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The wide grin on Tasmanian sailor’s Matt Bugg’s face told it all yesterday as he was interviewed on a video camera at the end of day two of the Para Sailing world championships on Melbourne’s Port Phillip.

Sailing his single-handed International 2.4mR class yacht called Moshi, Bugg finished second and third in the two races and is now third overall in the 48 boat fleet.

“‘Today was a perfect day for racing, lots of sunshine and a nice breeze…Port Phillip at it best,” ,” said Bugg as he came alongside the marina at the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria in the historic port suburb of Williamstown.

“The racing was tough, but I managed to get good starts.…I loved it.”

That the competition was tough was probably an understatement as the line-up in this world championship for the three sailing class at the 2016 Rio Paralympics is as good as you would get anywhere in the world and certainly includes every sailor that Bugg will face at Rio.

Bugg’s placings so far have been 9-8-3-2 for a total of 22 points, with world champion Heiko Kroeger (GER) heading the leader board on 10 points from placings of 2-2-2-4. In second place is Damien Sequin (FRA) on 13 points with a scoreboard of 6-1-5-1.

In race three Bugg crossed the finish line just 10 seconds astern of winner Bruce Miller and just six second astern of second placegetter, world champion Kroeger.

Bugg’s second place in race four saw him 33 seconds astern of the French winner Sequin.

His coach Richard Scarr said the good starts in both races had given Bugg the opportunity to get clear air and utilise his boat speed in the south-westerly breeze that freshened from 9 to 16 knots during the afternoon.

“We talked about race strategy after day one and today he executed those plans perfectly, added Scarr.

Australian sailors continue to lead the other two classes; with Daniel Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch have a scoreboard in the Skud 18 of 2-1-2-1 while in Sonar class Colin Harrison, Jonathan Harris and Russell Boaden have placed 1-1-2-2.

Peter Campbell
30 November 2015

Tasmanian sailor Matt Bugg is sixth overall in a fleet of 48 boats in the single-handed 2.4mR class after day one of the Para Sailing World Championships on Melbourne’s Port Phillip.

More than 130 skilled sailors from 31 nations, who suffer from a range of disabilities, have entered for what is the final qualification event for the 2016 Rio Paralympics.

In an excellent day for the nation’s prospects for the Rio Paralympics, Australian sailors are heading the leader board in the other Paralympic classes, the two-crew, skiff-style Skud 18 and the three-crew Sonar.

“I think this is best first day of a world championship that Matt has had and that augers well for another top placing overall,” his coach Richard Scarr said at the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria after yesterday’s racing in what he described as “perfect sea breeze conditions for Matt.”

Bugg placed ninth in race one; eighth in race two to be sixth overall.

Sharing the lead in the 2.4mR class are British woman sailor Megan Pascoe who is entered the 2.4mR open world championships (for able-bodied and disabled sailors) to be held in Hobart in January, and German world champion Heiko Kroeger.

Pascoe had a first and third, Kroeger two second placings in intense competition in the big flee which saw two general recalls, with the race officers then introducing strict starting rules.

“Matt got pushed out by the Greek sailor at the start of race one and could not tack back to the line as the starting signal went….but he showed he was very quick once he got clear, rounding the windward mark in 13th, then dropping back to 10th and finally ninth,” Scarr explained.

“In race two he got one of his worst starts ever, but again sailed through the fleet to finish in eighth place.”

British gold medallist at the London Paralympics, Helena Lucas, and Neil Patterson, Tasmania’s other sailor in the 2.4mR class both got disqualified from race two under a UFD starting line breach in race two, as did New Zealand’s top sailor, Paul Francis.

Australia’s London 2012 Paralympic gold medallists in the Skud 18, Daniel Fitzgibbon and Liesl Tesch heading the Skud class with a win and second while in the Sonar class, Colin Harrison, Jonathan Harris and Russel Boaden scored two straight wins to be well clear of the New Zealand crew.

Peter Campbell
29 November 2015

Tasmanian designed and built yacht Silicon Ship yesterday gave an impressive preview to her prospects of winning next month’s Launceston to Hobart ocean race.

Owned by Bellerive Yacht Club members Dave Wyatt and Gordon Clark, Silicon Ship won both the AMS and PHS handicap categories of the final pre-Christmas Combined Clubs Long Race.

In last year’s National Pies Launceston to Hobart, a 285 nautical mile race from the Tamar River to the River Derwent, sailing down Tasmania’s rugged East Coast, the Knoop 31 finished second in the PHS category and third in the AMS category.

“We are looking forward to this year’s L2H and hope to do at least as well as last year,” co-owner David Wyatt said after yesterday 32 nautical mile race,

“Hopefully, the winds will be similar to those on the River Derwent and Storm Bay today. Such light conditions suit the smaller boats such as Silicon Ship.”

Yesterday’s race to Little Betsy Island and Yellow Bluff and return, attracted a fleet of 36 boats who enjoyed perfect sailing conditions, with a spinnaker run down river from the start and a faster run back up the river to the finish off Astray.

Group 2 boats sailed to Yello9w Bluff and return, Group 3 into Seacroft Bay,,

Conditions suited the smaller and lower rating boats with Silicon Ship finished fourth in fleet in Group B and scoring a comfortable PHS win on corrected time from Tony Ellis’ Moonshadow and Ian Gannon’s Take Five.

In the rated AMS category, Silicon Ship demolished the fleet on handicap, winning from another Launceston to Hobart entrant, Footloose (Stewart Geeves) and Scott Brain and Steve Chau’s Young Lion.

Cleopatra, Matthew Denholm’s Mumm 30 again revelled in the light breezes, winning both the PHS and AMS handicap categories, her record this summer being 2-7-1 for the PHS category and 1-4-1 for the AMS category.

In Group 1, AMS, Cleopatra yesterday won from Don Calvert’s Intrigue and Harold Clark’s Invincible. Intrigue won the IRC category from The Protagonist (Stuart Denny) and Invincible.

In Group 3, Kindred Spirit (Peter Alcock) won from Tarremah (L Duncan_ and Trick Cyclist (Jory Linscott).

Peter Campbell
29 November 2015

After several Sydney Hobart Yacht Races, Bellerive yachtsman Tony Williams has elected to contest this year’s Launceston to Hobart for the first time – with good credentials.

His Swedish designed and built Martela, an 11.3m X-Yacht, showed she will be a yacht to beat in the long coastal race in later December with an impressive performance in yesterday’s Combined Clubs Harbour Series race on the Derwent.

Martela won the IRC category of Group 1, placed third under AMS and fourth in PHS.

Martela is one of 30 yachts already entered for the National Pies Launceston to Hobart, with owner/skipper Williams electing to give this year’s Sydney Hobart a miss.

Reaching start for Group 1 in yesterday Harbour series long race. Photo Peter Campbell

Reaching start for Group 1 in yesterday Harbour series long race. Photo Peter Campbell

With strong north-westerly winds gusting to 30 knots, Derwent Sailing Squadron set a 15 nautical mile course around river marks for all four Groups, with Group 1 going down the river to Ralph’s Bay and back to Castray, followed by a shorter leg to a mark off the John Garrow light.

Other Groups sailed a shorter course with the Garrow as the leeward mark, a total distance of 9.6 nautical miles

With the nor’wester gusting to 30 knots, most of the 30 boat fleet started with reefed mainsail and smaller headsails and apart from in Group 1, few spinnakers were hoisted on the first run.

After a fast run downriver from the start, most of the fleet ran into a flat spot abeam of the Garrow, but it was only a short lull, with the nor’wester kicking in back 18-22 knots and providing what turned out to be excellent racing conditions for the rest of the afternoon.

Martela won Group 1 IRC by 43 seconds on corrected time from Jeff Cordell’s Mumm 36 B&G Advance and Gavin Adamson’s Madness, also a Mumm 36, which recovered from what appeared to be runner problems at the start.

The third Mumm 36 in the fleet, Ian Stewarts’ TasPaints won Group 1 AMS category from the J35 Mem (Michael Boutchard and David Kirkland) and Martela.

Mem won the PHS category of Group 1 from TasPaints and Masquerade (Tony Harman).

The smallest boat in the fleet, the Elliott 6, North Sails (Matthew Morgan) won Division 2 from Hot August Night (Nat Morgan) and Trouble (Dave Willans).

Veteran yachtsman Charles Peacock sailed a fine race in Group 4 with Serica, winning from First Light (Ben Davidson) and Spare Time (Shane Powell).

In Division 6, N-Yacht (Wilkinson Frame) scored its second consecutive victory, yesterday beating Astrolobe (Peter Bosworth) and Kindred Spirit (Peter Alcock).

Peter Campbell
22 November 2015

Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania member Grahame Inglis made a winning return to racing in yesterday’s delayed start to the Combined Harbour Series on the River Derwent, but only by seconds.

Racing Rousabout for the first time since the yacht was badly holed in a collision during the winter series, Inglis had to share top honours in Group 2 with Bellerive Yacht Club member Dave Willans, skippering Trouble.

After three weeks delay in getting a race day, due to weather and other fixed sailing events, the 31 yachts in the Combined Clubs Harbour Series got a real taste of sailing, heading off into a fresh breeze, bringing choppy seas to the river as it backed from south-west to south and finally to the south-east and east.

Trouble won the first race for Group 2 on PHS corrected time by just 35 seconds from Rousabout, third place going to Hot August Night (Nat Morgan).

Race two saw an even closer duel, with Trouble beating Rousabout across the finish line by just six seconds but Rousabout winning the race by 44 seconds on handicap third in race two was Total Lock Alarms, skippered by Nathan Mills, which took fastest time in both races for Group 2.

Another BYC yacht, Ian Stewart’s Mumm 36 TasPaints scored a double in Group 1, winning both races under PHS scoring and race one under AMS.
In the second windward/leeward race, another Mumm 36, Jeff Cordell’s B&G Advantage, took first place in the AMS category, beating TasPaints by just 21 seconds on corrected time.

Wayne Banks-Smith’s Farr 40 War Games excelled in the fresh breeze, getting the gun in both races and winning both races on IRC scoring as well as placing in race two under PHS scoring.

Rousabout LR

Tony Williams, who has elected to miss this year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart with Martela, also had a good day with a second and a third place under AMS and two seconds under IRC scoring.

Group 6 had the biggest fleet of the day, 12 starters, and victory going to Wilkinson Frame’s N-Yacht from Free ‘n’ Easy (Bob Jones) by 39 seconds, third to Innovator (Ian Smith and D Aberle). Frank Chatterton steered Kamehameha to fastest time.

Again, seconds separated the first two boats on handicap in Group 4 with First Light (Ben Davidson) beating Zephyr (Ian Johnston) by 44 seconds, third place going to Miss Conduct (Brian Fleming).

Peter Campbell
8 November 2015

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