Regatta winner relegated

Press, 17 April 1979, Page 3

Regatta winner relegated

PA Auckland Wellington’s Murray Jones and Andy Knowles made it four wins in a row with another end-to-end 470 victory in the Olympic Yachting Regatta off Takapuna yesterday. But the race committee relegated Jones from first to twenty-ninth place in heat! five of the Air New Zealand series, after he rounded a wrong mark. Jones said he was materially prejudiced by “accidentally provided incorrect course information from the officer of the day.” The outcome of the protest will .be vital. The class winners in this regatta earn assistance to Europe to important regattas, possibly including the pre-Olympic events at Tallin, in Russia. Jones led the 470 fleet home in perfect conditions, a 10 knot easterly in brilliantly fine weather.

His arch-rival, Mark Paterson, with Dave Mackay (Auckland) was second and another Auckland pair, Chris

Dickson and Hamish Willcox, was third. On provisional points, with one race to go, Paterson led with 14.7 from New Plymouth’s Paul Francis and Shaun Reeves with 21. Francis was fifth in heat six. Jones, in spite of his “did not finish” in race one, and I now his twenty-ninth placing in race five, was third over-all with 45 points. Dickson was fourth with 47.7. The twice Olympic representatives, Jock Bilger and Murray Ross, as good as sewed up the Flying Dutchman class with a typically precise performance in race six. They led from start to finish and headed home Andy Ball and Bob Eastmond (Auckland), and Gary Wiig and Lasse Reesen (Napier).

This gave Bilger and Ross a 5-1-1-2-1 -1 record for only three penalty points. Ball and Eastmond with a 1-2-2-3-3-2 series were second with 14.7, Wiig, was third with 27.4.