| Australia. Running the Rhumblines |
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| Monday, 21 November 2005 | |
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By Ian Grant: A crucial six second time frame will prove to be a deciding factor when the popular Whitsunday Sailing Club skipper Craig Piccinelli presses his claim to steer Wobbly Boot to victory on Pioneer Bay this week. Piccinelli and crew presently hold a shaky grip on the Whitsunday Marine Brokerage trophy with their 2-1-5 score after Chris Nicoll (Africa), Michael Schwarzel (No Legends) and Colin Purden (Sandpiper) forced them to accept 5th place in a blanket 6 second finish last week. Jeff Shipsey clearly won the important heat steering Sunrise to a comfortable 27 second win in the soft and variable 7 knot northerly breeze while the tactical dog-fight to resolve the minor places ultimately proved to be the closest in club racing for several years. Chris Nicoll cleverly steered Africa to claim second place by five seconds while No Legends and Sandpiper finished with identical times to share third place just 1 second ahead of Wobbly Boot. All four crews are now mindful that any errors in race strategy or crew skills will not only be the turning point in the tactical battle to resolve the Whitsunday Marine Brokerage trophy but possibly the overall club championship. Skipper Piccinelli and tactician Roger Vickery have won their share of major trophies in the past including the Boss Hog title as boat of the series in the 2004 International Hog’s Breath Race Week. But they will need to produce something far more special when the sails are tensioned in the tactical ‘bullring’ on Pioneer Bay this week. Wobbly Boot on 8 pts leads Africa on count back with Sandpiper just another 1.5 pts away which sets the stage all three crews to select the tactical options by sailing a high percentage of the race in clear wind to maintain the required speed to finish with the faster handicap corrected course time. Brian Fleming and his Concubine crew have won two of the three races in Division 3 but are still forced into a boat on boat match race against the Mick Phillips skippered Shearwater to resolve the class champion. Concubine 3-1-1 has the improving score however Shearwater with her 1-2-2 and lower handicap rating of .680 compared with Concubine .720 may just have the race clock ticking in her favour in the important race on Pioneer Bay this week |
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| Last Updated ( Monday, 21 November 2005 ) |
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