Looks like the little boats got shafted again in the third race of the Blue Water Pointscore! There luck has to change soon - doesn´t it?
Here´s the race report.
[Source: Lisa Ratcliff]
Prior to last year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart, Graeme Wood was named Ocean Racing Rookie of the Year at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s annual awards night. Ten months on, the success of his TP52 Wot Yot now has Wood in contention for offshore yachting’s ultimate prize, the Tattersalls Cup for the overall winner of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.
Heading into last night’s Flinders Island Race, the third of the seven-race Blue Water Pointscore Series which includes the Rolex Sydney Hobart, Wood was leading the IRC pointscore. Following confirmation this afternoon of Wot Yot’s IRC and PHS wins, Wood has cemented his top placing and importantly, his confidence has skyrocketed.
“Winning on IRC is the game for us,” said a delighted Wood, who left the boat in the capable hands of skipper Mike Green for last night’s 92 miler while he attended a function.
“This is our first attempt at the Blue Water Pointscore and now we are doing so well I can say that it’s become a very serious attempt.
“We decided after Audi Hamilton Island Race Week that we had to get our act together. We have checked all the hardware and the sails and now we are playing around with the crew weight…and stepping everything up a notch.
“I run a Corinthian crew and we are in it for the fun and the glory. I think that makes a positive difference to the attitude on the boat,” Wood added.
The 22 boat fleet that lined up at 8pm last night in Sydney Harbour for the race to Flinders Islet, off Wollongong, was tested when they were smacked by two southerly fronts, the first hitting at 20 knots at around 10pm last night and the second striking with more force at 35 knots.
After rounding Flinders Islet, the front runners hoisted spinnakers for a quick sprint back up the coast, the breeze averaging 20 knots until sunrise at around 4.30am this morning when it began to lighten off.
Wot Yot hit a top boat speed of 25 knots during the run home and took line honours at 6am, almost 20 minutes ahead of Scooter, Sean Langman’s former Grundig/AAPT sailing its first race under new Queensland owner Peter Harburg.
Despite its conservative race, Andrew Short Marine Brindabella was third over the line and second on PHS results. During the worst of last night’s southerlies, skipper Andrew Short decided to play it safe by dropping the Jutson 79’s huge mainsail and beating to Flinders under headsail only. Like many in the fleet, Short is trialling crew for the Rolex Sydney Hobart and he was prepared to sacrifice speed in order to finish the race without incident.
On provisional IRC handicap results, Wot Yot beat sistership Ragamuffin, Syd Fischer’s new TP52 sailing only its second race since arriving in Australia in September, and ASM Brindabella.In the Tasman Performance Series (PHS) results, Wot Yot beat ASM Brindabella and Scooter.
While the larger boats were able to squeeze the last out of the dying S/SE breeze, the tail enders had a painfully slow morning foundering off Wollongong in 2 knots of wind.
Denis Doyle’s Sextant was the third last boat to finish at 3.37pm this afternoon, Doyle reporting “at dawn the breeze backed to the west and went light for us off Bellambi, which is when the little boats got buried. It was a battle to keep the boat rolling…eventually at around midday an easterly then a sea breeze filled in and we had a beautiful sail home”.
Four yachts retired overnight and this morning, they were Rod Skellet’s Krakatoa, Rob Reynolds’ Pla Loma IV, Phil Darling’s eXpresso and Geoff Hill’s Swan Song.
The final Blue Water race before the double points earner, the Rolex Sydney Hobart which will start at 1pm on Boxing Day`, is the 180 nautical mile Cabbage Tree Island Race on Friday 9 November 2007.
Most of the yachts which went to sea last night have been nominated for the 2007 Rolex Sydney Hobart with a total of 58 yachts on the application for entry list so far. The closing date for applications is Friday 2 November 2007 and the CYCA is anticipating a fleet of 80 yachts.
Full results from the Flinders Island Race available at http://www.cyca.com.au/sysfile/downloads/bwps_308rr.htm - Lisa Ratcliff
No comments:
Post a Comment