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| Sports |
| Malawi teams close in on title |
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by
Oris Chimenya, 08 July 2005
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15:36:44
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Three Malawian teams are closing in on the championship title in this year’s Malawi International Yachting Marathon after occupying the top three positions in the overall rankings for the first three legs of the world’s longest fresh water race.
The rankings were calculated by the marathon’s bridge officer [technical director] Susan Mennell on Wednesday evening at Sani Beach Resort in Nkhotakota where the sailors concluded the 80km third leg which started from Livingstonia Beach Hotel in Salima. It is the longest leg in the race.
A Club Makokola-sponsored boat manned by Gilson Jahn and Mackford Issa is leading the now six-boat race, while that of Johannes Lebede and Bouke Bijl sponsored by Farmers World, is second.
Dennis Lewis and Max Lockington, whose boat has no sponsor, are on third position.
The overall finishing times for the first three legs are: the first team 10hrs 10mins, the second-placed 10hrs 58mins, while the third chalked 11hrs.
In an interview Thursday morning, just before starting off for the fourth leg from Sani Beach Resort to Dwangwa, Jahn said he hoped the weather would not be rough.
“If the wind will be OK today, we will win because we will maintain our lead.
“But if it gets tough, we may fail because we have problems in controlling the boat with our weight since we are not heavily built. Our colleagues are fat and their weight gives them an advantage because it helps to stabilise the boat,” Jahn said.
Jahn and Issa have participated in the race six times and got their best result in 2002 when they finished second out of the 17 teams which took part.
Lebede and Bijl won the third leg which was sponsored by Barloworld. He received a lilo (inflatable mattress) and sports bags while the leg’s second placed Jahn and Issa received sailing wind cheaters [scumbers].
Thursday morning the boats experienced some difficulties in taking to sea for the fourth leg due to strong winds. Lewis and Lockington sailed off 10 minutes after their colleagues had left.
Meanwhile, the DStv-sponsored boat manned by Peter Killick and Charlotte Walford, which broke its mast on Wednesday due to very bad weather, was being fixed Thursday morning and was expected to sail again Friday in the fifth and final leg from Dwangwa to Chintheche Inn. The final leg covers 70km.
The prize presentation ceremony will take place Friday evening at Chintheche Inn and the sailors and their ground crew are expected to disperse on Saturday.
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