2019 SB20 Australian Championship in Hobart - Day 1
by Jane Austin 1 Nov 2019 23:10 AEDT
1-3 November 2019
Brett Cooper (Aeolus) is leading the fleet after a demanding day of sailing on the first day of the SB20 Australian Championship.
Cooper made the most of the hot and blustery 15 to 25 knot northerly breeze, gusting to 30 knots, sailing consistently with a 2,3,2 to finish the day on seven points. Cooper, fresh from his international campaign in France, has a look of determination and is clearly out to regain his 2017 Australian title from Michael Cooper (Export Roo).
Export Roo won Race One and Two but with a seventh in the last race, finished the day on nine points. Talented Hobart offshore sailor Ollie Nicholas (2Unlimited) is in third place on 11 points (3,7,1). The shifty conditions saw several boats broach and Paul Burnell (Honey Badger) broke a rudder in Race One but was back out on the course to finish in fourth place in the final race of the day.
Boats that picked the wind shifts and changing pressure on the racecourse featured well in the results. "There was a warm breeze from the east and a colder breeze that was more westerly. We had to decide whether it was better to commit to one side or the other, or play the shifts in the middle," said Stephen Catchpool, SB20 Australian Class President.
The forecast for Saturday is variable winds under 10 knots.
Find complete results here.