| Australia. Skandia outsails fleet at Hamilton Island |
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| Wednesday, 25 August 2004 | |
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Hahn Premium Race Week reaches half-way point Australia's super maxi Skandia demonstrated her superior all angle sailing speed off Hamilton Island today when she scored another line and corrected handicap win in the 2004 Hahn Premium Race Week regatta. Skandia beaten for line honours by her New Zealand rival Konica/Minolta (Stewart Thwaites) in a similar windward leeward race yesterday was the complete master on the race course today. Skipper Grant Wharington assisted by the tactical racing skill of his key crew members Will Oxley, Paul Taylor and Ian Walker dominated in the moderate 15-18 knot south east breeze powering out of the start to dictate the race strategy up the initial slog into the breeze. The two maxis staged their usual boat on boat match race but it was the Skandia crew who held the upper hand setting up a marginal lead when the crews scrambled over the foredeck to set the spinnaker. Skandia jumped clear of any threat of a wind shadow from Konica/Minolta in spite of the effort by the Kiwi crew who tried on several occasions to sail into a challenging position. The struggle between both crews played a big part in keeping Skandia on the pace to out sail her penalty plus 1.6010 rating. Grant Wharington developed a good understanding with the variable wind changes influenced by rain clouds to eventually finish with a 1 minute 40 second win over Konica Minolta while Bob Oatley's Admirals Cup winning sloop Wild Oats filled third place another 5 minutes 7 seconds astern. Skipper Grant Wharington gained the value from sailing a smart tactical race when Skandia recorded her second win on corrected handicap to now become a real challenger to win the championship outright in the final race on Saturday after moving into third place on the points table. The minor places were filled by the Sydney yachts Prime Time (David Mason) and Quest (Bob Steel) with Prime time becoming the joint series leader with Colin O'Neil's Aftershock after they finished in fourth place today. www.visithamiltonisland.com.au/raceweek_updates and www.hiyc.org.au Susan Boyd |
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 25 August 2004 ) |
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