Cocko on top

In second heat of the NSW 18ft skiff championship in Sydney harbour

Michael Coxon has taken the lead in the NSW 18ft Skiff Championship after scoring an easy victory in the second heat of the series on Sydney Harbour today.

Coxon steered Casio Seapathfinder to a 1m21s win over John Harris' Rag & Famish Hotel with Omega Smeg of Daniel Phillips a further 1m37s back in third place.

Casio has scored 2.75 points from the two heats sailed so far, with Omega Smeg next on 3.75, Rag & Famish 9 and Anthony Young's Computer Associates 11.

Conditions were chaotic for competitors as the wind varied in both strength and direction throughout the race. Casio was near the lead from the start and staged a great battle with Hugh Stodart's Asko Appliances for the first lap of the course. Coxon and his crew of Aaron Links and Nathan Ellis were superb in selecting the correct course as the wind swung 180 degrees from the west to the east.

Rag & Famish had trailed the fleet to the halfway mark but came through the pack when Harris elected to sail the southern shore on the third windward leg of the course. However nobody was able to challenge the boat speed or tactics by the Casio crew as they recorded their impressive win.

Results:

Pos	Boat	Elapsed Time	Handicap Place	NSW Points
1	Casio Seapathfinder	01:24:40	4th	2.75 (1st)
2	Rag & Famish Hotel	01:24:42	2nd	9 (3rd)
3	Omega Smeg	01:27:48	7th	3.75 (2nd)
4	Asko Appliances		3rd	12
5	Yandoo		14th	15
6	Maytag		15th	12
7	CST Composites		16th	21
8	Computer Associates		12th	11
9	Fisher & Paykel		1st	20
10	Panasonic		8th	25
11	Club Marine		11th	16
12	Belle Property		5th	25
13	Churchills Sports Bar		13th	25
14	SX Projects		16th	18
15	Team Pomfret		9th	24
16	Rosemount		6th	32
17	Team Morrison		10th	42
18	Aristocrat	Non-finisher		42
19	AAPT	Non-starter		60
20	Adtec	Non-starter		60
21
22				* points still to be adjusted