Consistency for Siesta

Japanese entry continues to lead at Australian J/24 Nationals in Melbourne

Japanese boat Siesta continues its apparent stranglehold on the J/24 Australian National Championship at Sail Melbourne in a lead-up to the World Championship next week.

Skippered by Wataru Sakamoto, Siesta finished with a fourth and 11th place in today's racing on Port Phillip to cement its first place overall in a strong fleet of 31 boats.

US boat Brain Cramp, with accomplished sailor Mike Ingham at the helm, made its charge in the second race of the day to finish first. But Ingham wasn't happy with the 18th place they started the day with after being surprised by a light 10 knot breeze with slight waves.

"Every day the wind has built and built and we set up (the boat) for heavy wind. We didn't do too good in that race. It was a silly mistake," he said. "We made changes for the second race. We eased up our shroud tensions – it makes a huge difference."

While Siesta is on target for the National Championship, there is some uncertainty whether it will compete in the final day of racing.

International crews are ineligible to win the event and there is talk that the crew of Siesta may decide to rest in preparation for the all-important World Championship which begins at Sandringham Yacht Club on January 15, only one day after the Nationals finish.

Currently, Siesta leads from Brain Cramp and Bruschetta – no change from yesterday. However, the Australian Championship is presently in the hands of holding National champion, Sean Kirkjian and crew on Death Star, currently fifth overall. The Championship finishes this Friday.

Below: Inmarsat, the British entry of Ian Southworth

	Sail No	Boat Name	Skipper	Race 1	Race 2	Race 3	Race 4	Race 5	Race 6	Pts
1	JPN5261	SIESTA	Wataru Sakamoto	2	2	5	2	4	[11.0]	15
2	USA1208	BRAIN CRAMP	Mike Ingham	1	10	3	5	[18.0]	1	20
3	BRA37	BRUSCHETTA	Mauricio SantaCruz	4	13	2	1	1	[32.0O]	21
4	AUS145	DEATH STAR	Sean Kirkjian	5	6	1	8	[14.0]	2	22
5	JPN5289	CEREZO	Yasutaka Funazawa	[16.0]	4	7	7	3	8	29
6	AUS186	CODE VIOLATION	Doug McGain	8	5	4	6	6	[26.0]	29
7	AUS190	FLY EMIRATES	Sean Willis	12	1	9	13	2	[32.0O]	37
8	AUS198	SECURITY BLANKET	Hugo Ottaway	7	11	[13.0]	12	8	4	42
9	AUS167	J-SPOT	Michael Blackburn	10	[32.0F]	6	11	13	7	47
10	AUS171	PACEMAKER	David Suda	9	9	[17.0]	16	5	10	49
11	AUS161	CONVICTS REVENGE	Stephen Girdis	11	[19.0]	8	14	10	6	49
12	AUS160	KAOTIC	Ben Lamb	13	7	[32.0B]	3	11	20	54
13	CAN4013	SINGLE MALT	Tadeusz Bartlewksi	15	15	14	[26.0]	7	5	56
14	JPN5260	GEKKO	Satashi Kume	[21.0]	8	10	10	15.0Y	15	58
15	CAN4865	NOKOMIS	Scott Weakley	6	[32.0C]	11	15	25	9	66
16	GBR4270	INMARSAT	Ian Southworth	[32.0C]	32.0C	16	4	15	3	70
17	AUS201	HYPERACTIVE	Philip Coombs	[19.0]	12	12	17	17	12	70
18	AUS128	JPEG	Warren Sare	20	3	15	[25.0]	16	19	73
19	AUS185	THE PIE	Tim Lewis	3	18	[32.0B]	22	12	25	80
20	GBR4268	CRAZY GOALS.CO.UK	Jon Powell	17	[32.0F]	32.0B	9	21	13	92
21	USA2223	FIVE TO SIX	Suzi Taylor	14	[32.0C]	21	20	19	18	92
22	AUS66	NO EYE DEER	Trevor Conyers	25	16	19	21	[27.0]	16	97
23	AUS195	CRACKERJACK	Grant Willmott	23	[32.0F]	18	19	22	17	99
24	AUS172	INNAMINCKA	John Crawford	22	20	22	18	[23.0]	21	103
25	AUS111	SUCH IS LIFE	Roger Nicolson	26	14	23	24	[30.0]	23	110
26	AUS205	MR BRIDGER	Alister Morison	18	21	25	[28.0]	20	27	111
27	AUS127	GOOD COMPANY	Robin Townsend	[28.0]	17	20	23	28	24	112
28	AUS108	FUN	Alyn Stevenson	24	[32.0F]	32.0B	32.0F	24	14	126
29	AUS170	WHISPER	Neil Begley	27	[32.0C]	24	27	26	22	126
30	AUS144	STOCKCAR	David Hughes	30	[32.0C]	26	29	31	29	145
31	AUS149	TWO DOGS	Peter Moulang	29	[32.0C]	32.0B	32.0F	29	28	150