Ruffys Dream…..
Daniel “Ruffy” Turner is already dreaming about the dinner table conversation he will be having with his brother next Christmas.
In his dream, the Sutech skipper is lauding it over older sibling Joe after sealing the Manly 16ft Skiff Club championship in the final heat of competition.
The dream took a step close to becoming reality last Saturday after Daniel piloted Sutech to a narrow win over Joe’s Manly Surf n Slide in heat six, with Gill (Damon Zemanek) third.
The 24-second victory gives Sutech a narrow two-point lead over Surf n Slide on the overall pointscore, with two heats remaining.
And isn’t Daniel relishing the opportunity to rub it in.
Surf n Slide is the reigning national champion, but Joe was unable to complete the full regatta after suffering a broken hand in the fourth heat.
It was left to stand-in skipper Ben Bianco to sail the last three heats and guide SNS to victory.
“So who’s he going to get to finish off the job this time?” Daniel asked.
“He doesn’t have Benny Bianco to come in to polish things off in the club championship.
“Ányway, that’s their problem. We will just worry about our backyard.”
The Sutech camp intends maintaining radio silence for the next few weeks, fearing Joe will attempt to pick their brains for information and tactics.
Daniel said: “We won’t be saying too much. Our plan is not to change the plan………
just keep doing what we’ve been doing.
“We’ve got the boat speed and the teamwork and we’ve got to race like there’s no-one else out there but us.
“Saturday’s win gives us a bit of breathing space but we’re identically paced with them, so it will come down to who makes the least number of mistakes in the last two heats.”
Joe is the defending club champion, while Daniel’s one and only club championship win was almost a decade ago.
The postponed third heat of the club championship will be sailed this Saturday.
