RACE #3 - Another victory to the australians

Portuguese Team gets an excellent sixth place

Todays (24th of September) first race of the Quebramar - 505 World Championship, that's being held in the bay of Cascais, was won by the australians Hugh Stodart and Simon Gorman. The portuguese team Afonso Domingos / Henrique Anjos ended at a brilliant sixth place.

In a very sunny day, with the winds rounding 8 / 10 knots, Hugh Stodart and Simon Gorman guaranteed the second victory for their country - after the triumph of Van Munster / Lange in the first race - and are now in the top places of the overall classification (they were 7th and 6th in the other races).

The british team Ian Pinnell - former Fireball and Enterprise world champion and 505 european champion - and Tim Hancock came second, followed by the germans Wolfgang Hunger / Holger Jess, that were second in the first race of the championship.

However, the portuguese team Afonso Domingos / Henrique Anjos were in prominence today as they ended on the sixth position - this is only their first experience with this kind of boats.

There is still another race to be held today (24th of September).

Aires Afonseca

Graffic with the evolution of the 3rd race

Bergstrom retains lead at 505s... Only five points cover leading group as Pinnell and Hancock move to third overall

Day three of the 505 World Championship in Cascais, Portugal saw two races completed. Krister Bergstrom and Thomas Moss of Sweden remain in the lead but the chasing pack led by Wolfgang Hunger and Holger Jess of Germany closed to within one point. Britain's Ian Pinnell and Tim Hancock moved into third overall, only three points off the lead.

The early morning cloud cleared and both races were held in cloudless blue skies with temperatures in the mid 20's. The winds didn't get beyond Force 3 all day and the previous swells had moderated slightly.

The first race got away on time and by the windward mark Australians Hugh Stoddart and Simon Gorman lead from Pinnell and Hancock with the Portuguese crew of Alfonso Domingos and Henrique Anjos in third. Stoddart lead to the finish with Pinnell never more than 50 yards behind throughout the race. Behind them there was some place changing as the Portuguese fell to sixth and Hunger and Jess climbing to third. Fourth were the Danes Jan Saugmann and Marten Ramsbaek.

Further behind, overnight leader Bergstrom had rounded the first windward mark in the 20's and was up to eleventh at the penultimate mark. Realising he could finish in ninth place he slowed as he came to the finish line so he could finish tenth and be pathfinder for the next race.

With the favoured way up the first beat to the right and Bergstrom as pathfinder it was a surprise that anyone would choose to start early. Most of the crews chose to start late and consequently the later the starter the higher up the fleet they showed at the windward mark.

Bergstrom had a commanding lead already at the first mark which he extended leg by leg to the finish. The UK boats were showing well first time around with five in the top ten. However it was only Pinnell who maintained form finally finishing in fourth, to complete a satisfactory day.Payne was the only other UK boat in the top ten by the finish.

The USA boats of Barney Harris and James Clayton battled throughout with Howard Hamlin and Mike Martin to finsh second and third. With four races sailed it is still very tight at the top of the fleet with five points separating the first four boats.

Overall Placings 4 races sailed 1 discard

1 Krister Bergstrom and Thomas Moss SWE 9pts
2 Wolfgang Hunger and Holger Jess GER 10pts
3 Ian Pinnell and Tim Hancock GBR 12pts
4 Hugh Stoddart and Simon Gorman AUS 14pts
5 Howard Hamlin and Mike Martin USA 22pts


Author : © Steve Arkley. Published : 25 Sept 2001