Zhik 2013-14 Australian 9er Championships reaches halfway mark
by David Staley on 31 Dec 2013
29er traffic at the leeward gate - Zhik 2013-14 Australian 9er Championships David Price
For the Zhik 2013-14 Australian 9er Championships day two on the water for the 49er and FX classes, and day three for the 29ers, was another sunny Melbourne day with lighter breezes. It marked the halfway point of the Championships.
The southerly wind progressively shifted east, eventually settling in the South East, and varied between 6 to 14 knots. For this part of Port Phillip, seas were relatively flat.
In the 49er class, Steven Thomas and Jasper Warren (WA) remain atop the leader-board with a win in the first race today and consistently good placings. David Gilmour and Sam Phillips (WA) are now six points behind. Following a protest hearing last night, Will Phillips and Rhys Mara (VIC) were disqualified from yesterday’s race two, but were able to discard that score. The Victorians hold on to third place overall, two points behind Gilmour and Phillips and nine points ahead of Joel Turner and Lewis Brake (QLD).
Olivia Price and Eliza Solly (NSW/VIC) relinquished their lead in the 49er FX competition today, withTessa Parkinson and Chelsea Hall (WA) scoring 3-2-1-2 to build a lead of four points. Haylee Outteridge and Ella Clark (NSW) moved up to third overall early in the day, but dropped back to fourth behind Harry Price and Angus Williams (NSW) who have a two point gap.
Four races were sailed on the 29er course again today, completing 11 of the 16 scheduled races. General recalls followed by a black flag were again the norm, with ten boats falling foul of the Race Committee.
Kurt Hansen and Harry Morton (NSW) had moved ahead of Charlie Wyatt and Tom Siganto (QLD) with a win in the first race of the 29ers today. Their next race was a fifteenth however, undoing all their good work. Three straight bullets for Wyatt and Sigantoto finish their day now puts the Queenslanders at the top of the results sheet with a handy twelve point lead. Jim Colley and Shaun O’Connor (NSW) are now trailing Hansen and Morton by a single point.
The Zhik 2013-14 Australian 9er Championships break for a rest day on January 1 then continue on Thursday and Friday.
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