18ft Skiffs Aust Championship - Thurlow Fisher Lawyers retain title


7:17 AM Sun 29 Jan 2012 GMT
'29 January 2012- 18ft Skiffs Australian Championship 2012' Frank Quealey ? /Australian 18 Footers League
Michael coxon, Aaron Links and Trent Barnabas, Thurlow Fisher Lawyers, retained their Australian 18ft Skiff Championship title after another great win in Race 4 on Sydney Harbour today.

Thurlow Fisher Lawyers scored their third victory from the four races sailed so far and have an unbeatable lead going into next Sunday's last race of the championship.

A determined challenge came from the Rag & Famish Hotel team of Jack Macartney, Peter Harris and Mark Kennedy however Thurlow Fisher's winning margin was 1m10s over 'The Rag'.

Gotta Love It 7 (Seve Jarvin, Scott Babbage and Troy Tindall) was another 11s back in third place.

With each team allowed to discard their worst performance, the net points scored so far are Thurlow Fisher Lawyers 3 points, Smeg (Nick Press) 6 points, Gotta Love It 7 10 points, Lumix (Jonathan Whitty) 14, Mojo Wine (Archie Massey) 15, Rag & Famish Hotel 17 and Yandoo (John Winning) 18 points.

Following a long run of poor racing conditions this season, the fleet were sent away in a brilliant 2 sail North-East wind. The battle for the title between Thurlow Fisher and Smeg was soon over when Smeg retired after less than 10 minutes sailing.

Smeg team later explained that they retired following an incident when they were in the wrong and collided with Beko (Nick Daly), forcing that skiff out of the race. Thurlow Fisher Lawyers led the fleet up the first windward leg to the Beashel Buoy where their margin over Lumix was 25s. Rag & Famish Hotel was third, followed by Pure Blonde (Tom Clout), Yandoo, De'Longhi-Rabbitohs (Simon Nearn) and Gotta Love It 7, which was 1m10s behind the leader.

A massive change came over the fleet on the spinnaker run to the wing mark off the southern end of Shark Island as several skiffs came along the island with a terrific gust. 'The Rag' had moved into the lead with some excellent tactics, from Lumix and Thurlow Fisher, while Gotta Love It 7 had moved up into fourth place just behind Thurlow Fisher. At the bottom mark Rag & Famish Hotel had edged out to a 45s break over Lumix and Thurlow Fisher, with Gotta Love It 7 1m10s from the lead.

29 January 2012 - 18ft Skiffs Australian Championship 2012 - Frank Quealey _?_-Australian 18 Footers League


Thurlow Fisher again showed her speed upwind to grab a narrow lead over Rag & Famish and from that point she
was never headed. The Rag & Famish team never gave up and kept the pressure on Thurlow Fisher but Thurlow's superior upwind speed was too much to overcome. Aside from the three leaders in the race, there were some good duels for the next five or six placings. De'Longhi-Rabbitohs got the upper hand of this group to finish fourth, ahead of
Yandoo, Mojo Wine, Lumix, Appliancesonline.com.au (Micah Lane) and The Kitchen Maker (Cameron McDonald).

The club's usual spectator ferry will follow this race leaving Double Bay Wharf, alongside the clubhouse and rigging area, at 2.15pm.

The JJ Giltinan Championship, the world's premier 18ft Skiff regatta, will be sailed on Sydney Harbour from 17-26 February.

Approximately 30 teams from USA, New Zealand and UK as well as Australian teams representing NSW, Queensland and Western Australia will contest the 63rd JJ.

Race 5, the last race of the championship, will be sailed next Sunday 5 February.

29 January 2012 - 18ft Skiffs Australian Championship 2012 - Frank Quealey _?_-Australian 18 Footers League


29 January 2012 - 18ft Skiffs Australian Championship 2012 - Frank Quealey _?_-Australian 18 Footers League


29 January 2012 - 18ft Skiffs Australian Championship 2012 - Frank Quealey _?_-Australian 18 Footers League


29 January 2012 - 18ft Skiffs Australian Championship 2012 - Frank Quealey _?_-Australian 18 Footers League


29 January 2012 - 18ft Skiffs Australian Championship 2012 - Frank Quealey _?_-Australian 18 Footers League


18s Results 29 January 2012 - 18ft Skiffs Australian Championship 2012 - Frank Quealey _?_-Australian 18 Footers League Click Here to view large photo



18 fooetrs www.18footers.com.au and website
Video coverage of the race here




by Frank Quealey


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