8th November 2009
By Peter Campbell
Photo by Kylie Wilson
RSYS member Matt Whitnall dominated racing in the New South Wales Championship for the International Dragon class conducted by the Squadron over the weekend, winning five of the eight heats at the helm of Taranui.
Taranui finished on 10 points, not needing to sail the final race on Sunday afternoon. An impressive scorecard read: 1-3-1-1-1-2-1-DNC.
Runner-up on 20 points was David Mason and Andrew York’s Wizzardry, beating Taranui in two races, while third place went to Richard Franklin and Damien Mannes’ Liquidity on 30 points..
Whitnall, a successful skipper in the International Etchells class, is now concentrating on a program aimed at winning the Dragon World Championship on Melbourne’s Port Phillip in the summer of 2011.
“I’ve sold my Etchells and with my crew, James Dwyer and Michael ‘Wally’ Bartley, I’m concentrating on bringing Taranui right up to scratch for Pre-Worlds in Melbourne next Easter, sailing only in regattas over the summer,” said the 40-year-old yachtsman who admits he’s a youngster among Dragon sailors such as fellow Squadron members Gordon Ingate and Norman Longworth.
“I’m expecting both Gordon and Norman, along with other skippers in the Sydney fleet, to go down for the Pre-Worlds and the Worlds,” he added.
Taranui is a former World champion boat, built in Canada and winner of the 1985 Dragon Worlds. She was formerly owned by Gordon Ingate and bought by Whitnall a couple of seasons ago.
“We are concentrating on simplifying all the control systems on Taranui and making her look shipshape by the Pre-Worlds,” Whitnall said. “We are aiming at putting together a strong team for the Worlds.
Whitnall showed his skills at the helm of Taranui in the Prince Philip Cup last January, finishing fourth overall when loss of a controversial protest and appeal against a Russian crew cost him a probable second overall.
Meanwhile, Tasmanian Nick Rogers, who won the Prince Philip Cup on Sydney Harbour, has returned to racing on the River Derwent with Karabos IX after a winter season sailing an Elliott 5.9 and winning his division with the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania.
A former World Champion in the Dragon class, he also plans to contest the Pre-Worlds in Melbourne next year and the World Championship there in 2011.
The International Yngling class also contested their NSW championship over the weekend, Hamish Jarrett winning on a countback after his boat, Jarrett Jewellery, and Mel Nathan and Michael Nash’s Uncanny each finished with nine points after six heats.
Jarrett Jewellery had a scorecard of 1-3-3-1-4-1 as againt Uncanny’s score of 2-1-2-3-2-2. Third place went to Meridian (Jordon and Alan Reece) on 15 points.
In Squadron Club racing on Saturday, Euphoria (Tony Coleman) won Division 1 PHS and IRC, Arcturus II (Peter Davenport) scored her fourth win of the Spring Series in Division2, Casamajor (Charles Moore) took line and handicap honours in Division 3, Hornblower (Peter Campbell & Steve Sweeney) scored her third win of the season in Division 4 while Bushfire (Jervis Tilly) took out the International Etchells class.
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