| ARLIE BEACH-(15-8-2002) A classic match race will decide the 2002 Hog’s Breath National Sydney 38 championship over the Whitsunday Sailing Clubs offshore courses on Pioneer Bay today.
Six days ago 21 crews representing clubs from New Zealand, Tasmania, South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland all had an equal chance of winning this strict One-Design sailing championship regarded as the most demanding of all offshore sailing championships to win.
Now after six hard fought races that allowed five different crews to fly the winners ’Battle flag’ the title battle has come down to a boat on boat match race between the defending titleholder Another Challenge from Victoria and the challenger AMI Jade from New South Wales.
Both crews have carried the ’Battle flag’ once with the class veteran Lou Abrahams Another Challenge winning the first race last Saturday by 15 seconds while Peter McNamara’s AMI Jade defeated Another Challenge in a spirited nip-n-tuck dogfight in the second race by six seconds.
In terms of time crew technique and individual tactics the Another Challenge crew have proved to be the best and fastest based on the total elapsed time of 13 hours 30 minutes 9 seconds for the six races decided in a mixed range of winds from a fickle 5-8knots to a fresh and frightening 25-32knot South East trade wind.
A margin of 1 minute 22 seconds may not seem a lot to most sailors but in the strict art form of Sydney 38 One-Design class racing where seconds can mean the difference between winning or finishing back in the pack its rated as a walkover.
Collectively Another Challenge with her 1-2-6-2-2-4 score over six races has been 1 minute 22 seconds faster than AMI Jade with her score of 5-1-2-3-10-2.
These results will be only referred to as statistics when both crews sail onto the course today with identical 3-3 win-loss scores in placing's over the past six races.
This sets the stage for a classic match race with the Another Challenge holding the upper hand with a two place and two point advantage over AMI Jade.
Who will win? The first winner will be the class, which has provided a new dimension of exciting racing; the second will be either the Another Challenge or the AMI Jade crew who must produce a mistake free tactical racing strategy on the course today to accept the 2002 ’Boss Hog’ Australian championship trophy.
Personally with respect to both highly talented crews my ’Bucket of Bundy Rum and Coke’ bet rests with the sentimental favourite and defending champion Lou Abrahams and his loyal Another Challenge racing team.
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