Cocko makes a comeback

A report from Heat 5 of the Computer Associates Australian 18ft Skiff Championship on Sydney Harbour

Defending champion Michael Coxon had a complete change of fortune when he brought Casio Seapathfinder home a winner in Heat 5 of the Computer Associates Australian 18ft Skiff Championship on Sydney Harbour.
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Coxon and his team were forced to retire from Heat 4 when the skiff was rammed by a yacht and the hull suffered structural damage. In Heat 5 they defeated series leader Omega Smeg (Daniel Phillips) by 29secs with Heat 4 winner Club Marine (Euan McNicol) a further 45secs back in third place.

With just one more heat to be sailed next Sunday Omega Smeg leads on 18 points followed by AAPT (Sean Langman) on 22 and Casio on 22.5.

AAPT and Maytag held the early lead in this race but Omega Smeg moved into the lead after a great tactical downwind leg. Rag & Famish Hotel came through the fleet in the middle stages to challenge Omega Smeg for the lead but spinnaker rigging problems ruined what looked to be a strong winning chance for the former world champion crew.

Asko Appliances also made up considerable time throughout the race and looked certain to finish third before an untimely swim on the final spinnaker run also brought this team undone.

Results:

Pos	Boat	Elapsed Time	Handicap Place	Aust Points
1	Casio Seapathfinder	01:15.1	7th	22.5 (3rd - Av)
2	Omega Smeg	01:15:44	4th	18.0 (1st)
3	Club Marine	01:16:29	15th	37
4	Computer Associates		6th	29
5	AAPT		11th	22.0 (2nd)
6	Ssangyong Yandoo		16th	29
7	Maytag		12th	32
8	CST Composites		2nd	70
9	Panasonic		5th	52
10	SX Projects		1st	72
11	Rag & Famish Hotel		13th	44
12	Asko Appliances		19th	28
13	Team Morrison		3rd	70
14	Fisher & Paykel		17th	47
15	Belle Property		18th	63
16	Churchills Sports Bar		9th	80
17	Rosemount		14th	88
18	Team Pomfret		8th	82
19	Aristocrat		10th	97
20	Adtec Communications		20th	77