By Ian Grant.
Dual Audi Australian IRC ocean racing champion Rod Jones with further test his tactical racing skill on familiar waters when he contests the SB3 sports boat championship at Hamilton Island.
The Sunshine Coast skipper who has set a high bench mark on the Mooloolaba Yacht Club honour board has left nothing to chance when he contests the inaugural SB3 championship at the prestigious Audi Hamilton Island Race Week.
His tactician will be the Beijing Olympic coach Adrian Finglas who has just returned from the Australian Teams successful World championship campaign in England and Europe.
Finglas besides being a highly respected coach is an outstanding sailor and a master tactician and his inclusion with skipper Rod Jones and the Club Marine Blue crew lists them as a short priced favourite to win the weeklong series starting on Saturday.
“I’m looking forward to racing with Rod again it’s been awhile but we have a good understanding”.
“The racing will be very competitive with every crew holding the chance to win in this strict one-design class”. Finglas said.
Rod Jones has proved to be a crafty ocean racing sailor but his talent will be tested by former Australian Sailboard champion Dennis Winstanley in Jump and Australian 505 champion Phil Gray in Dulon.
Both Winstanley and Gray like Rod Jones possess the tactical skill to add an interesting mix to the championship.
Winstanley will be racing in his own playground and his knowledge of the local conditions could provide him with a marginal edge in selecting the best options in sailing against the swift flowing current.