| Australia. Sunshine Coast Etchells sailors enter World championship with confidence |
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| Wednesday, 15 November 2006 | |
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Ian Grant: Sunshine Coast Etchells champion Rod Jones completed an outstanding trial for the 2006 Audi World Championship when he steered Oxygen into a top 12 finish in the Australian championship in Perth last Sunday. Jones found out how tactically tough it is to break into the major results when he and his crew mates of Bucky Smith and Greg McAllansmith completed the six race series with a 15-10-7-8-20-9 on the testing Cockburn Sound course off Fremantle. However to finish in the top 12 in a fleet of 51 shows the Mooloolaba crew will enter the World championship with added confidence but they will need to be tactically aware as the stakes are much higher when the fleet of 71 line up to compete for the prestigious Audi trophy. Skipper Jones will need to remain aggressive and protect his rights to a front line start or suffer as the more experienced Etchells sailors like American Jud Smith and England’s Stuart Childerley employ their tactical strategy. Both skippers are not ranked among the major contenders for being ‘nice guys’ they are noted for being tough but fair and will not think twice about applying an aggressive wind shadow on a rival if the manoeuvre results in an improved placing. |
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 15 November 2006 ) |
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