Philosopher’s young crew ready for final duel
Tasmanian yachtsman Shaun Tiedemann is confident his youthful crew of Philosopher can bring their windward/leeward racing expertise to the fore in today’s final three short races of the Australian Yachting Championships on Melbourne’s Port Phillip.
Philosopher found the going ‘’sticky’’ in very light winds of yesterday’s long race around the bay and, although leading the Division 3 fleet to line honours, was beaten on corrected time by local boats.
Under the premier IRC scoring, the Sydney 36cr from the Derwent Sailing Squadron finished third and is just one point behind the leading local yacht, Executive Decision.
In the PHS category, Philosopher finished sixth but is still only two points behind overall leader Rhapsody, another local boat.
“It was very light, under 5 knots, for the first hour and a bit; we went around the first mark with the lower rating Adams designs which revelled in these conditions,” Tiedemann said after the race at Sandringham Yacht Club.
“Nevertheless, we are very happy with the IRC result…..we could have been right out the back door in these conditions…and happy with our other position.
“The forecast is a bit ordinary for tomorrow, but I am sure the race officer won’t start the racing until there is a steady breeze,” Tiedemann added.
The nine crew of Philosopher, eight men and one woman, are all aged under 25, with the exception of owner/skipper Shaun Tiedemann. His son Sam is the helmsman.
Rolex Sydney Hobart winner Ichi Ban (Matt Allen) still leads Division 1 IRC of the Australian Yachting championships, the nation’s premier keelboat racing regatta.
In Division 2 IRC, the overall leader is Icon (Bruce McCracken) while in Division 3 Executive Decision (Trevor Neitz) leads Philosopher by one points.
Executive Decision so far has placed 2-2-3-1-2 while Philosopher has placed 3-1-2-2-3 on IRC scoring.
Words: Peter Campbell
Photo: Stacey French, Australian Sailing
1900AEST: 20 January 2018
