Tight pointscore at Audi Winter Series

11:25 AM Sun 14 Jun 2009 GMT

'You're Hired - Audi Winter Series' Peter Andrews

After six races in the Audi Winter Series 2009, Race Seven for some was a chance to break a tie in the pointscore or to try to score extra points over their nearest rival.

With one race drop having been applied to the provisional pointscore, some divisions only have one to three points separating the leader, whilst there are ties for first place or second place three divisions, which meant racing today was vital for many.

The promising westerly winds that were present when the race committee took to the water evaporated just before the start of racing, forcing a delayed start. Racing got underway at 11:45 for the Sydney 38 OD Division and 11:50 for all other divisions in a very light nor'westerly breeze of 4-5 knots, sailing on course A. A fleet of 139 yachts took to the start line - the largest fleet yet for the Audi Winter Series 2009.

PRO John Hurley said the conditions were the most difficult the fleet has had to face all season, shortening the course at the gate. 'Winds were light and shifty - shifting all day long and never getting to more than 5 knots. A strong run-out tide also contributed to the challenging conditions. It was a real test of light weather sailing skills.'

'Those who did the best today were those that were able to pick the shifts in the breeze and got themselves on the more easterly side of the course,' said John. All yachts finished before the 4.30pm race cut-off with only sixteen yachts retiring due to the light conditions.

In Division A, Geoff Morgan and Andrew Banks' You're Hired finished first in Division A, with Matthew Short's Shortwave second and Dick Cawse's Vanguard third.

'We started off well - we went high and took the easterly side of the course and found breeze which pick us up and took us right around the course. It was nice to get it right today as we've got it wrong so many times this season,' said Geoff Morgan

'Racing was tight but then the breeze dropped and the rest of the fleet caught up to us. We then fought hard to keep ahead of everyone else when the breeze came in again. We were lucky to come up with the win today.'

'Our fantastic crew made no mistakes today. The crew is not the same every week, but they did a sensational job displaying great sailing strategy. The Audi Winter Series is such great fun - we are sailing with a great bunch of people and great yachts to compete against on Sydney Harbour. What more could you want?,' concluded Geoff

In Division B, Tim Casey's St Hilliers Quest finished first with Jeff Carter's Edake second and Noel Cornish's St Jude third.

'It was an exciting day in cold and variable conditions. We thought we were out the back at the start of the race, due to the light winds, but halfway through the race we thought that we weren't doing too badly,' said Tim Casey.

'Today's win is due partly to the fantastic efforts of crew members Scott Lawson and Jason King who made all the right calls and show committment to the boat. I just had to turn up to steer!,' concluded Tim.

In Division C, Sean Langman's LBxx finished first with Howard de Torres' Nips'n'Tux second and Michael Selby's Cyrene 3 third.

Other division winners included Peter Sorensen's The Philosophers Club (Division D), Vaughan Stibbard's The Business (Division E), Rob McConchie's Wave Dancer (Division F), Kim LeGras' Irrepressible (Division G), Brett & Karen Pearce's Broulee (Division H), Peter Franki's Salt Shaker (Division J), Robert Hunt's Attitude (Division K) and The SubZero Syndicate's The SubZero Goat (Sydney 38OD).