Day one of the inaugural Lipton Regatta being sailed on northern Port Phillip saw the crack Geelong 46 footer Shogun show a clean pair of heels to the Grand Prix IRC fleet, to finish at the top of the leaders board.

Skippered by Ron Hanna, Shogun which is a DK 46 scored two wins and a third placing from three races sailed in light and shifty 5 -12 knot breezes to lead the regatta’s dark horse Ray Borrett’s just launched Farr 42 Laurelle (two 2nds and a 3^rd) from the host club, Royal Yacht Club of Victoria

A delighted Ron Hanna said afterwards, “We picked the wind shifts correctly most of the time and the crew and my afterguard did a fabulous job to put us into contention to win the “Lipton Cup!

Michael Hiatt’s Cookson 50 Living Doll from RYCV made a nightmare start to its hopes finishing 10^th in race one after it ran over Laurelle seconds before the starter’s gun and lost more than three minutes on the course after restarting and completing two compulsory circles to exonerate itself. In the following two races it scored 1st and a 2^nd to haul itself up the leaders board to be in 3^rd place at day’s end.

Royal Yacht Club of Victoria’s Vice Commodore Tony Spencer says,

“Royals is delighted that the regatta in its first year has attracted more than 130 entries from Grand Prix racers, club keelboats down to Couta Boats and the evergreen classics.”

Racing continues on Sunday 19^th November with the long race, which will be the final heat in the regatta.

The Lipton Regatta is a high standard four race series that embraces Victoria’s top grand prix racers down to cruisers and even the beautiful classic wooden boats from all the major keelboat clubs on Port Phillip.

Lipton Cup trophy

The major prize is the Lipton Cup which was presented to Royals by the legendry tea merchant Sir Thomas Lipton, who tried five times unsuccessfully in the early 1900s to regain the Americas Cup for England from the USA. The Lipton Cup was last awarded in 1909 to the yacht “Helen” but it subsequently disappeared from sailing for nearly 90 years until the Church family gifted it back to Royals in the mid 1990s.

Mike Sabey www.liptonregatta.com

Last Updated ( Saturday, 18 November 2006 )