Living Doll. Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week Day 4 racing
[by Peter Campbell]
The Melbourne yacht Living Doll has retained her pointscore lead in the grand prix IRC division 1 of the Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week, despite a boat-crunching start, a broken headsail halyard and a blown-out spinnaker in today's heavy weather passage race.
Sailing in a 25-30 knot south-easterly, the IRC division 1 surfed northwards to Saddleback Island before facing a testing beat back into Pioneer Bay to complete the 34 nautical mile race.
International yachtsman Ray Roberts steered his canting keel 50-footer Quantum Racing to an impressive victory, taking line and handicap honours, as he did in the recently Audi Sydney Gold Coast Race, to move into equal second place overall.
Quantum Racing scored a massive 16 minute win on corrected time from Chris Dare's Corby 49 Audi Centre Melbourne, third place going to Graham Jones' brand new Beneteau First 45 Bluewater, with Living Doll, Michael Hiatt's Cookson 50, recovering well to place fourth.
Living Doll's problems began at the start when the CYCA-based Swan 45 Tulip, with Sean Kirkjian on the helm, appeared to push the New Zealand 52-footer Wired (Rob Bassett) above the barging buoy - as he was entitled to under the racing rules of sailing!
Living Doll, Michael Hiatt's Cookson 50, was close to windward of Wired and the two big boats crunched gunwales, Living Doll having two carbon fibre stanchions on her portside smashed. Living Doll took a penalty turn but both she and Wired were also forced to go around the end of the line and re-start.
As Living Doll and Wired set off in pursuit of the leaders, Living Doll's woes continued, with a headsail halyard breaking, forcing her to sail bareheaded for a minute or more. However, a freshening breeze in Pioneer Bay saw her planing downwind under her big spinnaker, hitting 20 knots in the 25 knots breeze, gaining considerable time on the rest of the fleet.
The crew of Quantum Racing was elated with their double win. 'Carrying out big spinnaker, we hit 22 knots on the downhill run to the islands,' tactician Steve McConaghy said. 'Beating back into 27 knots, with the fast-ebbing tide and lumpy seas, we started with a No 4 but later went up to a No 3. It really was a good day for Ray (Roberts) and the crew!'
Roger Hickman, sailing master on Audi Centre Melbourne, was also pleased with the Corby 49's second placing today. 'It was a lovely course, with the big tides kicking up steep seas,' Hickman said. 'While it's not like sailing on The Solent (off Cowes, England) the tides play a big influence here in the Whitsundays.
After five races, Living Doll has a three point lead in IRC division standings, on 7 points after discarding her worst race (today's 4th). Equal on 10 points are Bluewater and Quantum Racing while Audi Centre Melbourne is only 11 points after the one-race discard.
Tomorrow the IRC division 1 fleet will sail the long distance race of Race Week over a course of 40 nautical miles around several of the 74 islands in the Whitsunday Island Group.
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