Morris Finance Sydney 38 Short Course Championship won by Cinquante

11:01 AM Thu 24 Sep 2009 GMT

'Audacious (G Clinick & P Holden) & Challenge (Lou Abrahams) @ leeward mark - 2009 Morris Finance Short Course Championship' Sam Haines Click Here to view large photo

The 2009 Morris Finance One Design Short Course Regatta was hosted by the Royal Geelong Yacht Club over the weekend of the 19th and 20th September. The event is the traditional season opener for the Victorian Sydney 38 fleet and is designed to provide owners and their crews with the opportunity for crew training, close racing and social time together.

Unfortunately, the fleet was small as only three Sydney 38s from Melbourne were able to join the local boat, Ian Murray's 'Cinquante' for the regatta. However, the weekend was another great success and the RGYC was a terrific host.

On Saturday, a 25 to 30 knot westerly delayed the racing until the afternoon. Fortunately, the wind moderated and three races were completed before a vicious south westerly forced the Race Officer to postpone racing until Sunday. The local boat 'Cinquante' dominated the day with two firsts and a second. The conditions were particularly difficult with strong gusts and massive shifts testing the tacticians and trimmers. Local knowledge is no doubt a factor at Geelong and with Timmy Davis calling the shots for Ian Murray, 'Cinquante' led for most of the day. 'Challenge' (Lou Abrahams) won the last race by winning the start and handling the testing reach to the finish better than their opposition. The crew of 'Audacious' (Greg Clinnick and Paul Holden) continue to improve and were well placed throughout the races to lead 'Sierra Chainsaw' (Mel and Andrew Mollison) at the end of the day by 3 points.

On Saturday evening, all crews participated in a great meal at the club whilst watching the local Geelong team thrash Collingwood in the Preliminary Final on the big screen. With the locals going so well, what chance did the visitors from the city have?

Overnight the wind had abated, so racing started early on Sunday to try to make up for the time lost on Saturday. The starts were willing with 'Challenge' and 'Cinquante' engaging in their own private dual whilst 'Sierra Chainsaw' was trying to reverse the pecking order with 'Audacious'. A win in heat six by 'Sierra Chainsaw' settled that particular contest. 'Challenge' was beginning to threaten 'Cinquante' dominance but at the end of the day it was 'Cinquante' who won the regatta by two points from 'Challenge' second, 'Sierra Chainsaw' third with 'Audacious' slipping to fourth.

Sam Haines, a long time Sydney 38 supporter, who recently established the Ullman Sail franchise in Melbourne, attended the regatta on Sunday. He provided each of the competitors with some photos of their sail trim along with useful notes based on his 'on water' observations in an effort to improve the standard of the Victorian Sydney 38 fleet.

After allowing for a drop, after seven races the final results were as follows:-

1st ' Cinquante' Ian Murray 8 points
2nd 'Challenge' Lou Abrahams 10 points
3rd 'Sierra Chainsaw' Andrew and Mel Mollison 18 points
4th 'Audacious' Greg Clinnick & Paul Holden 22 points

Commodore John Kint presented the 'Sydney 38 Blue Jacket' to Ian Murray (It fitted him so well he must have been confident!) and Andrew Browne, representing the sponsor 'Morris Financial Services', presented the trophies to the podium winners.

Royal Geelong Yacht Club is to be congratulated for hosting a great weekend and the class is very appreciative of the continued support of Morris Finance in sponsoring the event.

Cinqante skippered by Ian Murray Winner of 2009 Morris Finance Championship - 2009 Morris Finance Short Course Championship - Sam Haines Click Here to view large photo

by Rowan SIMPSON