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Australian
champions Micah Lane, Jack Macartney and Drew Waller
started their challenge for the SLAM JJ Giltinan
Championship in great style when they brought their
skiff Macquarie Real Estate home a narrow winner in Race
1 of the regatta on Sydney Harbour yesterday.
Macquarie
Real Estate took the victory by just 8 secs from John
Sweeny’s Active Air-2UE with 2005 champion Euan Mc Nicol
(Club Marine) a further 32secs back in third place. Asko
Appliances (Hugh Stodart) finished fourth, followed by
Gotta Love It 7 (Seve Jarvin) and defending champion
Michael Coxon (Fiat) in sixth place.
A 15-knot
North East breeze greeted the 32-strong fleet for the
start off Double Bay. Macquarie Real Estate quickly
grabbed the lead soon after the start but had to give
way to US champion Howie Hamlin’s Pegasus Racing mid way
up the windward beat. At the Beashel Buoy Pegasus Racing
held a narrow lead from Macquarie Real Estate, Asko
Appliances and Fiat with Active Air-2UE, Gotta Love It 7
and Club Marine in hot pursuit.
The downwind
leg tested the fleet to the maximum as the breeze was
slightly ENE and forced all crews to struggle with their
big spinnakers as they approached the wing mark at Shark
Island. The young Macquarie crew outmanoeuvred their
more experienced rivals to lead aroung the Rose Bay mark
just ahead of the Americans. Active Air-2UE had good
downwind boat speed to take third place just ahead of
Asko, Club Marine and Gotta Love It 7.
The leaders
split into two separate groups on the second windward
leg with Macquarie, Active Air-2UE, Asko and Club Marine
going to the RHS of the course. Pegasus Racing, Gotta
Love It 7 and Fiat went to the left on the northern
shore. Those on the right picked up the easterly slant
in the breeze and Macquarie held a 25secs lead over
Active Air-2UE as spinnakers were set for the next run
back down harbour. Club Marine was third, followed by
Asko, Gotta Love It 7 and the early leader Pegasus
Racing.
The leaders
had a spectacular spinnaker run back to the start mark
as Macquarie Real Estate battled to hold off the Active
Air-2UE challenge. With two laps completed and just one
to go Macquarie headed back upwind with a 15secs margin
over Asko and Active Air-2UE who were locked together.
Macquarie retained their lead at the final windward buoy
and headed for home as the likely winner. The Active
Air-2UE crew had other ideas and chased the leaders all
the way downwind, only going down by just 8secs in a
sensational finish to the opening race.
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