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Rod Waterhouse and Chris Way leading Masters Photo: Mark Rothfield |
A fickle sou’easter eventually filled in at around 1:30pm, and competitors dialled down their rig tuning for light airs. Two races were eventually sailed, with positions swinging wildly throughout as the more tactical sailors got a chance to shine.
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Jason Waterhouse and Brett Goodall Photo: Mark Rothfield |
A general recall was need for the first start as the fleet was itching to get underway, however the second attempt was clean. Adam Beattie, sailing with Jamie Leitner, was first to hook into the breeze on the left hand side of the course and led at the top mark from Waterhouse/Goodall and the Italian team of Matteo Ferraglia and Lorenzo Bianchini.
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Queenslanders Matt Homan and Adrian Forset shone on a vintage Capricorn Mk1 - Photo: Mark Rothfield |
Son Jason Waterhouse grabbed the lead from Beattie after a blistering downwind leg and cleared away to a 45-second win over the Italians, followed by Queenslanders Matt Homan and Adrian Forset.
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Hobie Wildcat sailors Adam Beashel and Grant Pellew were fast but down on luck Photo: Mark Rothfield |
Race 2 saw two general recalls and a further wait as the race committee altered the course. Rain settled in for the afternoon as well, but Homan quickly proved that his first race result was no fluke.
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Sailing a Windrush Edge, Matteo Ferraglia and Lorenzo Bianchini had two 2nds Photo: Mark Rothfield |
There were ladders aplenty on the next downwind leg as Adam Beashel and crew Grant Pellew crept into contention and Ferraglia/Bianchini climbed to third. Homan held a 40-second advantage going into the final leg and was never headed, however fortunes fluctuated wildly for the rest of the fleet.
First, Waterhouse and Goodall played their get out-of-jail card by gybing immediately at the mark and threading through the starboard tackers towards the wind line. They flew home to finish third, just metres behind the Italians who’d also done a Houdini impersonation.
Arguably the most pain was suffered by Beashel/Pellew as they slipped from second to ninth place.
It left three crews with four points for the day – Waterhouse/Goodall, Ferraglia/Bianchini and Homan/Forset – but with a discard counted it was the overnight leaders who had stretched their margin to eight points over Burvill/Duffield and Beattie/Leitner.
"We weren’t in the best shape during the second race but the boat has really good downwind speed and caught up nicely. Our goal is top three in all the races because they’re a keeper, particularly with the drops," Waterhouse said.
"In our last regatta we didn’t go so well in the light so it’s a big confidence booster. We’d thought the breeze might fill so we left the mast rake back but eased off the diamond tension to make the sail a bit fuller."
Matt Homan was ‘stoked’ with his win in an older design: ‘We had a good start and just tried to stay in front from there, although it’s a bit hard in that breeze. There were some big gusts coming down and we kept trying to find them.’
Ferraglia was also smiling after a consistent performance in a boat he’d barely sailed. "The course was very tactical today," he said. "Our crew work was fast, our tactics were good, and the boat was also really fast. We are still getting used to it. I’m a bit sad, now, that we capsized and had an OCS yesterday, because otherwise we’d be doing really well."
While Rod Waterhouse and Chris Way are still leading the Masters Division, Way said their day had more downs than ups.
"It was tricky. It was one of those days. The wind was shifting through 45 degrees and there were lots of holes, so if you were caught on the wrong side you were out of the game. The way these boats accelerate they can really punish you if miss the pressure."
Mark Rothfield
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