tony
Admin
Admin
| Posts: 3277 |  |
Karma: 13
|
Re:Audi Hamilton Island Race Week - 2008/08/29 08:10
SYDNEY SKIPPER SIGHTS FIFTH WIN AT HAMILTON ISLAND.
Jamie McPhail remains poised to win his fifth championship after cleverly helming Bob Steel’s TP52 Quest to a convincing win in the Audi Hamilton Island Race Week Whitehaven Beach trophy off Whitsunday Island earlier today.
Skipper McPhail who has steered previous Bob Steel owned sloops to victory cleverly steered the speed sailing Quest to maintain the required handicap rating to defeat the equally impressive Yendys by 30 seconds in what proved to be another exciting race.
Quest bounced out of the start in a handy position while race tactician Ron Jacobs exercised his knowledge of the local conditions to keep Quest pacing above her rating.
Yendys needed to build a break over Quest but Jacobs always managed to call the right tactical options which not only allowed them to save their time on Yendys but also win their TP52 class match race over the Victorian sloop Cougar.
Cougar’s skipper Alan Whiteley and his crew relentlessly tried to remain in contact with Quest but the smart sailing trio of Bob Steel, Jamie McPhail and Ron Jacobs and the experienced crew always maintained the upper wind advantage with their clever strategy.
The result hung in the balance at the halfway mark however Quest was in good shape when she entered Solway Pass but her crew were unsure if they had saved their time on the fleet.
Fortunately they were rewarded with sailing a clever race in the moderate 15-18knot trade wind to claim their second win of the series to now enter into a match race against her Victorian rivals Cougar and Living Doll for the important wind-leeward points tomorrow.
The pressure will be on the Cougar crew to protect their one point lead as the Quest crew will surely select them for special tactical attention when the sails are tensioned for a private match race to decide which crew will lead the championship into the Audi IRC Grand Prix class trophy decider over the Molle-Daydream Island passage race course on Saturday.
By Ian Grant at Hamilton Island.
|
|
|
| | The administrator has disabled public write access. |
tony
Admin
Admin
| Posts: 3277 | |
Karma: 13
|
Re:Audi Hamilton Island Race Week - 2008/08/29 15:59
Tight at the top of the Audi IRC Australian Championship
With just two days of competition left at the Silver Jubilee Audi Hamilton Island Race Week, it appears just two boats remain in the running to win the second Audi IRC Australian Championship – and a new Audi Q7 performance SUV.
Following yesterday’s divisional win in the Whitehaven Beach Race, Bob Steel’s TP 52 Quest is closing in on the pre-regatta favourite, Peter Sorensen’s Sydney 36CR, The Philosophers Club.
Less than one point separates the two Sydney boats. For Sorensen, a two-time 18 footer world champion, and his Middle Harbour Yacht Club crew to be beaten from here, they would have to finish runner up in the IRC Passage division and Quest, which is flying the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s burgee, would have to better their position in the IRC Grand Prix division 1 – but only by a small margin.
“With four firsts, we are looking pretty good. It would be hard to see us being beaten but stranger things have happened,” said Sorensen this morning.
However, Sorensen is not one hundred percent comfortable with the idea that the four part Championship series trophy is already his.
“There is so much at stake, the Audi Q7 and winning the IRC Australian Championship....I’m not comfortable that we are there yet.”
For Steel, his salvation and the ultimate prize could be realised if Sorensen finishes second in division.
“I’ve always wanted to own an Audi and my current car is due to be replaced but Sorensen is going to be hard to catch from here. He’s sailed such a great series,” praised Steel this morning.
Audi Hamilton Island Race Week regatta director Denis Thompson is watching the final points shuffle with great interest.
“Peter Sorensen has got one foot in the door but it’s too tight at the top to say for sure,” Thompson said today. “The Championship could still be won by Steel.”
The Silver Jubilee Hamilton Island Race Week is the deciding round of the four-part Audi IRC Australian Championship which began back in January with Skandia Geelong Week, followed by Middle Harbour for the Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta, and onto the CYCA for the Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race.
The final results will be calculated on the highest scores from three of the four part Championship.
The Audi IRC Australian Championship is endorsed by Yachting Australia.
|
|
|
| | The administrator has disabled public write access. |
tony
Admin
Admin
| Posts: 3277 | |
Karma: 13
|
Re:Audi Hamilton Island Race Week - 2008/08/30 09:20
Momentous regatta-long tussle will go down to the wire
The momentous tussle at the top of the IRC Grand Prix Division 2 pointscore will go down to the wire tomorrow with Rod Jones’ Alegria and Ray Harris’ Honeysuckle still separated by just one point after six days of racing.
“We’ll just have to keep the throttle down” said Honeysuckle’s navigator Michael Spies this afternoon. The final result will depend on who beats who tomorrow...if it goes to a countback we will be better off.”
After scoring sixth and seventh in today’s two windward/leewards, Bob Steel’s TP52 Quest has moved the wrong direction in the podium placings. Quest, which was called OCS in the second race, has slipped from second to third on the series leaderboard whereas they need to be moving in the opposite direction if they are to have any chance of winning the prestigious Audi IRC Australian Championship which will be decided tomorrow.
With Quest no longer breathing down their necks, Alan Whiteley’s TP52 Cougar II from Melbourne has a more comfortable lead on 18 points from Michael Hiatt’s Victorian modified conventional keeled Cookson 50 Living Doll which has moved into second overall on 25 points in IRC Grand Prix Division 1.
The week’s line honours contest has been stamped Black Jack’s with their fourth and fifth fastest times from eight races in today’s two short course races. The score stands at five to Peter Harburg’s Black Jack, two to Bob Oatley’s Wild Oats X and one to Andrew Short’s Shockwave – Club Marine with one race to go.
Regatta director Denis Thompson sent the rest of the 225 boat fleet contesting the 25th anniversary regatta on a 21 nautical mile course around Long Island. There was plenty of colour and action on the Dent Passage start line and overhead with the Airforce Roulettes weaving their aerobatic magic for the on-water procession.
In the PHS Passage division, Mike Freebairn’s classic 1968 built S&S 49 MBDS Spirit of Koomooloo scored its first bullet of the series, the heavy 22 time Rolex Sydney Hobart entrant quick off the start line in the 10 knot sou’east breeze.
“Today we had a nice breeze and good crew work, and when we went around Long Island we think those behind us were hurting,” said Freebairn this afternoon. “On the last work we had good height and just enough breeze to keep the boat pressured up. Short tacking into the finish is not our forte but the final results went our way.”
In the PHS Grand Prix division, Rob Reynolds’ Middle Harbour Yacht Club boat Pla Loma IV has found form in the second half of the regatta, continuing to hold a three point lead over Whalewatchingsydney.net which won today’s islands race.
Reynolds suffered fractures to his vertebrae and face when he fell down a set of stairs a few months back. He’s been out of action for the last ten weeks but with his doctor’s blessing he was not only allowed to contest Audi Hamilton Island Race Week but has helmed his DK43 in every race, taking the opportunity to steer sitting down whenever possible.
And the plan for tomorrow’s decider? “Sail as well as we have been sailing for the past couple of days and keep a close eye on Whalewatchingsydney.net and Hitchhiker,” said Reynolds this afternoon.
Tomorrow, Saturday 30 August, is the final day of competition at the 25th anniversary Audi Hamilton Island Race Week.
The 23.3 nautical mile race Molle Islands Race for all classes will signal the close of Australia’s most awarded keel boat regattas.
The Club Marine Cruising Division 1 fleet will lead the fleet out of Dent Passage following the 9.30am start in what is usually the ‘cover shot’ of the week.
Between 9.30am and 10.35am 11 divisions will peel off, most likely under spinnaker, creating a stunning spectacle that is published worldwide as the showcase image for Audi Hamilton Island Race Week and Hamilton Island.
Trophies will be presented tomorrow evening at the Convention Centre prize giving dinner.
|
|
|
| | The administrator has disabled public write access. |
tony
Admin
Admin
| Posts: 3277 | |
Karma: 13
|
Re:Audi Hamilton Island Race Week - 2008/08/30 16:19
Cougar II ambushes its prey
Alan Whiteley’s Victorian TP52 Cougar II travelled 1,500 nautical miles to outsail a world class IRC Grand Prix division 1 fleet at Australia’s most awarded regatta, Audi Hamilton Island Race Week.
“It’s a better result than we expected,” said a delighted Whiteley this afternoon. “We have been sailing in very esteemed company...the crew is ecstatic about taking out the grand prix division.
“Logistically it’s hard work getting up here from Melbourne but it’s been well worth it. The courses are great, the event is well run and it’s great fun.”
In the overall pointscore Cougar II finished two points clear of Bob Steel’s sistership Quest from Sydney and nine points from the third placed Victorian Cookson 50 Living Doll, skippered by Michael Hiatt.
Cougar II and Quest have faced each other on the start line – and swapped the lead - many times before but today it was Whiteley’s turn.
“Congratulations to Alan and his team,” said Steel this afternoon. “We were very pleased to come second.”
Eventual IRC Grand Prix division 2 winner Honeysuckle, the Beneteau First 45 skippered by Ray Harris, finished today’s Molle Island Race then waited in the wings, scanning the horizon for Rod Jones’ Archambault 40 Alegria, their series nemesis.
Once the required gap had past, in terms of the number of minutes Honeysuckle had to put between them and Alegria, the crew was confident enough to celebrate their win on board.
“We are very elated...it was a tough series,” said a relieved Harris. “Apart from having the sails up to check them and the rig, our first proper sail was last Saturday’s opening race. It’s been a roller coaster.
“The boys had the boat flying today. We had a good downwind leg and we opened up a gap on Alegria then worked really hard to maintain speed,” Harris added.
Hamilton Island CEO Glenn Bourke this afternoon helped sail Bob Oatley’s Wild Oats X to the perfect regatta finish – line honours and a handicap win in today’s race.
“From our perspective we are so pleased with the regatta,” said Bourke. “Sometimes breeze makes or breaks a regatta and we had breeze the whole week. So many have said it’s a further improvement on last year,” added Bourke, who called tactics this week on Wild Oats X.
Island owner Bob Oatley concurred, declaring it “a fantastic regatta...the best ever”.
The three-time Rolex Sydney Hobart line honours winning crew on Wild Oats X has had fickle fortunes on the water while learning how to get the most out of their new swept back spreader rig. Yesterday their canting keel motor burnt out resulting in the crew having to work well into the night to install the spare motor, but today it was all smiles on board Wild Oats X after they capped off their week with a third and final line honours win – and an outright win - in the 23 nautical mile Molle Islands Race.
Peter Harburg’s slight development of Wild Oats X, Black Jack, not only proved an excellent sparring partner for Wild Oats X, they broke the Reichel Pugh 66’s two year stranglehold on the fastest boat around the track with five firsts from nine races.
Mark Bradford says the owner is undecided about contesting this year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart, “we’ll wait for the dust to settle then make up our minds,” skipper Mark Bradford said dockside this afternoon.
One by one 11 divisions lined up in an orderly fashion in Dent Passage this morning for the postcard shot of the series. With most out of silverware contention it was a laid back affair at the start, the 5-8 knot sou’easter providing easy going conditions for the 2,000 plus sailors who have been hard at it – both on and offshore – for a week.
The Roulettes’ final fly over of the fleet at the start was the only noise to be heard, replacing the yelling that accompanied the fresher winds at the start of the week when many crews fancied themselves as top three placegetters.
In the inaugural South Pacific Cup results, the Aussie team of Living Doll, Yendys and Alegria romped home on 45 points, beating the Kiwi team of Pussy Galore, Wired and Carrera by 29 points.
Trophies will be presented tonight at the official prize giving dinner before weary crews head back to their home ports.
|
|
|
| | The administrator has disabled public write access. |
tony
Admin
Admin
| Posts: 3277 | |
Karma: 13
|
Re:Audi Hamilton Island Race Week - 2008/08/30 16:25
Cougar in action.
|
|
|
| | The administrator has disabled public write access. |
tony
Admin
Admin
| Posts: 3277 | |
Karma: 13
|
Re:Audi Hamilton Island Race Week - 2008/08/30 16:25
The whole fleet in action.
|
|
|
| | The administrator has disabled public write access. |
|
