Top honours in the Morris Finance Sydney 38 Class Series have gone to local boat Cinquante (Ian Murray) from Royal Geelong Yacht Club, which won on a countback after finishing on equal points with the sentimental favourite from Melbourne, Lou Abrahams’ Challenge.
“I’m very happy for the crew, they’ve done a really great job,” said a pleased Murray this afternoon.
“Our classmates have commented we’ve been getting faster and faster,” he added.
Murray made special mention of his tactician and boat manager Tim Davis, a Geelong sailor and multiple Mumm World Champion who has done a great job putting together a leading Sydney 38 crew of mostly Cadet sailors. Volvo Ocean Race sailor Bert Schandebyl from Belgium finished the leg to Singapore and joined Murray’s crew as a trimmer.
Just a month ago Cinquante won its division of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and following today’s win the boat is well and truly tuned up heading into the class’ National titles in Sydney next month.
A premature start in the final of the six race series proved costly for the crew of Challenge. After restarting Challenge could only manage a fifth over the line, their worst result which became their dropped race while Cinquante’s worst result was a fourth.
“We got pushed over at the start and heard the call. We went back and got behind the fleet, that’s the way it goes,” said a circumspect Abrahams.
Challenge finished third last year at Skandia Geelong Week in what was the class’ Nationals, and second this year and Abrahams agrees he’s due for a win next year.
Third overall on the pointscore was Mel Mollison’s Sierra Chainsaw from Sandringham Yacht Club giving Victoria a clean sweep of the regatta silverware.
In another hard fought one design clash in a shifty 10-12 knot southerly, nine Sydney 38s took to course area A in Geelong’s Corio Bay for the series decider on the final day of another successful Skandia Geelong Week which attracted a record 473 boats from Australia and around the world.
Following a postponement, during which crews took time to swim and ski behind race yachts, the competition got underway at 1215hrs when a steady sea breeze finally arrived to replace what had resembled a mill pond.
The Sydney 38’s raced on the same course as the Audi Series Division 1 fleet which generated plenty of action in the middle of the Bay as the two fleets criss-crossed upwind and downwind.
Series sponsor Morris Finance is Ian Murray’s company with the local businessman a regular supporter of the class.
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