International Dragon Tasmanian Championship: Another Dragon title to Karabos IX
by Peter Campbell 15 Apr 2019 17:21 NZST
13-14 April 2019
Tasmanian champion Karabos IX going for a pin end start - Tasmanian Dragon Championship 2019 © Steven Shield
Hobart yachtsman Nick Rogers has added another championship title to his unprecedented record in the International Dragon class, winning the 2019 Tasmanian Championship on the River Derwent with Karabos IX.
Rogers and his crew of Leigh Behrens and Oli Burnell outsailed the eight-boat fleet in all but one of the six races, and discarding his race two second place, finished with a net 5 points.
Rogers' skill and the increased local competition augers well for Tasmania's prospects in the prestigious 2020 Prince Philip Cup on the Derwent.
Rogers has already won 12 Prince Philip Cups, eleven as a helmsman and one as crew, as well as a World championship. He is the 2019 World Masters and Corinthian champion skipper, won at the worlds off Fremantle in January.
Despite difficult wind conditions, race officer Bill Bourne yesterday managed to complete two of the four races scheduled for day two, giving each boat a discard result.
"We had to shift the windward mark in each of the two races today," Bourne said. Lack of any definitive wind delayed the start of racing until 14.25 hours, allowing time for just two races.
Bourne, a former Dragon sailor himself, was enthusiastic with the fleet of eight boat, the biggest fleet for a Tasmanian championship in years.
"Racing on Saturday was fantastic with the southerly breeze freshening to 20 knots; today the ESE was frustrating for race officers and competitors," he added. "But the competition was still close."
Victorian yachtsman Fred Haes from Metung Yacht Club finished second overall on 14 points after discarding his race four OCS disqualification and also being over the start line in race six. This time he returned and re-started.
Wicked (Andrew Blakney), the only boat to beat Karabos IX in the six races, finished third on 15 points, while fourth place with 18 points went to teenager Finlay Crisp, steering Ridgeway to an impressive second and a third today.
Fifth overall went to Derwent Sailling Squadron yachting administrator Peter Watson stepping in to take the helm of Magic, only his second regatta at the helm of a Dragon. Magic finished with 21 points.
The PHS scoring for the regatta saw close competition, with Thorvalda (Stephen Henley) the top of the leaderboard, just one point ahead of Ridgeway (Finlay Crisp) and Xanthos (Mike Wilkinson) with another point to Aquila (Zane Ridgeway) and Karabos IX and just another point to Magic (Peter Watson).
Overall Results:
1. Karabos (Nick Rogers) 1-(2)-1-1-1-1, 5 points
2. Riga (Fred Haes, Metung YC, Vic) 2-3-3-(9)-2-5, 14 points
3. Wicked (Andrew Blakney) 3-1-3-3-5-(6), 15 points
4. Ridgeway (Finlay Crisp) 4-4-5-(7)-3-2, 18 points
5. Magic (Peter Watson) 5-6-4-2-4-(8), 21 points