Tricky conditions were the order of the day in race four. Light south westerly winds moved south east which is rare in Fremantle, where the winds normally stay south-westerly.
After again a great start, the fleet bombshelled chasing the wind shifts. Through good luck or good judgement, and the calibre of the leaders having already shown the way in the previous races the old cliché once again proved opposite, the more you win the luckier you get.
From the start to the top mark the first 5 boats that took the left hand side of the course, got there well ahead of the rest of the fleet. The boats on the right hand side then joined in and there were a lot of port and starboard calls and several boats took penalties.
At the end of the downwind run the boats again converged on the leeward mark from different angles, creating some chaotic aggression where more boats took infringement penalties.
On the second beat the wind having shifted about 40 degrees, the top mark was repositioned in line with a true beat. Ian Barker, former 505 world champion and Olympic silver medallist in 49er at Sydney 2000, having scarpered with the wind at the top mark, led the fleet to the finish. Nevertheless Peter Chappell (AUS) , got out of gaol, meticulously picking the shifts, to cross the line not far behind. Chappell now leads with a consistant scoreline Simon Payne, from Britain, racing with another former 505 world champion, Bill Masterman, finished third.
Racing finishes today in the Australian Open with a lay day and late measurement for the World Championship tomorrow. Racing proper starts with two races per day on Sunday 8 December and continues until 14 December.
Overall Top Ten (after 4 Races)
Position |
Nation |
Skipper/Crew |
Total |
Race 1 |
Race 2 |
Race 3 |
Race 4 |
1 |
AUS |
Peter Chappell/Ian Davidson |
4 |
1( 1) |
[ 6]( 6) |
1( 1) |
2( 2) |
2 |
USA |
Howard Hamlin/Mike Martin |
6 |
2( 2) |
1( 1) |
3( 3) |
[ 10]( 10) |
3 |
AUS |
Alexander Higgins/Paul Marsh |
12 |
7( 7) |
3( 3) |
2( 2) |
[ 7]( 7) |
4 |
AUS |
Luke Molloy/Lucas Prescott |
12 |
3( 3) |
5( 5) |
4( 4) |
[ 103](DNC) |
5 |
AUS |
Leslie Nathanson/Richard Machin |
18 |
4( 4) |
7( 7) |
7( 7) |
[ 11]( 11) |
6 |
USA |
Andrew Beekman/Ben Benjamin |
22 |
[ 106](DNF) |
4( 4) |
6( 6) |
12( 12) |
7 |
GBR |
Terry Scutcher/Christian Diebitsch |
23 |
[ 11]( 11) |
9( 9) |
8( 8) |
6( 6) |
8 |
USA |
Dan Thompson/Andrew Zen |
24 |
5( 5) |
[ 103](DNC) |
5( 5) |
14( 14) |
9 |
AUS |
Hugh Stodart/Peter Holden |
27 |
[ 106](DNF) |
8( 8) |
10( 10) |
9( 9) |
10 |
AUS |
Michael Quirk/Geoff Lange |
32 |
10( 10) |
14( 14) |
[ 38]( 38) |
8( 8) |