do not have a result above tenth.'

Racing continues tomorrow with 12 to 14 knots from the east predicted.

To view race results click Event website