| MOOLOOLABA, AUSTRALIA-(25-7-2004) New Zealander Cameron Appleton today won the final lead-up regatta, but the competition remains wide open for the ACE Etchells World Championship 2004 which starts in a week’s time at Mooloolaba on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
Appleton, the No 2 helmsman with the Kiwi America’s Cup challenge team, was a model of consistency as he steered his Etchells, Embers, to placings of 1-3-4-8 over the weekend to finish with 16 points in the 42 boat fleet contesting this third and final Pre-Worlds regatta.
Overall, he finished three points clear of Australian National Champion Mark Bulka, sailing Balanced A Tac from the Mornington, Victoria, fleet who placed 4-4-6-5 for 19 points.
These two were well clear of former America’s Cup winning skipper John Bertrand, sailing Two Saints and a Magpie from the Melbourne fleet, who finished with 33 points, recovering well from a first race 27th with subsequent placings of 1-3-2.
Also on 33 points was Adelaide fleet’s Chris Pratt, sailing Squid to placings of 2-23-5-3. Like Bertrand, he is a former Olympic Finn class sailor.
Sailing conditions were excellent today, a true northerly for the morning race which freshened from 7 knots to a 14 knot north-easterly seabreeze in the afternoon.
“We saw some aggressive sailing again today, as was to be expected in a final lead-up regatta before the Worlds,” Principal Race Officer Arthur Hodge said after the racing.
As a result, several prominent skippers saw themselves given OCS (one course side) results, including American Dennis Conner in race four and Tasmanian Andrew Hunn who was “blown” in both races today.
Conner, at the helm of Menace, did not have a good weekend at all, but this two-times Etchells World Champion cannot be discounted for the Worlds, which get underway with an invitation race next Sunday, followed by eight heats for the fleet of 85 boats.
This weekend’s final Pre-Worlds produced four different race winners, Cameron Appleton (Gulf Harbour, NZ fleet), John Bertrand (Melbourne), Ian Johnston with Bananas in Pyjamas (Mornington fleet) and Michael Coxon with North Sydney (Sydney fleet) and each of these must be considered a strong chance to become the 2004 World Champion.
Others who have impressed over the weekend include Mark Bulka, the current Australian champion from Mornington, Chris Pratt from Adelaide and Mark Bradford from Brisbane, while Melbourne yachtsman John Savage, the first Australian to win an Etchells World Champion, also sailed well in the light to moderate breezes.
Among those who had disappointing results this weekend, but cannot be dropped from Worlds calculations, include Rob Brown, Andrew Hunn and Grant Wharington, who won the Etchells Australian Winter Championship last month.
Of the locals, Lucas Down in Wooshka had two good races (2nd and 8th) to finish eighth overall while David Turton, sailing 1219, improved today with a 14th and a 7th to finish 10th overall, maintaining the consistency he has shown in all three Pre-Worlds regattas.
Top 10 placings in the ACE Pre-Worlds Regatta #3:
Embers (Cameron Appleton, Gulf Harbour, NZL) 1-3-4-8, 16 pts
Balanced A-Tac (Mark Bulka, Mornington) 4-4-6-6, 19
Two Saints and a Magpie (John Bertrand, Melbourne) 27-1-3-2, 33
Squid (Chris Pratt, Adelaide) 2-23-5-3, 33
Cobra IV (JohN Savage, Melbourne) 6-8-12-12, 39
Just-a-Dash (John Dash, Sydney) 15-6-7-13, 41
Racer X (Mark Bradford, Brisbane) 12-21-2-9, 44
Wooshka (Lucus Down, Mooloolaba) 22-2-8-18, 55
Old Hag (Mark Turnbull, Eastern NZL) 20-13-12-11, 56
1219 (David Turton, Mooloolaba) 18-22-14-7, 61
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