Aussies cruising at Cowes
PROMINENT Hobart yachtsmen continue to dominate results in the SB20 one-design sportsboat Cowes Grand Slam being sailed on The Solent off Cowes on the Isle of Wight.
The SB20s are racing as part of the historic Cowes Week, with The Solent turning on very windy conditions.
The Cowes Grand Slam is one of the lead-up regattas on The Solent for the 2017 world championship for the SB20s with six crews expected to compete.
The Royal Yacht Squadron at Cowes is running the worlds, which will be held in Hobart in 2018.
Paul Burnell became the second Australian to win a race at Cowes Week, steering the British yacht Marvel to first place in race four on day two of the regatta. His brother Tim is sailing as crew with owner Richard Powell.
Despite two wins by the strong British continent, Tasmania’s Porco Rosso, with Elliott Noye on the helm, has maintained the overall lead with placings of 2-3 on day two following a third and a first on day one.
Porco Rosso has nine points, with Marvel on 11 points (4-3-3-1) and another UK boat, Xcellent, on 12 points, and Australia’s Export (Michael Cooper) fourth on 13 points.
Hypertronics (Stephen Catchpool) finished sixth and ninth across the line in the two races but received a late penalty (NOD) for failing to lodge a declaration after the racing. It cost 33 points for each race and dropped the Hobart boat to 21st overall.
Smigger (Andrew Smith) found the conditions tough going with an 18 and 17 in yesterday’s races.
The standout helm at the Lendy Cowes Week has certainly been young Tasmanian sailor Noye.
“We [Porco Rosso] had a really good day — we had plenty of boat speed, we were sitting first for the majority of race three,” Noye said.
“We had an unfortunate gybe where we had to ditch the spinnaker and drop the halyard so that cost us probably 10 or 15 seconds which gave enough room for a British boat to get past us.”
Noye described the conditions on day two as “pretty tricky”, adding: “We had quite a bit of breeze on and a bit of tide as well.”