The eighty one year old indomitable Lou Abrahams and his Melbourne crew aboard Challenge are once again proving a force to be reckoned with in this year’s Morris Finance Sydney 38 Class Series being sailed as part of Skandia Geelong Week which is heading into its final day tomorrow, Australia Day.
Abrahams insists there is no local knowledge involved in their good fortune, a trophy for third last year and current series leader, “like the Sydney guys we only sail here once a year,” he promises.
The veteran yachtsman is delighted with the calibre of racing this year. “The standard of racing has lifted considerably on the2008 series.”
Abrahams, who is calling tactics with John Gibson, has his regular crew aboard, including Scott Walton who has been promoted to helmsman and is filling the big shoes nicely.
Second on the provisional overall pointscore and three points behind Challenge with one race remaining is Cinquante (12 points) and third is Sierra Chainsaw (16 points).
The two Sydney 38 races were sailed in completely different breezes. The earlier one was sailed in a light and shifty land breeze in which Abrahams’ Challenge battled with Ian Murray’s Cinquante and Mel Mollison’s Sierra Chainsaw around the course with Challenge the eventual winner by just over one minute after the lead changed a couple of times.
Cinquante crossed the line behind Challenge and ahead of young Chris Lewin’s Another Challenge, Abrahams’ former Sydney 38.
The course was moved for the second race and was sailed in a building sea breeze on Geelong’s Corio Bay which kicked in around 2.45pm, the race getting away at 3.30pm.
Again the racing was boat on boat. Challenge was in the top two in the fleet all the way around the track. Down the spinnaker run on opposite gybes, Greg Clinnick’s Audacious took the left hand side of the course, while Challenge opted for the right.
Audacious pipped Challenge by just 11 seconds with Cinquante third in race five results.
Tomorrow the one design fleet of nine will sail a final deciding race in a forecast south to south westerly 10 to 15 knots tending south to south easterly, expected to increase to 20 to 25 knots during the afternoon.
Provisional Top five after five races with one race remaining:
1 CHALLENGE Lou Abrahams SYC 9
2 CINQUANTE Ian Murray RGYC 12
3 SIERRA CHAINSAW Mel Mollison SYC 16
4 AUDACIOUS Greg Clinnick RBYC 22
5 SCARLET RUNNER Rob Date SYC 24
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