| At sea. Brisbane to Gladstone: Computer controlled canting keel malfunction forces Skandia to retire |
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| Friday, 14 April 2006 | |
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Ian Grant at Gladstone Race Control: Record holder Skandia was forced to retire from the 308 n/ml Brisbane to Gladstone Race earlier tonight. A small micro chip in her computer controlled canting keel had malfunctioned as she was reaching past Mooloolaba at 12 knots in a building easterly wind. She was playing catch up in a bid to beat the record she set in 2004 when the keel over extended forcing her charter skipper Kerry Spencer to retire in the interest of safety. “It was a disappointing outcome for us but that’s yacht racing and you have to learn to accept it”. Spencer said. He had chartered the Victorian super fast maxi in a bid to win the record back for Queensland and the challenge ended within the first 50 miles. However they had suffered some heartburn earlier when the 30 m yacht was ‘Glued to the Water logging just 1.9 knots in The Spitfire Channel. At the time the Skandia crew were almost sharing the same sea space with the smaller Peter Hollis skippered Heaven Can Wait. They were that close in the drifting strength breeze that both crews became engaged in a conversation about the fickle nature of the weather. Fortunately Skandia sailed clear when she entered the open ocean off Caloundra and was poised to make up time in the ideal reaching winds when her race fell apart. Her race was over just when the crew started to enjoy a more respectable boat speed. This unfortunate incident has left Kerry Spencer empty handed but he will almost certainly be back to have another shot at a record chase. Skandia’s retirement has provided the former dual World Contender champion Peter Hollis with a stronger chance to win the line honours trophy. Heaven Can Wait was reported to be leading the smaller sloop and race handicap favourite Wedgetail (Bill Wild) and Quest of Queensland on a compass bearing past Noosa Heads at an improved boat speed. However because of the relatively slow time out of Moreton Bay and the promised change to hard spinnaker racing conditions later tomorrow the battle for handicap honours remains evenly contested between the modern Grand Prix IRC racer Wedgetail and the Golden Oldies the 41 year old Gladstone sloop Wistari (Ross Patrick) and the 1968 Sydney Hobart race champion Koolmooloo. |
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| Last Updated ( Friday, 14 April 2006 ) |
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