America's Cup legend John Bertrand leads Australian Etchells Championship

Mark Thornburrow, Greg Farrell, Andy Service and Martin Mok (Dream On (Racer x)) - Murphy & Nye 2010 Etchells Australian Championship. Image copyright Sail-World/AUS.

Murphy & Nye 2010 Etchells Australian Championship - Bertrand's day

by Rob Kothe

America's Cup legend John Bertrand leads Australian Etchells Championship. Sailing with Olympian and World Champion crew of Tom Slingsby and Andrew Palfrey leads the 2010 Australian Etchells Championship.

Murphy & Nye 2010 International Etchells Australian Championship competitors breathed a sigh of relief after the very hot conditions of the last 24 hours were alleviated by a southerly this morning.

As the fleet left the dock the breeze was approximately 10 - 12 knots at the Lake Macquarie Yacht Club.

Principal Race Office Ross Wilson set an initial course with a two mile first beat to allow the Etchells to stretch their legs.

Out on the Lake, eagerness at the start was again evident, causing several general recalls.

The breeze was now 12 to 13 knots, the sunny skies disappearing and the weather was becoming overcast. The breeze shifted and the Etchells crowded the Committee Boat end of the line. PRO Wilson pulled the pin and set about relaying the start line.

A clean start and most of the Etchells that chose the Coal Point shoreline gained a big advantage as they lifted out of the bay.

Competitors who started on the pin end and hugged the eastern shore of Carey Bay were hammered; the first Etchells off the pin end that headed left was 20th at the mark.

At the first mark John Bertrand and crew Tom Slingsby and Andrew Palfrey (Triad) were first to round. Yesterday Bertrand said he would take third any day, he had obviously changed his mind and today he and his talented crew (Slingsby and Palfrey are both Olympians with Palfrey also a coach of some note) look as though they were out to win.

Todd Wybom (Seven 50) rounded second, making his first appearance in the 'top ten' club. He was followed in quick succession, by Graeme Taylor (Magpie), Peter McNeil (Absolute Pearler), Adam Beashel (Steam Packet 7), Damien King (Barry), Jake Gunther (The Boat), Tom King (Iron Lotus) and Brad Sheridan (Tusk).

The breeze was 13 knots and the sky overcast as the fleet headed down the course under spinnaker. There were no significant changes downwind but the work produced big lead changes as the boats on the western side of the Lake were continuing to do best.

At the top mark for the second time Steam Packet 7 (Adam Beashel, Bruce Wookey and Gary Gudmunson) had made the move from sixth and led Triad, Magpie, Barry, Absolute Pearler and Seven 50.

Half way down the final run to the finish Beashel and Bertrand were having a tight battle at the front of the fleet, with Beashel holding two thirds of a boat length's advantage over Bertrand.

Graeme Taylor was third, with Lake Macquarie sailor Peter McNeil (Absolute Pearler) out on the right on his own and coming in at a different angle to the rest of the fleet.

At the finish, Beashel (Steam Packet 7) held out Bertrand (Triad). McNeil (Absolute Pearler) made a big gain out on the right and finished third ahead of Graeme Taylor's Magpie and Todd Wybom's Seven 50.

Adam Beashel, the highly regarded Australian tactician on Emirates Team New Zealand America's Cup boat commented 'The Coal Point shore was the key: you had to pick the time to go in though, you had to be careful, we played more to the middle.'

Peter McNeil who made that big gain on the last run said 'The right hand shore was the place you had to be, but you still had to work the shifts. We made a good gain with more pressure over there on the last run.'

Provisional Top Ten:

Race 3 (13/01/2010) Murphy & NYE

1. Steam Packet 7
2. Triad
3. Absolute Pearler
4. Magpie
5. Barry
6. Seven 50
7. Tusk
8. Banana's in Pyjama's
9. Fantazia
10. Why be flat

The top mark was moved by the Race Committee more towards the centre of the Lake, to reduce the influence of the shoreline. The course was set as a two mile length, double sausage with an upwind finish in Carey Bay.

Clear start to Race 4 as the breeze lifted to 14 -15 knots and gusting. A little surprisingly, Peter McNeil (Absolute Pearler) chose to start nearer the pin, got a clean lane and then headed right after 500 metres towards the Coal Point shoreline, again. John Bertrand (Triad), Adam Beashel (Steam Packet 7), Damien King (Barry) and Kirwan Robb (Pedro 11) were mid line.

At the first mark the America's Cup legend Bertrand had opened up a four or five boat lengths lead over Beashel. Taylor was next on Magpie, with McNeil following.

Yesterday's race winner Gary Boyd (B Squared) was close behind, as was Tom King (Iron Lotus). Tom Woods (Echo Beach) was sixth, then Brad Sheridan (Tusk) and Kirwan Robb (Pedro 11).

On the run Bertrand maintained his lead over Beashel, with King moving up into third. Boyd was fourth, Taylor fifth, with Hong Kong sailor Mark Thornburrow ((Dream On (Racer x)) sixth. McNeil was seventh with Woods, Ian Johnson (Banana in Pyjamas) and Jake Gunther (The Boat) rounding out the top ten.

Bertrand extended and led by 20 boat lengths. The breeze had picked up to 16 knots and the sky was now very overcast.

John Bertrand, Tom Slingsby and Andrew Palfrey (Triad) hung to win from a fast finishing Adam Beashel (Steam Packet 7). Beashel made ground on the last beat, but not enough to deny Bertrand the victory.

Damien King (Barry) held onto third, with Graeme Taylor (Magpie) moving up to fourth. Peter McNeil (Absolute Pearler) who moved up from eighth on the previous lap was next, then Gary Boyd (B Squared), Mark Thornburrow ((Dream On (Racer x)), Ian Johnson (Bananas in Pyjamas), Jake Gunther (The Boat) and Kane Sinclair (Why be Flat).

After the finish the southerly wind strength increased to over 20 knots as the fleet reached in towards the marina. It was all hands to secure the sudden rush of Etchells and the large numbers of locals on the Lake Macquarie Yacht Club desk watched with wonderment the frantic activity as 200 sailors came ashore.

A smiling John Bertrand commented 'We had a good day; two wins, winning is certainly better than losing I can vouch for that.

'We are a good combination. Tom Slingsby and Andrew Palfrey, good crew, I can work with them. They are of course a joy to sail with.

'It was an interesting day on the water. With 60 boats there was quite some chop. On the Coal Point shoreline some boats went in and got good right hand shifts. But it was a matter of timing, the pressure was fluctuating and some boats ran out of breeze.

'It's a very strong fleet and excellent conditions so it will be an interesting week.'


Andrew Palfrey (foreground) Tom Slingsby (middle) John Bertrand (back) on Triad - Murphy & Nye 2010 Etchells Australian Championship. Image copyright Sail-World/AUS.

Damian King commented 'Good sailing conditions today - a good challenge. A strong fleet, a long way to go in this regatta.'

Peter (Polly) McNeil - 'In the second race today we hit the bottom mark the first time round. We had to do a 360, so that pushed us back, then but we had a good run and made up a bit, then we picked the shifts up the final beat.

'No doubt the best Etchells fleet we've ever had on Lake Macquarie.'

Series Results [One Design ET] up to Race 4 (Drops = 0)
Place Ties Boat Skipper From Bow Series R4 R3 R2 R1
1 Triad John Bertrand RBYC 55 11 1 2 5 3
2 B Squared Gary Boyd LMYC 31 24 6 14 3 1
3 Magpie Graeme Taylor MYC 14 27 4 4 13 6
4 1.0S Steam Packet 7 Adam Beashel RPAYC 53 33 2 1 20 10
5 Absolute Pearler Peter McNeil LMYC 6 33 5 3 2 23
6 Barry Damien King SYC 11 34 3 5 21 5
7 Banana's in Pyjama's Ian Johnston RBYC 48 37 8 8 14 7
8 Tango Chris Hampton RBYC 38 49 17 11 9 12
9 10.0S Fantazia Tom Braidwood LMYC 9 50 18 9 10 13
10 Iron Lotus Tom King RSYS 12 50 12 17 12 9
11 North Star Julian Plante RPAYC 13 51 27 16 4 4
12 Why be flat Kane Sinclair LMYC 23 52 11 10 6 25
13 Perfect Balance Mark Bulka RBYC 58 54 15 30 1 8
14 Tusk Brad Sheridan RPYC 8 57 21 7 8 21
15 2.0S Chill Pill Rob Bird RFBYC 52 73 24 21 26 2
16 Echo Beach Tom Woods LMYC 35 73 14 13 19 27
17 10.0S Pedro II Kirwan Robb RBYC 51 75 10 26 22 17
18 Bushfire Jervis Tilly RSYS 39 75 22 20 17 16
19 Magic Buzz Steve Gunther RBYC 45 76 19 23 15 19
20 Critical Balance Mark Langford LMYC 50 77 13 24 29 11
21 Dream On (Racer x) Mark Thornburrow RHKYC 42 84 7 29 24 24
22 Addiction Lindsay Kennedy GH 47 88 25 22 11 30
23 Seven 50 Todd Wyborn LMYC 3 89 31 6 37 15
24 The Moe Szyslak Expe Brendan Gardner RGYC 25 92 28 15 27 22
25 La Vie Dansante Chris Pratt RSAYS 43 99 30 25 30 14
26 The Wuese Ross Lloyd SYC 44 100 45 19 18 18
27 Odyssey Peter (Billy) Merrington RPAYC 41 103 20 18 32 33
28 The Boat Jake Gunther RBYC 17 104 9 12 44 39
29 Alchemist Richard Hammond RSYS 22 109 26 31 23 29
30 Carabella IV Matthew Mc Cann RSYS 37 127.5 41 39 7 40.5
31 Ganesh Glenn Nattress RSYS 46 128 34 50 16 28
32 Cruise Control Paul Minter CSC 18 130 33 37 34 26
33 Ivy John Denton GSC 2 131 16 52 31 32
34 Wobbegong Doug Flynn CYCA 32 132 23 40 49 20
35 Two Speed Nigel Nattrass RSYS 54 140 39 27 43 31
36 Dutch Moth Aaron Hampo LMYC 36 144.5 38 28 38 40.5
37 Vertigo Doug Williams LMYC 20 147 44 36 25 42
38 Miramar Mark Doyle RPAYC 40 150 29 32 55 34
39 Dragon Lady Bill Steele RPYC 30 151 32 35 28 56
40 Touch Pause Engage Michael Stovin-Bradf RSYS 33 160 40 43 40 37
41 Concubine Jason Ward RSAYS 56 161 36 41 33 51
42 Count Boris's Secret Nick Knezic RBYC 10 162 35 45 47 35
43 Rapscallion David Healey RQYS 28 167 51 44 36 36
44 Three Ring Circus Trevor Martin MYC 7 170 37 34 54 45
45 Resurgent Christopher Rabbidge LMYC 21 173 43 42 39 49
46 Mens Shirts-Short Sk Peter Stubbings RBYC 27 179 55 38 42 44
47 33.0S Surprise Adrian Fisk RSYS 24 186 50 33 50 53
48 Jazasa Jan Muysken RSYS 57 186 46 46 51 43
49 38.0S License To Chill Bryce Johnson LMYC 34 189 47 51 53 38
50 QRS Alistair Stone RSYS 26 189 48 47 48 46
51 41.0S Back in Business John Coates RBYC 16 198 54 49 41 54
52 Go With The flow Robert Griffits LMYC 49 198 42 57 52 47
53 Tian Hou Simon Ellis MYC 5 199 56 48 35 60.0Q
54 Predator Greg Humphries GSC 19 201 52 53 46 50
55 Max Power Keith Ritchie LMYC 59 204 49 55 45 55
56 7 To 4 Bruce Cheek LMYC 1 211 53 54 56 48
57 Champagne Charlie Mike Thackray CYCA 4 225 60.0F 56 57 52
58 Velsheda Alastair Gair RNZYS 15 240 60.0C 60.0C 60.0C 60.0C
58 Mojo Ian Knight LMYC 29 240 60.0C 60.0C 60.0V 60.0V

Murphy & Nye 2010 Etchells Australian Championships