Audi Etchells Worlds at Fremantle, Australia

Audi Etchells Worlds at Fremantle, Australia - Overall

by Rob Kothe 25 Nov 2006 11:44 GMT 18-25 November 2006

American Jud Smith wins Audi Etchells Worlds

Jud Smith, the three times North American Etchells champion and four times Worlds runner up took the gun in the eighth and final race to win the 2006 Audi Etchells World Championship off Fremantle West Australia today.

Smith and his crew of Dirk Kneulman and New Zealanders Andrew Wills and Thomas Saunders, crossed the finish line and shortly afterwards the Star Spangled Banner boomed from the Black Swan, the very same tender that boomed out Men at Work back in 1983 when Australia 11 took the America's Cup.

Smith won the Audi Etchells Worlds 2006 showing his ability and determination to take the title in the last race of the series.

The Fremantle Doctor was pumping with winds climbing into the 20's as Smith led from the first mark he was overtaken by his countryman Chris Busch down the run but rounded inside the San Diego sailor. Half way up the beat for the second time, he crossed ahead and was never overtaken again. Smith crossed ahead of Busch, third was Craig Healy.

Ante Razmilovic from Britain needed to beat Smith by two places today, but the best he could do was fourth. New Zealander Alastair Gair who led into the eighth and final race of the series only needed to stay in contact to take the title. At the top mark for the first time the Kiwi's were 18th; they fought back valiantly to take seventh place and had to be content to settle with second overall.

Smith predicted this morning that, 'Today it's going to come down to who gets the best start. He was right. The 2006 Audi Etchells Worlds was decided in the first 500 metres, Smith hit the line with speed and had a clear lane, Razmilovic was slower and Gair was buried and that was the race.

Dockside Smith commented, 'We had a lot of fun on the boat, it was a United Nations, we got faster and faster all week. The monkey is off my back, after four seconds.

'I thought that we did not deserve to win the Worlds last year in San Francisco, we just did not have the speed, and we came up short. We are good in under 15 knots, but it took a year long campaign to improve our heavy weather sailing.

'When we crossed the finish line we wanted to make sure we were not on the OCS board on the finish boat, there were six numbers and we were relieved to see that we were not one of them.'

'The Australians, New Zealanders and British are better in heavy air, but today we have Americans 1-2-3 so we are learning.'

Canadian Dirk Kneulman, Smith's main sheet crew, was the 1998 Etchells World Champion. This afternoon he commented, 'This is better than my win back then. Jud has been the best Etchells sailor around for a long time. We are all just so happy he has his reward at last. It's been an honour to sail with him.'

Overall Results: (8 races, 1 discard)

Pos	Sail No / Boat Name	Skipper / Crew	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	Pts
1	USA 1061 - Feng Shui	Jud Smith/Dirk Kneulman/Andrew Wills/Thomas Saunders	1	2	1	6	[21]	6	4	1	21
2	NZL 950 - Velsheda	Alastair Gair/David Ridley/Carl Peters/Derek Scott	2	[23]	4	3	6	1	2	7	25
3	GBR 1333 - Swedish Blue	Ante Razmilovic/Jez Fanstone/Stuart Flinn	9	9	[12]	1	4	2	1	4	30
4	GBR 1187 - Anam Chara	Andy Beadsworth/James McHugh/Simon Fry	3	4	2	10	[19]	9	9	13	50
5	USA 946 - I Love My Wife	Craig Healy/Kieth Stahnke/David Gruver	8	[70]	23	2	3	3	14	3	56
6	AUS 117- Fast Harry	Cameron Miles/Phil Smidmore/Dave Samson	4	14	17	[17]	2	7	7	10	61
7	AUS 1321 - Triad	John Bertrand/Ian Johnson/Tim Ede	10	17	9	12	1	[70]	10	5	64
8	AUS 1277 - Critical Balance	Mark Bulka/Stewart Nichols/Steve Young	18	13	6	[29]	11	5	3	8	64
9	AUS 1317 - Una Mas	Mark Bradford/Graeme Taylor/Steve Jarvin	5	[34]	5	4	5	8	32	6	65
10	GBR 987 - Bedrock	Stuart Childerley/Simon Russell/Roger Marino	[27]	11	8	5	8	13	18	15	78
11	AUS 1254 - North Sydney	Julian Plante/Michael Coxon/Nick Garland/Matt Day	25	5	7	7	[45]	24	12	19	99
12	USA 969 - Happy Ending	Chris Busch/Rod Hagebols/Willem van Waay	7	7	[31]	27	29	18	13	2	103
13	AUS 1215 - Boat X	Noel Drennan/Peter Ahern/Bill Browne	[45]	12	3	20	24	4	33	14	110
14	AUS 1244 - Dr Evil	Jake Gunther/Russell Tyson/Richard Ironmonger	12	15	10	16	20	[70]	8	30	111
15	AUS 1356 - The Croc	Michael Manford/Dean McAullay/Richard Rowell	15	[70]	15	14	22	10	16	26	118
16	AUS 866	Murray Smith/Brad Sheridan/Barrie Sturgeon	6	27	13	9	15	27	29	[29]	126
17	AUS 1289 - Two Palms & a Hammock	Peter Chappell/Sam Gill/Michael Hughes	29	21	25	18	12	15	[70]	12	132
18	AUS 891 - Bandwagon	Skip Lissiman/ Ben Durham/Kane Williamson	24	30	20	30	13	12	6	[70]	135
19	AUS 1326 - Steampacket VI	Rob Brown/Bruce Wookey/Garry Gudmunson	33	3	33	8	9	28	24	[70]	138
20	AUS 925 - Oxygen	Rod Jones/Bucky Smith/Gregor McAllan-Smith	14	[70]	40	13	33	21	17	11	149
21	AUS 924 - Barry White	Damien King/Simon Cunnington/James Ware/Andy Butler	26	37	18	15	[38]	11	21	21	149
22	GBR 1325 - Festina2	Barry Parkin/Mike Till/Bill Masterman	35	6	35	19	[36]	22	11	22	150
23	GBR 1332 - Gerlert	David Bedford/Phil Lawrence/Jonathon Taylor	34	18	11	26	16	[47]	28	23	156
24	AUS 1131 - Humpback	David Clark/Stephen Barlow/Andrew Smith	19	1	30	21	[70]	31	27	40	169
25	AUS 1320 - Rhapsody in Blue	Rob Bird/Graeme Johnson/Nic Gray	28	25	[39]	31	7	30	15	33	169
26	AUS 1088 - Sun Tzu	Roger Hickman/Phillip Endersbee/Peter Inchbold	22	10	16	23	40	23	36	[49]	170
27	USA 1153 - Junkyard Dog	Joseph Bainton/Ched Proctor/Tod Raynor	42	8	37	[49]	14	39	23	9	172
28	HKG 105 - Quest	Mark Thornburrow/Gray Gibson/Mark Parker	31	16	38	25	18	[51]	25	20	173
29	AUS 1124 - Roulette	Mark Johnson/Robert Bishop/Nik Burfoot	[46]	20	14	42	27	26	19	27	175
30	IRL 1015 - Matatu Durh	Richard Burrows/David Burrows/Peter Coad	32	29	19	48	17	43	5	[70]	193
31	AUS 1136 - Bohica	David Royle/Peter Royle/Jon Ward	[52]	31	44	24	10	16	31	38	194
32	AUS 1143 - Squid	Chris Pratt/Nick Paterson/Mark O Brien	16	[41]	24	28	29.7	36	26	37	196.7
33	AUS 916 - Daylight Robbery	Alastair McMichael/Richard Edinger/Andrew McAullay	30	19	22	22	45	25	37	[70]	200
34	AUS 1273 - North Sydney Station	Richard Coxon/Ed Mc Carthy/Graeme Spence	21	36	27	11	25	41	[46]	44	205
35	AUS 883 - Tusk	Gary Smith/Mark Lovelady/Mick McAulley	23	22	[70]	43	39	17	30	35	209
36	AUS 1119 - Feathers Chalk Beans	Michael Jones/Bill Sykes/Roy Ditmarsch	11	[60]	36	44	32	20	51	16	210
37	IRL 1330 - Fraculator	Dan O Grady/Paul Reilly/Brian Hammersley	13	55	49	38	[70]	14	35	17	221
38	GBR 992 - China White	Andrew Cooper/David Heritage/George Cooper	17	33	46	[53]	47	32	20	31	226
39	USA 1283 - Down Under	Andrew Whittome/Jim Gregory/John Callahan	57	[57]	28	32	28	37	34	18	234
40	AUS 781 - Abracadabra	Gordan Lucas/Geoff Chambers/John Gardiner	36	[43]	41	41	23	29	40	32	242
41	NZL 1314 - Addiction	Lindsay Kennedy/Trevor Swinburne/Peter Waters	20	42	43	40	34	44	[60]	28	251
42	GBR 1329 - Selection Box!	Martin Payne/Jonathon Mortimer/Steve Birbeck	48	[56]	21	35	30	38	44	36	252
43	AUS 915	Peter McNeil/Peter McLachlan/Rick Maxwell	44	24	42	33	42	50	22	[70]	257
44	BER 1249	Tim Patton/Mark Thomas/Simon Wilder	41	[70]	26	37	26	46	49	45	270
45	GBR 1165 - Wobbegong	Doug Flynn/Mark Cartwright/Tim Powell	38	47	29	[52]	43	42	41	34	274
46	AUS 1117 - Seven P s	Ian Anderson/Peter Vos/Gus McBrair	62	26	[70]	34	46	45	39	39	291
47	AUS 1150 - Dragon Lady	Bill Steele/Rob Rooke/Geoff Reilly	58	44	[70]	47	53	33	42	24	301
48	AUS 1082 - Enigma	Mary Hanna/Ben O Brien/Brendon Garner/Jock Sinclair	60	48	[70]	39	52	19	43	42	303
49	AUS 963 - The Rat	Grantham Kitto/Brad Moore/Simon Shaw	[55]	32	32	46	49	53	47	50	309
50	AUS 939 - Power & The Passion	Gordon Blaauw/Andrew Short/Peter Kernot	50	39	34	[67]	54	40	45	53	315
51	GBR 1036 - Esprit	Robert J Elliott/Sam Richmond/Andrew Yates	40	51	54	45	31	35	64	[70]	320
52	AUS 1022 - Screaming Plum	Doug Kerr/Greg Kerr/Luke Paterson	[70]	50	51	50	37	34	49	51	322
53	AUS 1191 - Rangoon Tiger	Gordon Hinds/Peter Bellingham/Steve Ingate	37	52.8	45	59	41	[70]	54	48	336.8
54	AUS 1312 - Squeaky Clean	Rob Davis/Andrew Baker/John Gibson	70	35	52	36	50	52	52	[70]	347
55	AUS 1311 - Mystery Taxi	Paul Henshall/Bruce Henshall/Lyall Milford	39	46	53	60	48	63	[70]	46	355
56	AUS 1160 - Liquidity	Dirk van der Struyf/Reid Fleming/Simon Sutherland	49	28	47	65	70	[70]	50	47	356
57	USA 1234	Kers Clausen/Kjeld Hestehave/Matt Noble	[66]	49	55	58	51	55	58	41	367
58	GBR 937 - Evelina	Chester Maudslay/Paul Kelsey/Guy Manners-Spencer	59	40	57	57	70	48	38	[70]	369
59	AUS 1188 - Jaloralee	Dave Roberts/Brett Shoebridge/Christian Christiansen	43	54	63	51	61	[70]	48	52	372
60	AUS 1056 - Upbeat	Peter Godley/Rod Godley/Geert Buters	54	59	56	70	44	[70]	55	43	381
61	AUS 872 - Count Boris Secret Rendezvous	Nick Knezic/John Coates/Rod McIntosh	56	58	62	61	63	59	[63]	25	384
62	AUS 826 - Hustler	David Healey/Noel Paterson/Gary van Lunteren	53	38	59	54	[70]	60	62	59	385
63	USA 1177 - Life is Good	Chris Clark/Tom Dawson/Dick Hodgson	63	45	50	64	59	62	[66]	57	400
64	GBR 1067 - Slieve Elva	David Franks/Graham Sunderland/Mark Watson	64	52	61	55	55	[70]	59	54	400
65	NZL 1240 - Waiwera Infinity	John St Clair Brown/Robert Croft/David Healy	51	62	64	[66]	56	58	57	56	404
66	USA 1315 - Lost in the Fog	John Gilmour/Andrew Minkwitz/Terry Dobell	47	70	48	62	60	54	65	[70]	406
67	GBR 1009 - Mayhem	Tim Daughton/Keith Tippell/Charlotte Lamport/Jonathon Halliday	70	53	60	56	57	57	53	[70]	406
68	AUS 1276 - Etch	Jan Muysken/Richard Bryson/Ben Grauer	65	61	58	[68]	62	61	56	55	418
69	AUS 617 - Nopropellis	Frank Van Ruth/Thor Schoenhoff/Daniel Wadsworth	61	63	[65]	63	58	56	61	58	420