The Rag & Famish Hotel team of Harry Price, Max Paul and Finn Rodowicz continued their domination of the 2024-25 Australian 18 Footers League fleet with another brilliant exhibition in the strong north-east wind conditions on a near-deserted Sydney Harbour today.
For the third time, on the five scheduled race days so far in the League 2024-25 season,25-30 knot NE winds dominated conditions, leaving the 18 footer fleet as the only sailing club to challenge the elements.
Today’s racing was for Race 3 of the Club Championship and Race 5 of the Sixt Spring Championship and, as it did in the opening race of the season, the Rag & Famish Hotel team won both the Club and Sixt Spring champions events.
The 2024 Giltinan world champion team of Micah Lane, Fang Warren and Lewis Brake finished second behind The Rag in both, followed by Finport Finance (Keagan York, Adam Gilson, Phil Marshall) in third place and The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines (Hugo Stoner, Hugo Leeming, Daniel Watson) in fourth place.
4 teams complete the course
They were the only four teams to complete the course.
After the first three races of the League’s club championship, Rag & Famish Hotel has a perfect score of three points, followed by Vaikobi on 19, Yandoo on 20, Balmain (Henry Larkings) on 22, then Burrawang-Young Henrys (Simon Nearn), Sixt (Jacob Marks) and The Kitchen Maker (Lachlan Steel) all on 26 points.
In the Sixt Spring Championship series, Rag & Famish Hotel leads with a total of ten points, followed by Vaikobi on 24, Balmain 26, Yandoo 27, Burrawang-Young Henrys 32, Sixt 33 and Finport Finance on 37.
7 boats make the start
Only seven boats made it to the start line on time while several others managed to start late and try to complete the course.
With the strong winds and lumpy seas battering the leaders, it was surprising how close the racing was at the head of the fleet as the teams headed from the start off Clark Island to the weather mark at the Beashel Buoy.
Vaikobi, Finport Finance, and Rag & Famish Hotel all had the lead at various stages while Yandoo (with a reefed mainsail) and Lazarus (Tom Cunich) were in close pursuit.
Finport Finance and The Rag went around the Beashel Buoy almost alongside each other before the Rag & Famish crew won the bear away manoeuvre to open up a small break as the pair headed for the wing mark off the southern end of Shark Island.
Yandoo was in third place just ahead of Lazarus, but Lazarus’ day came to a sudden, and violent, end when the crew was catapulted over the bow of the hull in a wild capsize only metres after rounding the mark.
Great crew work on The Rag saw the team hold off a challenge from Finport Finance at the wing mark but after a testing spinnaker run between Shark Island and Clark Island, the crew had to settle for trailing Finport Finance by 8s as the pair completed the first of the three-lap course.
It was incredible to think that the two teams had battled the testing conditions for a full lap of the course and were practically still together as they headed back up to the weather mark at the Beashel Buoy.
Finport maintained her narrow lead over The Rag but capsized in the tack shortly after crossing The Rag, leaving Yandoo as the only challenger to the leader.
High-speed exhibition
The spinnaker run down the centre of the course was a brilliant, high-speed exhibition by the talented Rag & Famish crew, captured in close up by the SailMedia livestream video team. (It is a must see for anyone who wants to see speed racing)
The Rag was leading Yandoo as the two crew approached the bottom mark off Clark Island, but the Yandoo crew grabbed the barest of leads, due to her smaller rig, as both set off for the third and final lap of the course.
Once again, Rag & Famish was first to the Beashel Buoy and held a lead of 30s over Yandoo as spinnakers were set for the run to the finish, but a torn spinnaker on the Yandoo set quickly became a destroyed spinnaker which had to be lowered and the race was done.
The Rag finally crossed the finish line 4m31s ahead of Yandoo, with Finport Finance (after another capsize) a further 7m59s back in third place.
A mention must be given to the young team on The Oak Double Bay-4 Pines, which finished in fourth place. It was the team’s best performance in the 18s and to do it on a day like today was a wonderful effort. Congratulations!
Race 6 of the Sixt Spring Championship will be sailed next Sunday, 24 November. It is the final race of the series. The club’s spectator ferry will follow the race, leaving Double Bay Public Wharf at 2pm.
SailMedia will livestream all the action.
Frank Quealey
Australian 18 Footers League Ltd.
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