SB20 class founder in Tasmania Nick Rogers sailed his brand new boat, again named Karabos, to a first-up win in Thursday’s twilight pennant series.
The win has given Rogers a commanding point score lead going into the final race (or two) of the summer pennant for the one-design, sports boat class next Thursday.
“If there is just one long race next week I will have won the summer pennant, but if there are two shorter races I will have to defend my lead,” Rogers explained yesterday.
Unlike most keelboat divisions that race on Saturday’s, the SB20 have successfully run their summer pennants in conjunction with the twilight races each Thursday evening.
The 45-boat Hobart fleet is by far the biggest SB20 fleet in Australia and ranks as one of the most active in the world.
Wicked on the wind.
The Royal Yacht Club Tasmania and the Derwent Sailing Squadron will run the 2018 world championship on the Derwent next summer with at least 80 boats expected to compete.
Roger’s win augers well for his prospects of regaining the SB20 Tasmanian State Championship next weekend, 18-19 March, and strengthens his campaign for the 2017 Worlds to be sailed out of Cowes on the Isle of Wight, England, in late August and beyond that, the worlds in Hobart.
He is among seven crews from Australia which will be competing at Cowes, hoping to also encourage overseas entrants for the 2018 worlds.
Thursday’s win was the second of the summer series for Rogers, giving him a net 30 points after one discard; the second discard will apply after next Thursday’s final race.
Aeolus leading the twlight race fleet downwind.
Second overall is Greg Prescott sailing 2Unlimited on a net 46 points, closely followed by Paul Burnell’s Honey Badger on 50 points with Rob Gough’s Difficult Woman on 67 points.
Karabos won Thursday’s race by 48 seconds from Pinch (Frazer Read) and Blue Gull (Rod Glanville).
“We had a nice 10 knot south-easterly sea breeze with shifts of about 10 degrees to the left and then the right and my crew of Andrew Roberts and Col Debden picked the shifts each time,” Rogers added. “And the new boat really handled well.”
Words: Peter Campbell
Photos: Michelle Denney
11 March 2017
