Ant title to Pearson and Kilpatrick

Press, 10 January 1983, Page 22

Ant title to Pearson and Kilpatrick

By

John Coffey

Not until the last fewmetres of the final leg in the seventh and last heat did Michael Pearson and Morag Kilpatrick (Canterbury) assure themselves of over-all victory in the national Flying Ant yachting championship at Charteris Bay on Saturday

Before the race. Pearson and Kilpatrick led another Canterbury crew. David Millington and Dean Lovell, by less than a point. The title was destined for the combination which did best on Saturday.

When’ Millington and Lovell led the fleet around the last buoy, it seemed that they would succeed in recovering from some comparatively modest placings earlier in the series.

However, the conditions were again light and shifting, and Millington and Lovell were soon joined by three other crews — Pearson and Kilpatrick, Andrew Griffiths and Gillian Halcrow (Auckland). and Allan Hobden and Tony Carr (Canterbury) — as they battled to make headway towards .the finishing line.

The Auckland pair came

out best, its win being sufficient to give third over all.

Most attention centred on the tussle for the vital runner-up position. Pearson and Kilpatrick eventually settled the issue by being second across the line, a mere 7s in front of Millington and Lovell.

The result was a reward for the consistency of Pearson and Kilpatrick' They won two of the seven races,’ compared with the three wins of Millington and Lovell, but had a final advantage of 3.4 points. Hobden and Carr were fifth over all. behind another Canterbury entry. Andrew Buist and Kerry Purves. Results. — Flying Ant championship Race seven: Mud Crab iA. Griffiths and G. Halcrow. Auckland) 1. Peter Pan (M. Pearson and M. Kilpatrick. Canterbury) 2. Miss Print (D. Millington and D. Lovell. Canterbury) 3, Fiesta (A. Hobden and A. Carr. Canterbury) 4. Gone West (A. Buist and K. Purves. Canterbury) 5.

Final points: Peter Pan. 17. 1; Miss Print. 20.4. 2; Mud Crab. 25.4. 3: Gone West. 36.7. 4: Fiesta, 43.1. 5; Juicy (B. and T. Allan. Canterbury). 62.4. 6.