Cup hopes boosted by Exador win

Press, 2 August 1985, Page 30

Cup hopes boosted by Exador win

NZPA special correspondent Cowes, Isle of Wight New Zealand was lying second in the Admiral’s Cup after Exador won the first of five races from a 54-boat fleet here yesterday.

Exador, a 13 metre yacht skippered by Graeme Woodroffe (Auckland), gave a tremendous boost to New Zealand’s hopes of winning the prized yachting trophy for the first time. The 18-nation team event, being held for the fiftheenth time, is headed by Britain, 30 clear of New Zealand’s 258 points. Consistency is all-import-ant in the cup series, and the other two Kiwi boats played their part in the first race. Epic, skippered by Peter

Walker and cleared at a protest hearing after the race, was confirmed in seventeenth place, and Canterbury (Roy Dickson) was eighteenth. Exador, fourth in the One Ton Cup world championship last week, was sixteenth across the finish line after a four hour race over about 50km. She took the Royal Yacht Squadron Trophy on corrected time by Is from the Danish yacht, Euro., Phoenix, skippered by the Irishman, Harold Cudmore, was in fourth place for Britain and the double

Olympic gold medallist, Rodney Pattison, was fifth with Jade, the One Ton Cup champion. Panda was twelfth putting Britain in the forefront going into the second inshore battle. All three New Zealand yachts elected the port side of the start line into a force three westerly wind and hugged the Isle of Wight shoreline all the way up the 16km opening beat. One of the early leaders, the American yacht Sleeper, hugged too tight and went aground on a shingle bank taking some five minutes to escape and ending up second from last in fiftysecond place. Mike Clark, the owner of Exador, said: “The boys sailed really well. We had a great start and took full advantage on the first beat, which is our best point of sailing. “We did not make any mistakes, and kept our noses clean although we had an incident with the American yacht, High Roler, close to one mark which could have proved costly.” Clark said the Americans were "good sports” and decided not to protest. Results of the first inshore race over about 40km in the Solent course: Exador (N.Z.) corrected time 3hr 57m 18s, 1; Euro (Denmark) 3:57.19, 2; Outsider (West Germany) 3:59.02, 3; Phoenix (Britain) 3:59.09, 4; Jade (Britain) 3:59.11, 5; Container (Austria) 4:00.16, 6; Drake’s Prayer (Australia) 4:00.33, 7; Highland Flink (Singapore) 4:01.14; 8; Diva (Sweden) 4:02.08, 9; Maitresse (Denmark) 4:02.09, 10; Epic (N.Z.) 4:02.59, 17; Canterbury (N.Z.) 4:03.13, 18. Provisional team standings after first leg.— Britain 288, 1; New Zealand 258, 2; West Germany 254, 3; Australia 250, 4; Denmark 238, 5; France 212, 6; Singapore 210, 7; Austria 206, 8; Sweden, Netherlands and United States, all 148, 9.