Dragon Prince Philip Cup at Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club - Day 4
by John Roberson 9 Jan 23:20 NZDT
4-10 January 2025
Dragon Prince Philip Cup Day 4 © John Roberson
Richard Lynn and his team sailing Gordon are clinging to a one point lead at the end of the penultimate day of the Dragons' Prince Philip Cup, the class's Australian Championships. Chalking up two second places today Lynn, crewed by Ethan Prieto-Low and Adam Brenz-Verca, faces a fascinating tactical conundrum on the final day tomorrow.
The first race of the day went to Willy Packer's Scoundrel crew, while Grant Alderson and his team on French Connection took the second race. "We made a great start and were soon able to tack across the fleet," Willy commented about the first race of the day. He had a commanding lead at the first mark and held on despite the Gordon team slashing his advantage to just two boat lengths at the finish.
Grant Alderson's first race was a disaster, finishing 11th after starting at the committee boat end of the line and being on the wrong side of the big wind shift. Things went better in the second race, "we started towards the pin with clear air, then worked out enough space to be able to play the shifts on the left hand side of the course." He had a comfortable lead at the first mark and controlled the race to the finish.
Richard Lynn is now in the enviable position of being able to discard a third place from his score line, while Packer discards a seventh and Alderson and 11th. However all is not as rosy for Lynn as it may seem, he will not be able to cover both of his close opponents at the same time.
Talking about his options for the final day tomorrow he said, "Isn't this great, such close racing, we love the tension this is why we sail these boats. In both of today's races they were trying to push us back into the fleet and we were trying to push the one behind us back into the fleet. It was a day of champagne sailing, perfect dragon weather."
For many yesterday's lay day was spent putting their boats back together after the boat busting day on Tuesday. Today's conditions didn't put as much stress on the boats, gear or crews, with a moderate sea breeze in the 10 to 12 knot range. it was described as a "sail trimmer's day", you had to get the sail trim perfect to gain that fractional edge over the opposition.
The regatta is being hosted by Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club on the Swan River, with tomorrow's final day with two races promising to be a fascinating tactical battle. Whoever comes out on top will deserve the prestigious trophy.
Event website: rfbyc.asn.au/dragon-australian-championship-2025