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tony

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Re:Audi Hamilton Island Race Week - 2008/08/26 10:37 High dramas and high winds at Audi Hamilton Island Race Week

In a day of high dramas and high winds three sailors were injured and some of the best racing ever was experienced at Audi Hamilton Island Race Week today.

While none of the cruising division sailors were seriously injured, all three were treated in the Hamilton Island Medical Centre before being transferred to a mainland hospital for further observation.

Back on the race track its even scores after four races at the 25th anniversary Audi Hamilton Island Race Week with the Mark Richards skippered Wild Oats X shaking off its near sistership on the longest race of the week, the 59 nautical mile Club Marine Classic Hayman Island Race.

�The good start helped, and we pulled our socks up today,� said Richards dockside this afternoon once he�d shaken hands with Mark Bradford, skipper of Black Jack which finished just under four minutes astern.

�Upwind we thought they had the legs on us but we held our own comfortably. We made a gain on the reach also,� added Richards.

The fleet set a blistering pace today in the moderate to fresh sou�easter, Wild Oats X recording a top speed of 20 knots.

The bigger boats may also have a chance today on corrected time with the smaller boats finishing against the tide.

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tony

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Re:Audi Hamilton Island Race Week - 2008/08/26 10:38 AUDI TROPHY DOG-FIGHT LEVEL AT 2 ALL.
Mark Richards and his Wild Oats X crew redeemed some lost pride when they claimed an impressive line honours win in the Audi Hamilton Island Race Week Hayman Island classic today.
The Wild Oats X crew regarded as Australia�s best blue water sailing combination after three consecutive line honours in the physically demanding Rolex Sydney Hobart Race tarnished their racing reputations and log book when they were comprehensively outpaced by their match racing rival Black Jack (Mark Bradford) in Sunday�s two short course races.
There was a clear indication that the Sydney Hobart Race champions were going to repair some lost pride when they started in clean wind just astern of the Jamie McPhail skippered TP 52 Quest while Black Jack was buried in the pack.
The start advantage was extended when Wild Oats X power sailed in clear wind to take control of the race just after weathering Henning Island.
She continued to produce unmatched speed logging exciting 18 knot bursts under spinnaker when they closed on Hayman Island�s Dolphin Point with a handy lead.
However Black Jack continued to track the wake of Wild Oats X when the two almost identical Reichel Pugh designed sloops became engaged in their own private match race on the slog down the eastern shore of Whitsunday Island.
Wild Oats X was the first to clear Surprise Rock and tactician Glenn Bourke remained cool under pressure selecting the smarter tactical options including a delayed spinnaker set while rival Black Jack hoisted their spinnaker earlier only to be driven below the lay line allowing Wild Oats X to extend her lead eventually finishing 3 minutes 32 seconds in advance of Black Jack and 20 minutes clear of the Steven David skippered Wild Joe.
However while Wild Oats X, Black Jack and Wild Joe completed the testing course with impressive times they failed to fill a major place on corrected time.
The smaller Ray Roberts skippered Quantum Racing continued to prove her pace in the longer races claiming first 51 seconds clear of Michael Hiatt�s Living Doll who just held out the fast finishing New Zealand sloop Pussy Galore by 8 seconds.
After four races Quantum Racing with the consistent fresh wind sailing score of 3-5-4-1 leads the Victorian TP 52 Cougar (Alan Whiteley) 8-2-2-4 by 3 penalty points while Michael Hiatt�s Cookson 50 Living Doll remains in phase with the leaders with her 15-1-1-2 score.

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tony

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Re:Audi Hamilton Island Race Week - 2008/08/26 10:39 Quantum leaps into lead

Ray Roberts� Cookson 50 Quantum Racing now leads the IRC Grand Prix division 1 pointscore following an outright win in today�s 59 nautical mile Club Marine Classic Hayman Island Race.

Despite having to cop a 720 degree penalty turn off Dent Island for clipping Pussy Galore�s backstay with their kite, tactician Steve McConaghy and the rest of this winning outfit were able to make up for lost time to beat Michael Hiatt�s Living Doll and Anataole Masfen�s Pussy Galore from Auckland to the post.

Roberts and his crew are again showing ominous form following their double line and handicap honours victory in the Audi Sydney Gold Coast Race earlier this month, and a handicap win in the lead in Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week last week.

Rod Jones� Archambault 40 Alegria is leading the IRC Grand Prix division 2 series pointscore by just one point from Ray Harris� Beneteau First 45 Honeysuckle after four races. Jones placed second today to Honeysuckle, the two enjoying nail biting tussle as the competition approaches the mid way point.

In a day of high dramas and high winds three sailors were injured and some of the best racing ever was experienced at Audi Hamilton Island Race Week today.

While none of the cruising division sailors were seriously injured, all three were treated in the Hamilton Island Medical Centre before being transferred to a mainland hospital for further observation.

It�s even scores in the line honours stakes after four races at the 25th anniversary Audi Hamilton Island Race Week with the Mark Richards skippered Wild Oats X shaking off its near sistership on the longest race of the week, the 59 nautical mile Club Marine Classic Hayman Island Race.

�The good start helped, and we pulled our socks up today,� said Richards dockside this afternoon once he�d shaken hands with Mark Bradford, skipper of Black Jack which finished just under four minutes astern.

�Upwind we thought they had the legs on us but we held our own comfortably. We made a gain on the reach also,� added Richards.

The fleet set a blistering pace today in the moderate to fresh sou�easterly breeze, Wild Oats X recording a top speed of 20 knots and averaging just over 11 knots around the track.

This morning�s spinnaker start in Dent Passage was a spectacular site as six divisions set off in five minute intervals starting at 8.15am.

In the IRC Grand Prix division 1 and 2 start, Bob Steel�s TP52 Quest, with Jamie Macphail on the helm, launched off the start line before executing a text book kite hoist to lead the charge out of Dent Passage towards Hayman Island.

Chris Dare�s Corby 49 Audi Centre Melbourne, with veteran Roger Hickman and one of Australia�s best known navigators, Adrienne Cahalan aboard, also showed blistering pace at the start, creating a stern wave for Living Doll to ride.

The Performance Passage fleet was sent on the 41 nautical mile Double Cones Island Race with Tim Casey�s Nelson Marek 46 St Hilliers Quest from Sydney getting the gun this afternoon in only its third race.

Casey took ownership of the boat just 10 weeks ago and after a complete rebuild of what was originally Bob Steel�s Quest, he reckons today�s result �is not bad for a bunch of punters.�

Sighting at least six humpback whales over the course of today, Casey was happy to report they had an incident free race. �It was a very enjoyable day...today�s race was in the true spirit of Audi Hamilton Island Race Week.�

Tomorrow is a well earned lay day for all divisions, an opportunity for crews to take a break from the racing schedule and enjoy some land based activities including the Audi Drive Challenge and UBS Moet & Chandon Lunch.

There are many boats still racing with the tail enders due around 7pm tonight.

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tony

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Re:Audi Hamilton Island Race Week - 2008/08/26 10:40 Race Week Sailors welcome lay day.
Hamilton Island marina was a scene of tranquil calm this morning as the record fleet prepared for a welcome rest day from class racing in the International Audi Hamilton Island Race Week series.
Racing on the opening three days proved to be a torture test when the fleet was bumped and bashed by moderate to fresh trade winds and white crested waves which inflicted an expensive list sail and rigging damage.
Local Whitsunday sail makers have been �burning the midnight oil� over the past three nights repairing shredded spinnakers while the sailing masters have endured a similar heavy workload making sure the yachts are ship shape and ready to race.
Fortunately the flesh and fabric testing trade winds have also decided to take a rest with a peak gust of 21 knots recorded overnight while the breeze softened further to 15 knots by sunrise this morning presenting a warm but cloudy day.
However the crews will still enjoy the opportunity to take time out after they complete the check list in preparation for the important races on Wednesday.
The crew of IRC Grand Prix class leader Quantum Racing have planned to meet on deck this morning to complete a maintenance check before enjoying a relaxing lunch.
Owner skipper Ray Roberts and his World championship winning tactician Steve McConaghy have dominated Australian offshore racing since finishing third in the Rolex Sydney Hobart classic in late December.
They won the 60th Anniversary Brisbane to Gladstone Race in late March followed by an impressive victory in the Audi Sydney to Gold Coast race in July and the Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week earlier this month.
These impressive results and a progressive score 3-5-4-1 suggests the talented Quantum Racing crew will become the target of tactical attention from the Victorian yachts Cougar (Alan Whiteley) and Michael Hiatt�s Living Doll when the championship racing continues on the course south of Hamilton Island tomorrow.

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tony

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Re:Audi Hamilton Island Race Week - 2008/08/27 08:02 TRANS TASMAN RIVALRY AT HAMILTON ISLAND.
Trans Tasman sporting rivalry has moved from the Rugby field to the warm waters of the Whitsunday Islands.
Champion Australian ocean racer Ray Roberts and his Quantum Racing crew became the tactical target when New Zealand skipper Anatole Masfen flew the �Angry Flag� (protest pennant) after and alleged breach in the passing lane.
The New Zealand crew held the important right of way when the spinnaker of Quantum Racing brushed the back-stay of Masfen�s yacht Pussy Galore.
Both skipper Ray Roberts and tactician Steve McConaghy were unsure that a slight collision had occurred but they had no option when the protest pennant was flown.
�Quantum Racing was tramping along at 15nots and there was a bit of verbal going on between us and, they were sure the breach had occurred which meant we had to dump the spinnaker and execute the penalty turn as required by the rules�.
�The exercise was a major project and was necessary to eliminate taking the incident to the international jury� Said Quantum Racing crew member Richard Hudson.
Quantum Racing lost considerable time but she still managed to record a handy win over her Cookson 50 class match racing rivals Living Doll (Michael Hiatt) from Victoria and the Kiwi Pussy Galore.
�I felt we had sailed the perfect race at least up to the breach when everything went pear shape� Skipper Ray Roberts said.
However Quantum Racing has sailed consistently in moderate to fresh winds recording a 3-5-4-1 score to retain control of the Grand Prix IRC Class championship over the Victorian yachts Cougar (Alan Whiteley) 8-2-2-4 and Michael Hiatt�s Living Doll 15 -1-1-2..

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tony

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Re:Audi Hamilton Island Race Week - 2008/08/27 20:53 LIVING DOLL DAMAGES KEEL AND POINTSCORE.
Champion Victorian Ocean racing skipper Michael Hiatt placed his chances of winning the prestigious Audi Hamilton Island Race Week IRC championship in jeopardy when his sloop Living Doll hit Surprise Rock yesterday.
Living Doll which had sailed impressively in the moderating trade wind was in a handy position holding time on her major rivals Quantum Racing (Ray Roberts) and Cougar (Alan Whiteley) following a smart tactical performance when spinnakers were set at Baynham Island.
Skipper Hiatt and crew executed some clever gybes and protected their early advantage to be the provisional leader on the approach to Surprise Rock.
They were in the process of stowing the spinnaker when Living Doll came to an abrupt halt when her keel struck the rock.
A loud shudder echoed through the yacht and apart from being temporarily stalled for 28 seconds Living Doll sailed clear and continued racing.
But she held little chance to recover the lost time as the match racing TP 52 class sloops Cougar and Bob Steel�s Quest set up their private tactical match race for the important fastest corrected handicap time.
Both crews were evenly matched when spinnakers were hoisted for the final run home with Cougar needing at least a 30 second break to win.
The result hung in the balance when first Cougar and then Quest executed quick and clever gybes for the reaching run to the finish.
Cougar racing with the higher handicap factor of 1.348 compared with 1.345 for Quest captured the important break she needed in the final seconds of her 3 hour 39 minute 2 second race to win the important match race by 1 second from Quest while line honours winner Andrew Short�s Shockwave Club Marine filled third place another 3 minutes 24 seconds off the pace.
The win has also allowed Cougar with her 8-2-2-4-1 score to become the progressive leader with 9 penalty points lost while Living Doll holds second on 10 points two points clear of Quest.

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