Etchells Australian Championship at Metung Yacht Club - Day 2
by Nic Douglass 5 Mar 2022 01:08 UTC
3-6 March 2022
Day two of the Etchells Australian Championship was sailed yesterday, 4 March 2022, on Lake King from the Metung Yacht Club.
Six races have now been sailed with races four through six raced in 15-20 knots of easterly and with a drop in play Chris Hampton, Sam Haines and Cam Miles on Tango AUS1466 have moved into first overall by just one point over Martin Hill's Lisa Rose AUS1449, with Mat Belcher, Sean O'Rourke and Julian Plante.
Avalon AUS1447 skippered by Michael Bellingham with Dean Blatchford and Kyle Doods are in third overall. Kirwan Robb, Rodney Muller and Brett Taylor on Triad AUS1383 are in fourth overall and lead the Grand Masters division.
Tranquility Base AUS1377 still leads the Corinthian fleet, the Masters match the overall results, with first to third overall all also in the Masters division and The Archer AUS1189 lead the Youth Division.
Wrap of the racing after six races
Race four started in a 15 knot easterly, with the course set at 085 degrees. Swan Song AUS862 were called as being over early at the start.
At the top mark, V for Vendetta AUS1079 skippered by James Bacon with Lallie Leckie, Nigel Jones and Peter Robson were the early leaders, just ahead of Avalon AUS1447 skippered by Michael Bellingham with Dean Blatchford and Kyle Doods. Hill's Lisa Rose AUS1449 was firmly in third position.
At the gate, Avalon AUS1447 took the lead and opted to go out to the left hand corner, and were not headed from there to take their first win of the series. Lisa Rose AUS1449 finished second, which solidified their regatta lead, for the time being with Hampton's Tango AUS1466 posting their worst result of the regatta so far in eighth. Third across the line in race 4 was Thelastone AUS1392.
For the rest of the day it was all about Tango AUS1466, they looked exceptionally powerful in both Race 5 and 6, taking two wins and the regatta lead to finish off their day, dropping their eighth from Race 4. Even though Lisa Rose AUS1449 was technically boat of the day, posting a 2, 3, 3, they moved into second place with a much lower drop not assisting their overall scorecard.
With three more races to be sailed over the next two days, the Championship is still wide open. With breeze coming from the West for day three, the complete opposite of day one and two, the race track on Lake King is certain to provide a fantastic challenge for the fleet of 28 boats for day three.
Live coverage
If you are in the local area, we are commenting on VHF71, and are more than happy to explain or answer any questions. Or you can watch on Facebook via Etchells Australia.
Support
This regatta would not be possible without a fantastic group of sponsors, led by major sponsor King & Heath First National Real Estate, as well as the brilliant team of volunteers working out of the Metung Yacht Club, including the Race Management team, headed by Ross Wilson, backed up by Kevin Wilson.
Thanks also to Lion Nathan, RDM, Keels on Wheels, Intercontinental Sorrento Mornington Peninsula, North Sails, Texco, Stewart Insurance Group, Gippsland Special Events and Edgewater Terraces for their support.
The media sponsor for this event, and a number of other Etchells Australia events this year is a major supporter of the class, HillPDA. Thanks to our other photographers who are onsite for the event, McPherson Photography and Lenka Senkyrikova.
Also in Metung this weekend are the new Mark Set Bot buoys. This groundbreaking technology is being showcased as a sustainable and more efficient method for laying sailing marks. No anchors are required as the electrically motorised inflatable marks are plotted to a GPS coordinate.
Results can be found here.