Even stephens

The Rag and Asko level pegging after two races of the Ssangyong JJ Giltinan Championship

2000 Giltinan champion John Harris and his Rag & Famish Hotel now shares the lead with Hugh Stodart's Asko Appliances after the resail of Heat 1 at the Ssangyong JJ Giltinan Championship on Sydney Harbour today.

After another night of thunderstorms and heavy rain, the morning started with a clear and sunny sky and northeasterly wind of 8-10 knots but promised to be another mixed and variable day on the water.

The race got underway after a postponement while the wind shifted considerably and the race committee completely changed course and position. The course chosen for the day was the easterly course although the wind continued to change speed and direction throughout..

On Rag & Famish, Harris and crew Chris Cleary and Craig Ferris got a perfect pin end start with everyone tacking onto port following a very short line and big wind shift. Immediately Rag & Famish and Asko established first and second place which they held for most of the race.

Fat Face also pulled up early getting a fourth place around the first windward mark. The British defending world champions on RMW Marine rounded the top mark in around 11th place and worked throughout the day to end up a credible 8th place.

In the end Rag & Famish took victory by 41secs from Asko Appliances.

Another former Giltinan champion, Trevor Barnabas replaced an injured Sean Langman (bruised ribs) as skipper of AAPT and showed he had lost no skills in retirement bringing his boat home in third place.

Euan McNicol's Club Marine and Micah Lane's Belle Property both sailed excellent tactical races to finish fifand sixth respectively. Australian champion Michael Coxon on his Casio Seapathfinder team again sailed a very disappointing race. They got a poor start and never recovered to finish in 11th place - some 3.5 minutes from the winner.

The conditions also got the better of Daniel Phillips on Omega Smeg and ol' timer John Winning in Yandoo, ending up in 17th and 24th respectively. Youngster Shark Khan scored a good 15th place today starting to show form.

More pics on the following pages...

Overall results:

Pos	Boat	Skipper	Nat	R1	R2	Pts
1	Rag & Famish Hotel	John Harris	AUS	1	3	4
2	Asko Appliances	Hugh Stodart	AUS	2	2	4
3	Computer Associates	Anthony Young	AUS	7	1	8
4	Maytag	Tony Hannan	AUS	4	8	12
5	RMW Marine	Rob Greenhalgh	UK	8	6	14
6	Team Pegasus	Howie Hamlin	USA	9	7	16
7	Club Marine	Euan Mc Nicol	AUS	5	13	18
8	Churchill's Sports Bar	John Sweeny	AUS	10	10	20
9	Belle Property	Micah Lane	AUS	6	15	21
10	Casio Seatpathfinder	Michael Coxon	AUS	11	11	22
11	Omega Smeg	Daniel Phillips	AUS	17	5	22
12	Fisher & Paykel	Andrew Cuddihy	AUS	14	9	23
13	AAPT	Sean Langman	AUS	3	22	25
14	Ssangyong Yandoo	John Winning	AUS	24	4	28
15	CT Sail Battens	Phil Airey	NZL	12	17	29
16	Panasonic	John Winning Jnr	AUS	21	12	33
17	Team Morrison	Peter Morrison	AUS	19	18	37
18	SX Projects	Matt Felton	AUS	23	14	37
19	Fat Face	Tim Penfold	UK	16	23	39
20	Barron & Smithers	Peter Barton	UK	20	21	41
21	Pegasus Racing	Shark Kahn	USA	15	26	41
22	Adtec Communications	Jeremy Sharp	AUS	13	DNF	42
23	Rosemount	Chris Skinner	NZL	18	24	42
24	GP Covers	Flemming Clausen	DEN	26	16	42
25	Avaya	Chad Freitas	USA	22	20	42
26	CST Composites	Chris Dixon	AUS	25	19	44
27	Team Mclean	Steve Mc Lean	UK	27	25	52
28	CST Switzerland	Chris Rast	SUI	DNF	27	56