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9th January 2009
By Peter Campbell
The final race on Sydney Harbour tomorrow will decide the 2009 winner of the prestigious Prince Philip Cup, the Australasian championship for the classic International Dragon class yachts between champion skippers from Sydney and Hobart.
Going into the seventh heat between these one-design keelboats, a one-time Olympic class, only 6.6 points separate Hobart’s Nick Rogers, sailing Karabos IX, and the 82-year-old holder of the Prince Philip Cup, Sydney yachtsman Gordon Ingate, helming Whim.
In today’s heat six, Karabos IX finished just seven seconds ahead of Whim as they crossed the line in sixth and seventh place after virtually match-racing in a light south-easterly breeze around the 12 nautical mile course. The only threat to these two boats hinges on a claim for redress by young Sydney yachtsman Matt Whitnall sailing Taranui, who placed fifth today.
Whitnall was disqualified from race four but is seeking to re-open the hearing tonight, ask the protest committee to lift the penalty and instead give him average points for being forced to retire from that heat with a damaged rig. In with a chance of an overall top three placing is the Russian Mikhail Muratov who sailed Murka 3 into fourth place today in a race that saw the other Russian entry Murka 9, skippered by Olga White, score its second win of the Cup beating Sidewinder (Carl Ryves) and Toogara (Robert Alpe). Less than three minutres separated the first nine boats to finish. Muratov cannot beat Rogers even if the Russian wins tomorrow’s final heat, but could finish in the top three with a winning final heat.
Ingate needs to win or place second, with Rogers astern of him, to retain the Prince Philip Cup which he won, for the first time in 45 years of sailing Dragons, on Hobart’s Derwent River this time last year. Ironically, Rogers, a former Dragon World champion and eight times winning skipper in the Prince Philip Cup, was his mainsheet trimmer and tactician in that victory.
With one drop race now counted, Karabos IX is on 22.4 points, Whim on 29, Murka 3 on 35, Taranui on 44 and Murka 9 on 49 points.
Today’s race started in Chowder Bay with the windward mark deep in Rose Bay, with the light sou-easter hooking right at the start resulting in several boats, include Whim, unable to lay the line on starboard tack. Karabos IX was one who got away in clear air with Rogers heading straight across to the harbour’s eastern shore, rounding the first windward mark in second place with Whim in third place after getting a massive lift off Shark Island. “He is like a shadow…we could not get rid of him,” Rogers said after the race. “We then hounded him around the course, staying ahead, but on the final spinnaker run back to Chowder Bay the breeze swung from the right hand to the left hand; Gordon gybed and sailed over the top of us.
“On the final beat to the finish, we went left while Gordon continued up the western shore and as we came together he sailed into down pressure, allowing us to get ahead once more. “We were getting big lifts sailing into Rose Bay and thought we were going to win the race…all the fleet was to leeward, Gordon was 100 metres to leeward…but then we knocked and he got the lifts off Shark Island, sailing 30 to 40 degrees higher than us and on the line he was just seven seconds astern.
“It looks to be a match race tomorrow between us and Gordon, although if Matt Whitnall in Taranui gets average points for race four he could well come into the equation,” Rogers added.
Top ten boats after five heats, one discard:
1. Karabos IX (Nick Rogers, Tas) 2-3-4-1-3-6, 22.4
2. Whim (Gordon Ingate, NSW) 1-4-11-4-1-7-29
3. Murka 3 (Mikhail Muratov, RUS) DNF-1-8-2-5-4, 35
4. Taranui (Matt Whitnall, NSW) 4-14-2-DSQ-2-5, 44
5. Murka 9 (Olga White, RUS) 9-2-1-DNF-OCS-1, 49
6. Sidewinder (Carl Ryves, NSW) 3-16-17-6-6-2, 54.1
7. Abracadabra (David Seaton, NSW) 8-13-3-5-4, 56.7
8. Amazing Grace (Tony Moody & Charles Stanton, Vic) 18-9-5-3-8-13, 63.7
9. Toogara (Robert Alpe, NSW) 7-15-6-8-7-3, 57.4
10. Kirrbilli II (Andrew Crisp, Tas) AVG-7-16-10-12-8, 78 Further information:
Peter Campbell – 0419 385 028 or email – peter_campbell@bigpond.com
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