KZ3 strikes back to finish second

Press, 11 February 1986, Page 8

KZ3 strikes back to finish second

NZPA staff correspondent Fremantle

Woody Woodroffe and the men from KZ3 struck back with a vengeance yesterday to finish second in the third heat of the world 12-metre yachting championships. The race was won by Australia 111, but the day belonged to Woodroffe and his men who have been plagued with a heartbreaking run of problems that has left the first of the New Zealand boats distinctly in the shadow of her sistership KZS. Yesterday it was the turn of Chris Dickson on KZS to have problems, but for him they were positional rather than mechanical. After getting away to another crackling start KZS was rounding the first mark handy when he got involved in a port-starboard brawl with the French Challenge 12 and came away flying a protest flag. Th£ ruckus cost him severaPl places, and he was

powering back through the fleet on the fifth leg when a

cover he tried to put on the

Canadian True North failed :o come off and he was breed to go around before jetting through the mark. KZS had been back in ibout fifth place when that lappened and she dropped 'our places before Dickson igaln worked her through the leet to cross the line sixth, >ut wind up with official fifth. Australia 111, the bigger ind faster successor to the America’s Cup-winning AusIralia 11, finally showed her jaces in conditions that for nuch of the race were ighter than those on the first wo days. Sporting a new Ben Lex-:en-designed mast, she hit he front on the fourth leg md never let it go. On the seventh leg the Australian boat opened up a 10s lead on KZ3, but new nast or not, Woodroffe :lawed him back on the final seat into the wind to crtss 16s behind Australia 111.