Australian Schools Teams Racing Champs -update

The 2008 Australian Schools Teams Racing Championship is being hosted by Woollahra Sailing Club in NSW from 11th - 14th July.

The first day was abandoned as winds of 25-30 knots swept the Sydney Harbour course but Saturday and Sunday provided perfect sailing conditions.

Sunny Sydney harbour provided a perfect mix of conditions for teams racing today with only one course change required when the winds shifted from the morning westerly to the afternoon northerly. The pause mid day made for a perfectly timed break between the 56 races that were won or lost during the day..

PRO Colin Chidgey expressed with great enthusiasm how, 'the racing today was great. The level of the teams is really high so it was great to watch and the races ran really smoothly'

Between 9am-11am the wind was 8 - 11 knots from the west. It cut out at lunch time and came in from the north and ranged from 4-17 knots.

Two of the TAS Teams, St Virgils Guildford and last years champions, The Hutchins are leading after day one on equal points after both lost one out of seven races. BBC from Queensland were third after losing two races.

Sunday the weather was even better.

PRO Colin Chidgey excitedly described day three's racing as "Magnificent".

After a short postponement to wait for the north to northwest wind to arrive, the race management team managed to get through an impressive 51 races.

Colin praised the level of the sailors and race management team. "The sailors are of an extraordinarily high standard. The racing is really tight and the teams are always really close on points by the finish"

"The Jury, lead by chief umpire John Middleton has done a fantastic job. They have worked incredibly hard, keeping their focus all day and making quick decisions under pressure"

"Mal Maiden and his team on the change over boat have been brilliant helping the sailors swap in and out of the boats smoothly alongside the barge and entertaining the sailors between races."

With only five races remaining the top four teams are unchallengeable. The leaders are:

Place	Team	Won	Sailed	Win%
1	Hutchins (Tas)	11	13	84.62
2	St Virgils Guilford (Tas)	10	13	76.92
3	BBC (QLD)	9	13	69.23
4	CCGS (WA)	8	13	61.54
5	Scotch College (WA)	7	13	53.85
6	St Josephs (SA)	7	13	53.85
7	Knox Grammar (NSW)	7	13	53.85
8	Cranbrook (NSW)	6	13	46.15
9	St Leonards (Vic)	6	13	46.15
10	Esperence Senior (WA)	6	13	46.15
11	QAGC (QLD)	6	13	46.15
12	Moreton Bay Coll (QLD)	6	13	46.15
13	St Peters (SA)	5	13	38.46
14	KI Community (SA)	5	13	38.46
15	Lton Church Gram (Tas)	4	13	30.77
16	Pittwater High (NSW)	1	13	7.69