Derwent Sailing Squadron boats Emotional Rescue and Wings Three today each clinched overall first place in their divisions of the Ronald Young & Co Builders Pipe Opener Series.
The Derwent Sailing Squadron and Huon Yacht Cub will kick-start the ‘spring/summer’ sailing season this weekend when they join forces to conduct the traditional Pipe Opener Series.
And the winners are - B&G Advantage, T42 Another Toy, Vistula and Team Musto – each taking out their respective divisions of the Derwent Sailing Squadron Winter Series that ended today.
Tasmania’s Export Roo, skippered by Michael Cooper, has lost the 2017 SB20 world championship title by just two points after a final day of frustrating competition on The Solent, off Cowes, England.
In a surprise result, prominent British yachtsman Jerry Hill came from fifth place going into the last Gold fleet race day to snatch overall victory with a win in the only race sailed.
Despite the last race loss, Export Roo sailed a fine series against an international fleet of 79 boats. The performance of Cooper and his crew of David Chapman and Gerry Mitchel augers well for the next SB20 worlds, to be sailed on Hobart’s River Derwent next January.
The new world champions celebrate at Cowes.
In between sailing, the Tasmanian crews have been promoting the Hobart worlds with European sailors and are confident at least 20 boats will be shipped here to join the local fleet of 45 SB20s making a total fleet of 65 plus.
Just one race was sailed on The Solent on the final day, in light winds, with prominent British SB20 sailor Jerry Hill clinching victory with a win in Sportsboatworld.com.
The light, shifty breeze held out long enough for team Sportsboat.com to secure a strong lead before the rest of the Gold fleet well into a windless hole. Sadly, a further race was not possible, giving Export Roo no opportunity to regain the overall lead.
Team Export Roo at the RYS.
Hill had a net score in the Gold fleet racing of 32 points with placings of 5-13-4-1-1 discarding his qualifying score of 21 points.
Export Roo placed 3-2-10-24-14 after going into the finals with a qualifying score of 5.
Third place went to the French boat Give Me Five (Robin Follin) with a net 39 points.
Jerry Hill had indicated earlier that he will coming to Hobart to contest the 2018 worlds on the Derwent, and now he has to defend his world title.
Next best placed of the Tasmanian boats was Porco Rosso (Elliott Noye) which placed 13th overall, finishing 10th in the final Gold fleet race.
Aussies a the Royal Yacht Squadron, Cowes/
Difficult Woman (Rob Gough) finished 18th overall, Black (Nick Rogers) 23rd and the RSYS entrant Brazen (Jervis Tilly) 33rd in the Gold fleet.
In the silver fleet Hypertronics (Stephen Catchpool) finished 11th overall with a third in the last race. Smigger (Andrew Smith) placed 16th, placing ninth in the last race.
The Australian team of Export Roo, Porco Rosso and Difficult Woman placed second to Great Britain in the Nations Cup, Nick Rogers in Black placing fourth overall in the Masters results and Porco Rosso (Elliott Noye) finished fifth out of 62 boats for the Corinthian trophy.
Words: Peter Campbell
Photos: Australian SB20 team
2 September 2017
Tasmania’s Export Roo, skippered by Michael Cooper, goes into the final day of racing at the 2017 SB20 world championship at Cowes with a slender three-point lead in the Gold fleet.
Cooper notched up a 3-2-10-24 scorecard on the penultimate day of competition on The Solent which, with a carryover score of five from the qualifying races, gives Export Roo an overall net score of 20 points.
The French yacht Give Me Five (Robin Follin) was the most consistent of an inconsistent day of results across the 40-boat Gold fleet, placing 16-6-1-6 to be on 23 points.
Porco Rosso's owmer Paul McCartney on the weather rail.
In an interview on the SB20 Australia Facebook page, Cooper was asked about the forecast for the final day. In reply, Cooper said: “We’re praying for no wind and no racing, because then we will win; if we race it will very light, 5-6 knots.”
Third overall is the British boat Xcellent (John Pollard) on 26 points, fourth the Irish entrant Sin Bin (Michael O’Connor) on 30 points.
Competitors sailed four races in what turned out to be a windier day than predicted; shifty with the breeze varying between 6-25 knots.
It was a tough day for tacticians and many of the top crews are carrying big scores going into the last day of racing, with the potential for three final races. Only one discard is allowed in the Gold fleet racing.
Export Roo leads by three poimts going in the final day at the SB20 worlds.
All the Australian crews ended up with at least one high score. Porco Rosso (Elliott Noye) is 16th with a score yesterday of 21-9-13-30; Difficult Woman (Rob Gough) 18th with placings of 8-34-25-8; Black (Nick Rogers) 20th after a day of 22-39-UFD-9. Smigger (Jervis Tilly) is down to 30th after a score of 33-38-35-25.
Cooper told Interviewer Jane Austin that Export Roo had become entangled with the pin end buoy at the start of race one. “Fortunately, it turned out to be a general recall!” he added.
In the last race of the day, lying in place, they had “taken a hard right and the breeze a hard left…we ended up 24th.”
In the Silver fleet, Stephen Catchpool steered Hypertronics to a 15-14-11-19 scorecard while Smigger (Andrew Smith) placed 27-7-14-BFD. Hypertronics is 13th, Smigger 16th in the Silver fleet going into the final day.
Words: Peter Campbell
Photos: Jennifer Burgis
1 September 2017
