International Skiff Regatta at Sail Melbourne - Day 1
by Di Pearson 13 Jan 2007 01:14 PST
Lazich & McDonald in 12ft skiff win at International Skiff Regatta
A perfect sailing day on Corio Bay as Emmett Lazich/Cameron McDonald (CST Composites) took out the first heat of Sail Melbourne’s 12 footer series being sailed at the International Skiff Regatta on Corio Bay in Geelong today.
Fending off a number of challenges from gun New Zealand entry Hamish Hey/Michael Candy (Nice Action) McDonald told: “We led around the first top mark, then after the wing mark we overlayed the bottom mark and Hamish rounded in front of us. Then they capsized and we overtook, and just as they were closing in on us, they capsized again.
“Those guys are fast. They are quite heavy, so the conditions suited them. “It was great fun out there today – but hard. We couldn’t see a thing because of all the spray.”
McDonald went on to describe conditions on the Corio Bay course: “It was really fresh – 15-20 knots, shifty with lots of gusts. We were lucky, we didn’t break anything – lots of others did.
But it was another Kiwi crew, Nathan Bax/Alex Hinton (Bax Contractors) who finished second, Hinton commenting: “We used our No. 2 rig – it was quite testing – big shifts and big gusts.”
Brett Hobson/Alex Johnson (Garde) kept up appearances of yesterday for a third today, with the lone Queensland entry and Interdominion team members Paul O’Malley-Jones/Richard Billett scoring a fourth place finish from the New Zealand entry MGS, crewed by Russell Davis/Tim Christensen.
A day that started well for top New Zealand pairing Chris Reid/Alex Vallings (Nuplex Maersk) soon went awry. “We broke our spinnaker pole on the first triangle at the wing mark. We went for the hoist and next thing we were in the water,” Reid reported.
“We were second at the time, but there were more in front of us than behind at the end of the race; I’m glad we managed to finish the race at all, It was a tough call as to which rig to use today – we picked the No. 2, but should have gone with the 3. There was a lot of carnage out there today, I think it will be a late night of repairs for some of the guys” he continued.
Paying tribute to today’s winner, Reid said: “Emmett had a blinder – but the racing was quite close.”
Most had a story to tell. “We had a ‘silly’ swim – we just couldn’t get our gybes right today and at the last wing mark we had a swim,” said Michael Spies who was sporting a big bump on the back of his head after the Sydney Acer crew collided with them. “We were up their till the capsize – which killed us,” Spies lamented.
Some, like Brad Greenrod, crew for Andrew Stephenson on Datacall, totally enjoyed their fairly trouble-free day out. “We were massively overpowered with our No. 2 rig, but we had a really good day with no damage.
“Every ride was a glamour – I’ve never been to Geelong before, but I’d sail here anytime – it’s a great place to sail. We finished in the top half – I’m happy. I didn’t screw the bung in properly, so we brought home half of Corio Bay in the tanks,” said Greenrod, who couldn’t wipe the smile off his face.
However, it was winner McDonald who had everything to smile about. He and Lazich do not race their boat regularly, due to the skipper’s other sailing and coaching commitments.
As McDonald explained: Our hull is three years old. My brother Joel designed and built it and he made our new Tasman mainsail. We’ve got a new composite rig too – so we are still testing our rig and sails.”
Nor did the pair make yesterday’s Invitation Race, having arrived in Geelong too late. The Sydney based pair have also been working on their two rigs. “We want to limit ourselves to two rigs, so we are experimenting – we don’t want three or four like the other guys, so it’s taking a bit of time,” McDonald said.
He said that Lazich had come up with a concept involving 18 footer grand prix style sails and 49er type rigs. “We are bending our rig more and using smaller sails than the others.”
As part of their competition, nine boats each from Australia and New Zealand are sailing for the annual prestigious Interdominion Championship – and event that has spurned many sailing champions.
The New Zealanders have held fast to the Interdominion’s John Brooke Cup for the past nine years and are keen to make it a clean sweep with 10 straight victories.
All up, there are 29 12 footers here in Geelong, competing from host venue, Royal Geelong Yacht Club.
Competitors enjoyed a warm and sunny day of sailing conducted in a mostly southerly breeze with plenty of shifts and gusts to keep all on their toes.
Racing continues tomorrow on Corio Bay, when officials hope to run two races.
Full results as per the official website are provisional.
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