Alegria one step closer to Audi Australian IRC Ocean Racing title

1:05 AM Wed 11 Mar 2009 GMT

'Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta 2009 - ALEGRIA' Andrea Francolini / Audi &copy

Rod Jones and his talented Alegria crew have a stronger grip on the 2009 Audi Australian IRC Ocean racing championship following a convincing class win in The Sydney Harbour regatta last Sunday.

Skipper Jones, who proudly races under the Mooloolaba Dinghy Club burgee' is known on the circuit as the quiet achiever after steering the smaller Archambault 35 Alegria to her runaway Audi Australian title win in 2007.

He was even more convincing at the helm of the larger Archambault A40 Alegria off Sydney Heads last weekend when his equally determined crew including tactician Adrian Finglas raced under the Oceanburo flag to display the required individual technique and tactical skill to again outpace their southern state rivals.

They deserved to be confident after winning their class at the Skandia Geelong Race Week on Corio Bay in late January and predictably started as the favourite to beat their Sydney rivals on home waters.

But they became involved in a real struggle to control the points table when the Sydney sloop Le Billet was cleverly helmed by Bill Ebsary, to set up an early break with impressive wins in the opening two races.

Both Le Billet and Alegria held identical 12 point scores after four races while Le Billet, which proved her pace in the light winds, led with the benefit on the count back rule.

However the Alegria crew remained totally focused on racing consistently, taking the overall lead with a second in race five and clinching the Audi Trophy by a commanding five points, with the consistent 3-2-4-3-2-1.

Rod Jones clearly understands the value of having a happy and dedicated crew who are physically and mentally prepared to slog it out when the going gets tough.

Their combined skill and endurance again allowed skipper Jones the advantage to simply concentrate on steering in the fast lane which eventually paved the way for the 2007 Audi Australian champions to control the 2009 National IRC championship after winning the important Victorian and New South Wales legs of the series.

They have proved the new Alegria A 40 has the handicap rated speed to win over short courses and hope to prove she is equally competitive when they contest the 384 n/ml Audi Sydney to Gold Coast race in late July.

Naturally the Alegria crew will be 'fired up' to claim another class win which could very well put the 2009 Australian IRC championship beyond the reach of all challengers before the final regatta of the series is decided during the Audi Hamilton Island Race Week in late August.

Owner skipper Rod Jones puts a tremendous amount of time into his regatta preparation and never underestimates the contribution from his crew who besides being a great group of blokes remain committed to keep the Queensland and Oceanburo 'battle flags' at the forefront of Australian ocean racing.

by Ian Grant

Newsfeed supplied by

#News #Sailing

Alegria one step closer to Audi Australian IRC Ocean Racing title

Sports/News

Weather Forecasts & Live Reports

Buy & Sell/Classifieds