Australian Moth Nationals at Wangi RSL Amateur Sailing Club - Day 3
by Tony Outteridge (PRO) 9 Jan 2013 13:26 PST
6-12 January 2013
Jody Shiels (alias Randy Cunningham) going down the mine during the Zhik CST Australian Moth nationals © Beau Outteridge
With the Southerly change coming overnight, the temperatures dropped and the enthusiasm of the sailors increased. Racing got underway on time in a 15 to 18 knot SSE breeze. In an attempt to try and keep the fleet out of the big waves whipped up over night by the southerly change, a slightly smaller course was set with the top mark tucked under Wangi Point.
Surprisingly, the speed of the leaders in the first race made it obvious that the course needed to be extended. A further complication occurred when the bottom rounding mark started to drift dangerously close the committee boat. With boats approach at nearly 30 knots and the gap between the mark and the committee boat rapidly shrinking, quick deployment of a rib and code flag M enabled the race to continue. The usual suspects figured in the top group, with Pete Burling 1st, Scott Babbage 2nd and Rob Gough 3rd. The only front runners missing from the top 10 were Tom Slingsby who had a swim and Nathan Outteridge, who broke his wing on the boat and had to retire from all 3 races.
With the course extended somewhat and extra tackle on the drifting mark, everything was set for a good race, and the sailors made the most of it. The front end of the fleet it was almost a carbon copy of the previous race with Pete Burling 1st, Scott Babbage 2nd and Josh McKnight 3rd.
In the 3rd and final race for the day, the sailors were all a bit too keen, resulting in a general recall, much to some sailors delight, especially Phil Stevenson who was upside down behind the start boat. In the subsequent restart everyone got away well and saw Tom Slingsby come good, but not quite good enough to beat Kiwi Pete, who ended up with 3 bullets for the day. Tom was 2nd, Josh McKnight 3rd and Scott Babbage 4th.
After 6 races, with 1 drop, Pete now leads on 7 points from Scott on 10 points, Josh on 21 points, Dave Lister on 24 points and Rob Gough & Joe Turner both on 26 points. As racing was cancelled on Tuesday, catch up races are scheduled on Thursday from 1pm.
Full results can be found on Wangi Sailing Club Website here.