Saturday, 9 July 2022

Division 1 Winner: Tigris

Division 2 Winner: Blue Horizon

Tigris helmsman Brad Doak reported that their race went “really well”. “We started at 20 minutes and were first to the top mark, through to the R mark and then had a perfect run down to G – which was perfect for Tigris”, said Brad. Not even a twist in the spinnaker could prevent the crew from sailing to first place. Congratulations, Stanley Bracchi, Brad Doak, Jan Fielding, Laura Hamilton and Ian Lodewyckx, for your excellent teamwork and resulting win.

Equal 3rd place – 03 seconds        Kalinda & Sunshine

Equal 2nd place – 02 seconds       Blue Horizons & Cloud Ten

Equal 1st place – 00 seconds        Charlotte & Addiction

We have been impressed by the action on the starting line. With triple ties for best start, we’re starting to believe the Squadron has something special happening on the start line. We spoke to Charlotte skipper Ross Flood who has had several great starts. We wanted to ask him what the trick to a good start was and how others could improve.

“The trick is you’ve got to judge the distance and the time and how long it’s going to take there,” says Ross.

Saturday was not the usual, going down the line and suddenly turning. Ross said they sailed at the start line with full speed, and that approach “gets a bit trickier”.

The risk is that if you’re approaching the start line, slowing down is not so easy to do, Ross explains. “You can let the sails go, but that will only slow you so much, and quite often, you don’t have enough room to move around to slow yourself down. The tiller can only do so much!”

Ross says that the best “best starts” is an outstanding achievement from everyone’s point of view. It shows that people are trying hard, and something has gone wrong if you can’t get to the line in under 10 seconds.

For full results visit TopYacht.

Interviews were conducted by Boating Administrator Ann Rogers.

Article was written by Communications Coordinator, Lily Robbins.