The crack Geelong 46 footer Shogun emerged as Victorias top handicap chance for this year’s Sydney-Hobart after it blitzed the Grand Prix IRC fleet on Port Phillip to easily win the Lipton Regatta.

The Lipton Regatta provided a final crew hit out for nine of Victoria IRC division fifty footers doing the Hobart classic. Skippered by Ron Hanna, Shogun which is a DK 46 from the Royal Geelong Yacht Club, finished on 4 points with two wins and a second placing from four races sailed in light and shifty 5 -15 knot breezes

A thrilled Ron Hanna, who owns an electronics defence business, said afterward hearing of his win following the final 27 nautical mile race, “Through out the four heats we picked the wind shifts correctly most of the time and my crew and afterguard did an exemplary job to put us into a position to win the Cup!

“Whilst we are down to do the Sydney-Hobart after Christmas, as I have ordered a new boat for delivery next March Shogun is on the market and if I get suitable offer we may miss the race to Hobart.”

Second over all on 6 points was Michael Hiatt’s Cookson 50 Living Doll from RYCV which recovered from a nightmare first race to score a 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd to haul itself up the leaders in a never say die effort.

Third was the Ballarat duo of Graeme and Steven Troon’s Reichel Pugh 46 footer XLR8 (SYC) that took the handicap and line honours double in the long fourth race to finish on 9 pts.

An overnight protest resulted in Ray Borrett’s new Laurelle (RYCV) that was in second place overall being disqualified from race three for a give way to the right infringement, causing the Farr 42 to drop out of contention to finish fourth on 12 points.

Royal Yacht Club of Victoria’s Commodore Michael Smith said,  “Royals is delighted that the regatta attracted more than 120 entries in its first year from Grand Prix racers, club keelboats down to Couta Boats and the evergreen classics.”

Lipton Cup trophy

The Lipton Cup which is the major prize for the Grand Prix division was presented to Royals in 1909 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 who held it gifted it back to Royals in the mid 1990s.

www.liptonregatta.com
Mike Sabey

Last Updated ( Sunday, 19 November 2006 )