Another Fiasco takes runaway line honours win
'Another Fiasco, the Juston 43 of Damian Suckling'
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John Galloway again proved why he is known as the master of yacht racing on Pioneer Bay when he steered Queensland Marine Services to a 'blanket finish' victory in the Maurice Drent Boating Services trophy series.
Galloway and his experienced Queensland Marine Services crew needed to produce a faultless tactical performance when they sailed onto the Whitsunday Sailing Club course to prepare for a final race showdown against the inform Craig Piccinelli helmed Wobbly Boot.
Wobbly Boot already nominated among the favourites to clinch a major result in the 2008 Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week later this month held the upper hand with her superior of 2-5-3 score compared with Queensland Marine Services 3-8-2 as the crews prepared to slog out a corrected handicap match race.
Interest naturally focused on the performance of these two crews when the tactical pressure built to maintain the required pace to sail above their handicap rating.
As expected John Galloway and Craig Piccinelli were only interested in their own match race when Damien Suckling cleverly helmed Another Fiasco to runaway line honours win while also setting the required pace to claim a deserved win on corrected handicap from Surefoot (Rod Sawyer) and Rising Farrst (Tim Osborne).
The match between the two radically different paced Queensland Marine Services and Wobbly Boot hinged entirely on the human element related crew skills and tactical decisions to work in harmony with the breeze that blew over the deck.
In terms of handicap rated speed over the previous three races Wobbly Boot was considered to be the favourite to win but John Galloway has never been known to simply accept defeat however he needed a little help on the way to give Queensland Marine Services the required time factor to reduce his rivals 3 point margin and faster corrected handicap aggregate.
Both skipper Galloway and the Queensland Marine Services crew knew they were in with a chance when they filled third place on line honours with a course time of 1-17-45 leaving the struggling Wobbly Boot with a real challenge to finish within two places to win the series.
Wobbly Boot was sailing on 'shaky water' when she completed the course with a corrected handicap time of 1-04-35, 50 seconds astern of Queensland Marine Services while a trophy threat continued to build with the fleet positions of her lower rated rivals Africa and Idle Time.
Africa finished fifth while Kevin Fogarty steered Idle Time into sixth when she beat Wobbly Boot by 10 seconds the margin which allowed the Queensland Marine Services crew to win the series on count back after both crews finished the four races with identical 17 penalty point scores.
by Ian Grant 
Sunshine Coast, Bundaberg, QLD
