Champion Hobart racing yacht Philosopher is about to start its bid to win IRC Division 3 of the Australian Yachting Championships on a extremely hot and windy Port Phillip. Skippered by Shaun Tiedemann, General Manager of the Squadron, the Sydney 36cr faces a fleet of eight boats, with Division 3 scheduled to start at 10.40am on a course off host club, Sandringham Yacht Club.
Melbourne's temperature today is expected to soar to 42 degrees and at 10.20am a 24 knot hot northerly breeze was blowing down the bay. Division 3 is a mixed fleet and includes another Sydney 36cr, M, skippered by Kristian Hatch. All but Philisopher and M are local Victorian boats. Philosopher, however, has a higher IRC rating than M and, in fact, is the second highest rating boat in IRC Division 3 with local Melbourne boat Vertigo, a Summit 35, the highest rating boat in the division.
The 2018 Australian Yachting Championships has drawn a total entry of 42 monohulls racing under IRC and ORCi ratings, plus a multihull fleet for the first time. Division 1 is headed by the 2017 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race overall winner, Matt Alllen's TP52 Ichi Ban.
Words: Peter Campbell
Photo: Peter Watson
10:30AEST/19 January 2018
Philosopher Sydney 36cr I Shaun Tiedemann I Sam Tiedemann I Oli Burnell I Elliott Noye I Samantha Bailey I Alec Bailey I Nelson Brown I Tom Stearnes I Sandringham Yacht Club I Australian Yachting Championship I Australian Sailing - Tasmania I Peter Campbell
Tasmanian sailor Michael Cooper has fought back in his bid to win the 2018 SB20 World championship, but the competition is fierce with two French and a British boat his rivals for victory on the Derwent tomorrow. (more…)
The French crew of Le Grand Reservoir.Mazet & Associas, skippered by Achille Nebout, has moved to the top of the leader board after race nine of the SB20 Worlds on Hobart’s River Derwent. (more…)
For the third consecutive day, the 59 boat fleet in the SB20 Worlds are enjoying great sailing conditions on Hobart’s spacious River Derwent, a freshening sou’-wester sweeping up the river at 13-19 knots with gusts of 24 knots. (more…)
Export Roo, Tasmania’s major hope to win the SB20 World Championship 2018 on the River Derwent today slid down the leader board from first to sixth place overall.
Export Roo, skippered by Hobart yachtsman Michael Cooper, began day three with consistent sailing, notching up a second and a seventh place in the 59 boat fleet. Then came race eight of the 12 boat series with a disastrous 32nd as his British and French opponents turned in high placings.
And, of course, Export Roo and her crew must sail as brilliantly as they did earlier in the series. Export Roo’s sensational fall from grace, hopefully short-lived for the local Hobart fleet, has seen the British yacht Xcellent moved to the top of the leader board with a net 41 points after placings yesterday of 10-1-3. One of skipper John Pollard’s crew is Matthew Johnston, Commodore of the co-host club, the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania. Ironically, Johnston previously sailed with Michael Cooper.
Second overall is the young French sailor Achille Nebout and his crew of Le Grand Reservoir/Mazet & Associes who yesterday had a 3-3-8 result for a net 45 points. In third place is another young French crew, Give Me 5 – French Youth Team who starred yesterday with two first places and an eighth. Give Me 5 is on 27 points.
Top placed Australian (and Tasmanian) after eight races is Australian Brett Cooper, skippering Aeolus, also from the Hobart fleet, in fourth position on a net 52 poinds. Aeolus yesterday placed 11-4-7 to be on 52 points. In sixth place is the consistent Tasmanian Greg Prescott in 2Unlimited while Elliott Noye had his best race to date with a fourth place, lifting Porco Rosso to eighth overall.
The SB20 World championship is still wide open with British, French and Australian boats all in contention with four races to sail over the next two days.
Words By Peter Campbell
Photos By: Jane Austin
British yachtsman Richard Powell snatched victory on the final spinnaker run of race five of the SB20 Worlds today, ending a boat-for-boat duel between Tasmanians Brett Cooper and Michael Cooper.
