$5.50 Skiff wins race
Sailing a boat bought for the cost of a schooner, Allow Our Name ended a run of bad luck to claim handicap victory in Manly’s sixth pointscore race of the season last Saturday.
Owner Andrew St John purchased the boat’s hull from former Bean Counters skipper Henry Harding over winter, the deal sealed over a $5.50 Coopers at club headquarters.
“We don’t have the money to match the quick guys,” St John explained, who is still seeking a boat sponsor.
“We knew Henry was dropping out (of the fleet) and we were talking one day and asked him what he was doing with the boat.
“He said ‘if you want it it’s yours for a schooner’.
“So we bought it for a beer and put our rigs into it and got it going fast.
“When it all comes together we’re going okay.”
Allow Our Name’s biggest challenge has simply been making it to the finish line.
They’ve started numerous races only to pull out well before the end
“We’ve only finished twice and we’ve run second and first (on handicap) both those times,” Milham said.
“We’ve either missed the start or had some sort of issue on the boat on the other occasions, so it’s nice to actually finish a race.
“If we can keep it out there and have nothing go wrong we are a chance of another win.”
Things didn’t quite go to plan last Saturday, with problems at the first mark costing
Milham and crew members St John and Bjorn Jacques worked overtime to haul themselves back into the race and claim handicap honours.
But the win does have a downside
“Our handicap is quite high and will probably come down a few minutes now, but you take any win in this company,” Milham said.
“But the big one for us is the Keg Cup (a trophy for boats at the back-end of the fleet) after Christmas.
“That’s the one that we are aiming for.”
