After four races, Etchells sailing out of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia fleet have opened up an early lead from Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron-based Etchells for the 2008-2009 Kopsen Cup Interclub Challenge.
The Mini Regatta two weekends ago ended with the CYCA leading by 72 points to the Squadron’s 82 points, but last Saturday’s single club race resulted in the CYCA opening up the margin to 19 points, 105 to 125.
Last Saturday’s racing was a good result all round for the Rushcutters Bay-based Etchells, with CYCA boats filling the top three placings in the fresh to strong north-westerly.
Fifteen (David Clark & Andrew Smith) won by 62 seconds from Humpback (Stephen Barlow & Peter Gardner) with just four seconds to Fathom, skippered by Rupert Henry).
Saturday’s race also was the first of the Qualifying Series for the 2009 Etchells World Championship in Melbourne and drew a fleet of 24 boats. Unfortunately, five boats were disqualified for sailing through the finishing line during the race, while another boat retired.
Bill Kopsen, one of the earliest Etchells sailors in Sydney and a wellknown yacht chandler, presented the ‘Kopsen Trophy – Etchells Teams Racing Perpetual Trophy’ to the RSYS in 1987, with the RSYS defeating a combined CYCA/Royal Prince Edward Yacht Club team that season.
The CYCA /RPEYC turned the tables on the RSYS in 1988 and the records show the trophy being awarded to Golden Swan (Sir James Hardy & Max Whitnall) in the 1997-98 season.
Team racing resumed in 2001 when the CYCA defeated the RSYS, with the Squadron winning in 2002 and 2003.
CYCA member Mike Thackray has been the driving force behind the revival of the Kopsen Cup and in issuing a challenge on behalf of CYCA-based Etchells owners. He has also drawn up a revised set of rules.
Points are awarded on the basis of finishing positions across the line for each team’s three boats sailing in each race.
Three boats are selected from the results for each race as the ‘team’ boats, based on the handicaps, as adjusted for each race, and shall be those with the highest, lowest and the boat with a handicap closest to the average of the highest and lowest.
The scoring boats for the CYCA last Saturday were Humpback, 2nd, Vincero (Nick Kingsmill), 10th, and Champagne Charlie (Peter Charody & Mike Thackray), 15th, for a total of 27 points.
For the RSYS, the scoring boats were dot (Matt Whitnall), 4th, Zapper (David Baker & Frits Mare), Dsq (25 pts) and The Biz (John Hopkins) 14, for a total of 43 points.
Mike Thackray is confident the revival of the Kopsen Trophy will engender the spirit of strong competition amongst a top class Sydney Fleet.
“We also aim to achieve successful promotion of the Etchells Sydney Fleet in the lead up to the Sydney Etchells World Championship in 2012 and beyond,” he added. – Peter Campbell
