Armstong takes title

Press, 22 January 1982, Page 24

Armstong takes title

Murray Armstrong, of Auckland, triumphed over the frustrations of frequent wind shifts, a series of postponements and restarts, and the skills of his 47 rivals to win the New Zealand Starling class yachting title at Lyttelton yesterday. The only consistent factor in the resailed third heat in the morning was Armstrong’s tenacity once he had reached the lead. While others experienced dramatic changes of position — Tony Carr (Canterbury), for example, was fourth at the end of the triangle and fell to thirty-seventh — Armstrong

kept his composure and his advantage on the over-all points table. But his sternest opponents, Michael Murray (Auckland), Craig Rosevear (Canterbury) and Greg Flynn (Wellington), recovered to fill the next three placings. Armstrong could not afford any laxness in the final race a few hours later. A modest tenth at the wing buoy, Armstrong made his move on the second beat to get back in front. He had the John Peet Trophy in safekeeping from that point, even though Rosevear broke through his cover to become

the first Canterbury skipper to receive the winner’s gun in a national Starling heat. Rosevear’s success promoted him to second over-all — he conceded 20.1 points, compared with 13 by Armstrong. Murray, whose eleventh was his worst (and discarded) performance, slipped to third, and Robert Naismith (Northland) nudged Flynn out of fourth. Leanne Soper was the most prominent of the nine female entrants, losing 152 points to be just ahead of two other Canterbury women, Jo-anne Nesbit (158) and Sarah Milburn (161).

They were placed in the late twenties. Resail race three: Murray Armstrong (Auckland) 1, Michael Murray (Auckland) 2, Craig Rosevear (Canterbury) 3, Greg Flynn (Wellington) 4, Wayne Galloway (Auckland) 5, Brent Bradley (Motueka) 6, Glenn Horne (Auckland) 7, Robert Naismith (Northland) 8. Race six: Rosevear 1, Armstrong 2, Naismith 3, Kelvin Thurlow (Otago) 4, Edmond 5, Flynn 6, Stephen Mockett (Canterbury) 7, Allan Hobden (Canterbury) 8. Over-all points: Armstrong, 13, 1; Rosevear, 20.1, 2; Murray, 22.7, 3; Naismith. 36, 4; Flynn, 37.7, 5; Edmond, 56, 6; Bradley, 72.4, 7; Horne, 84, 8.