Yachtsmen face test

Press, 27 April 1984, Page 28

Yachtsmen face test

The sailing abilities of Canterbury’s leading yachtsmen will be put to the test in the provincial Powerboat Centre champion-of-cham-pions event on Lyttelton harbour this weekend. Three national titleholders, Graham Parratt (Noelex 22), Andy Holland (Rothmans Father and Son) and Mark Crossen (O.K. dinghy), will be joined by 16 Canterbury champions from their respective classes for the four-heat series. Each competitor will race a Noelex 22 trailer yacht to be crewed by the owner and two others. The boats for each heat will be drawn at random, although no-one will be able to draw the same boat for successive he»ts.

Theoretically, Parratt should start favourite because of his familiarity with the Noelex 22 design and national win at Timaru earlier this year, but there is no guarantee that he will be at the helm of the fastest yachts. Dave Gallagher and Frank Woodhouse, the top South Island keeler exponents, should also have an advantage when it comes to racing bigger craft. However, experienced skippers such as Holland, John Morrison (Zephyrs) and Neville England (4705) cannot be discounted. lan Soper will be racing as the Canterbury Phase II champion, but he is also well-known as a Noelex skipper, for he owns Cezanne, and he shoald have

an edge over many opponents. The races, over Olympic courses, will start at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. tomorrow and Sunday, and will be run from the Canterbury Yacht Club. The champions and their respective classes are:— Parratt, Holland, Crossan, Morrison, England, Soper, Gallagher (A class keelers), Woodhouse (B class keelers), Don Nixon (Sigrids), John Bowman (R class), Craig Keenan (Paper Tigers), Aaron Young (Timaru, P class), Glen Church (New Zealand Moths), Karl Ameson (Sunbursts), Gavin Walter (A class catamarans), Freerk Kempkers (Finns), John Kennett (Starlings), Mike McPhail (Flying Fifteens), Griff Simpson (Optimists).