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11:47 AM Mon 5 Jan 2009 GMT
The old master of Australian one-design yacht racing, 81-year-old Sydney yachtsman Gordon Ingate today outsailed an international fleet on Sydney Harbour in the first heat of his defence of the prestigious Prince Philip Cup for the International Dragon class.
Ingate, who last January won the Prince Philip Cup on Hobart's Derwent River for the first time in more than 45 years of sailing Dragons, steered Whim out in front from start to finish to cross the line 1 minute 13 seconds ahead of major rival, Tasmanian Nick Rogers, at the helm of Karabos IX.
The former Olympic, America's Cup and Admiral's Cup sailor, sailing with a topclass crew, Olympian David Giles and former Australian dinghy champion Andrew York, won the start and was never headed over the 12 nautical mile course.
The race was sailed in a classic Sydney nor'easterly seabreeze, ranging in strength from 12 to 18 knots, with third place going to another Sydney sailor and former Olympian, Carl Ryves, at the helm of Sidewinder.
'He has lots of boatspeed and once he cleared the fleet he was able to sail his own race.this was his fourth fleet racing win in a row.winning three races on Sunday in the Ted Albert Memorial Trophy and then today's opening heat of the Prince Philip Cup,' Nick Rogers said after today's race. 'But it's only the first day of a seven heat regatta,' the Tasmanian skipper added.
The day didn't end after the race for Rogers and his crew of Leigh Brehrens and Simon Burrows. They got to work helping fellow Tasmanian Andrew Crisp and his crew of David Graney and John Gardner in straightening out a badly bent mast - the result of a port and starboard incident between Kirribilli II and the Russian yacht Murka 3, skippered by Mikhail Muratov, who also retired from the race.
'We got the rig fixed this evening and Kirribilli II will be out on the course for tomorrow's two heats,' Rogers said.
'As far as our race went, we were in fourth or fifth place early and worked our way through to second over the three windward/leeward legs, but we could not catch Gordon,' added Rogers who, on the Derwent last January, crewed for Ingate when Whim won the Prince Philip Cup.
One of the most successful sailors in the Dragon class in Australia, Rogers has won a World championship and nine Prince Philip Cups as a helmsman and one as a crew, for current rival Gordon Ingate in the Cup last year.
Another casualty today was the West Australian boat Sassafrass, skippered by Sandy Anderson, but the Victorian boat Amazing Grace (Tony Moody & Charles Stanton) was back racing after breaking its mast in Sunday's Ted Albert Memorial series.
The top ten placings in today's heat one of the 2009 Prince Philip Cup were:
1. Whim, Gordon Ingate, NSW - elapsed time 2:14:11
2. Karabos IX, Tas - 2:15:24
3. Sidewinder, Carl Ryves, NSW - 2:15:46
4. Taranui, Matt Whitnall, NSW - 2:17:24
5. Liquidity, Richard Franklin, NSW - 2:18:25
6. Hotspur, Ken Stevenson, WA - 2:18:40
7. Toogara, Robert Campbell/Robert Alpe, UK/NSW - 2:18:53
8. Abracadabra, David Seaton, NSW - 2:19:04
9. Murka 9, Olga White, Russia - 2:19:51
10. Yankee Doodle Dandy, Scott Palmer, NZL - 2:19:51
by Peter Campbell
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