Yacht snafu drags on

Press, 10 January 1986, Page 28

Yacht snafu drags on

NZPA staff correspondent Sydney

The shambles that has become the finish to the Sydney-Hobart yachting classic will drag on until at least next week with doubt over whether in fact there is a winner.

Last week the New South Wales boat Sagacious was declared the winner of the race after the handicap victor Drake’s Prayer was penalised over a Sydney start-line collision with the maxi Ragamuffin. Now, however, there is a dispute among the race organisers over whether the decision on the protest was valid. The international jury which penalised Drake’s Prayer now says it was too harsh, and the skipper of Drake’s . Prayer, Peter Kurts, is believed to be considering legal action to have his boat reinstated. And tied to that row is the final lower-order placings for the Southern Cross Cup. Any easing of the penalty means that the defending New Zealand A team could be shunted further down the order.

A spokeswoman for the race organisers said yesterday the row would not be resolved until at least next week. The whole mess is centred on the protest by Sagacious against Drake’s Prayer, after the unreported

collision between the latter boat and Ragamuffin at the start of the race on Boxing Day. Under the rules of racing, where there is a collision one of the boats involved must protest or retire, and if that is not done a third boat may protest. The aim of the rule is to eliminate any “old boys’ club” or skippers owing each other favours.

After Sagacious finished the race] in second place, and just minutes before the end of the protest deadline, her sailing master, Ron Jacobs, filed his complaint against the other two boats. As a result Drake’s Prayer was penalised 40 per cent of her places, but, significantly as it now turns out, not on her time.

The international jury this week announced it has erred in its penalty for both Drake’s Prayer and Ragamuffin, and that under the rules the penalty should have been 20 per cent. That change should put the Australian team in the Southern Cross Cup, of which the Sydney to Hobart Classic was the last race, back in fourth place on the final standings ahead of New Zealand A. The fact that Drake’s Prayer was not penalised on time but only on places is the crux of the final places row.