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Wharington better known as the skipper of the Rolex Sydney Hobart line honours winner the maxi Skandia moved strongly into contention for a top placing in the 2004 World Etchells title over the same course when he beat one of the class masters John Bertrand (Two Saints and a Magpie) in a full blown match race.

Both Two Saints and a Magpie 1-1-12-2-2-7 and Satu 11 3-1-3-6-6-6 shared the points lead when they sailed onto the course for the decider.

As expected there was some apprehension among both crews when they faced a light land breeze which failed to gust above 8 knots.

However this failed to stop Grant WHARINGTON and his talented Queensland tactician Simon GORMAN from 'going for the juggler' by immediately showing the Two Saints and A Magpie crew that they were going to start the race on their terms.

They applied the pressure early and never let up to be in the bulk of the pack but ahead of the boat they had to beat.

"Our race plan was to make sure we held the upper hand and that meant being ahead at the start and then making sure we held the cover".

"Goose (Simon Gorman) gave us the title winning chance when he called the right tactics in what proved to be the edge we needed". Wharington said.

Bertrand and his crew of Mark RICHARDS and Richie ALLANSON well recognised for their tactical skills tried every trick in the tactical text book but they failed to shake the Stau 11 crew.

By the end of the first windward return the Satu 11 crew had pushed their rivals back to 24th while they provisionally held a firm grip on the 2004 title trophy with 20th place when sails were tensioned for the second beat into a failing wind.

Bertrand who lost the 2003 title in the final race 12 months ago showed his renowned fighting spirit to put his rival Wharington under the hammer as both crews climbed back into the leading group but Wharington made sure the title win was secure when he finished 7th to beat Bertrand 9th by two points .

Three former Australian Sabot champions Jason MUIR, Steven LAMBOURNE and Lucas PRESCOTT combined cleverly to claim third overall with Racer XY while former winter champion Ian JOHNSON (Bananas in Pyjamas) claimed 4th place. Full results are available on the event website at the address below.

Overall Top Ten

Pos	Skipper	Total Points	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8
1	G. Wharington	32	-8	3	1	3	6	6	6	7
2	J. Bertrand	34	1	1	-12	12	2	2	7	9
3	J. Muir	65	11	7	-30	9	7	8	2	21
4	I. Johnson	70	7	5	4	16	-20	19	4	15
5	M. Bradford	75	13	4	3	6	1	13	35	(68\DNF)
6	D. Turton	75	29	17	2	8	11	-33	5	3
7	C. Appleton	75	14	9	8	4	19	4	17	(68\DNF)
8	C. Miles	76	4	19	20	1	5	24	3	-29
9	D. Clark	78	18	11	-28	5	3	26	13	2
10	D. Rose	98	3	16	21	21	-34	11	1	25