Tasmanian boats City Motors Volkswagon, skippered by Frazer Read, and Impact, with Warren Young on the helm, are just one point apart going in tomorrow’s final heat of the Australia Post 61st National Sharpie Championship on Hobart’s Derwent River.

In third place, two points back is veteran West Australian Vern Tidy, sailing Blatantly Obvious, with South Australian Dave Higgins in All Scoobed Out, four points back in fourth place.

Frazer Read had a third and a 10th today to still head the leader board with 15 points after a discard race, while ‘Wazza’ Young is on 16 points, today placing fourth and third, continuing his consistent form that has not seen Impact finish worse than fifth in the 33-boat fleet.

Blatently Obvious is on 18 points, followed by All Scoobed Out (Dave Higgins) on 28 points and the West Australian boat RJA (Tim Reger) on 29 points.

West Australians boats won both races today, RJA (Tim Reger) taking out the morning resail of heat 5 and Vicious (Wade Hanson) winning this afternoon’s heat 6, with RJA’s first and second today lifting this WA crew into fifth in standings.

Racing was extraordinarily close in the second heat this afternoon with a seabreeze bringing 20 Sharpies to the finish line within three boat lengths of each other, giving race officials of the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania a major headache.

Sailing conditions were fluky, a 10-15 knot northerly breeze that sometimes swung sharply to the north-west and at other times died away to almost nothing. Then, after the first five or boats had finished, a seabreeze brought the rest of the fleet home under spinnaker.

Strong and gusty north-westerly winds, possibly reaching 25 knots, have been forecast for the final race, tomorrow afternoon.