| Australia. South Pacific Boomerang Yacht Race returns from Port Vila to Mackay |
|
|
|
| Monday, 31 July 2006 | |
|
Event media: The Queensland Government sponsored 2006 South Pacific Boomerang Yacht Race series which started in Melbourne on July 2nd and sailed 1850 miles to Port Vila in Vanuatu, is now set to return to Australia. Tomorrow Tuesday August 1st the gun will fire for the second arm of the South Pacific Boomerang the 1150 nautical mile Port Vila to Mackay leg at 1400 AEST, 1500 Vanuatu time. From 11 original entries there will be eight starters vying to win line and handicap honours on this leg. A first night collision with a soft marine object, either a whale or a sunfish took Just A Minor Hickup out of the Melbourne to Vanautu fleet and then strong winds off the NSW coast on the 1850 mile leg from Sydney removed Dekadence and Elektra, from the fleet. The Port Vila to Mackay line honours favourite is Pat Guidice and Brian Pattinson's Open 60 Gusto, now with six crew on board and if they get the predicted reaching conditions should show a clean stern to the fleet. However Gusto is not an upwind boat and should Coral Sea conditions turn against her, she could struggle. ORCV Commodore Angus Fletcher will be pushing his Radford 13.7 Tevake II, to the limit after having been pipped for IRC honours in the first leg. Tony Fowler's Geelong based Inglis 47, Ocean Skins will be hoping for just those conditions which would mean a three way tussle with Gusto and Tevake II for line honour places. Warwick Hutchin's Savage Oceanic 46 Moomba from Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron won't give way easily having beaten Fletcher by just 1 hour 11 minutes on corrected time; they will be looking to complete the double. The smallest boat in the fleet, Mike Welsh's Alien, is a fine performer and a handicap spoiler in IRC division. George Shaw's Cavalier 37 BOOTS, now with six crew, is always well performed in IRC and can never be discounted. Some boats chose to go double handed to Vanuatu and use it as a qualifier for next year's Osaka race, all have taken on extra crew for this leg. Dr Rosie Colahan, medico to the fleet, and David James were pleased to bring their Jeanneau 40 Ingenue, into Port Vila to win the Double Handed division and have also opted for extra crew on this leg. Along with Robin Hewitt's Lexcen Yoko, they can be expected to bring up the rear of the fleet. Hewitt as a stalwart of the ORCV can never be discounted from the handicap stakes, with more sea miles under his keel than most skippers will ever see. Hewitt will undertake his 25th consecutive Melbourne to Hobart race later this year, all completed on his much loved yacht Yoko. He is a great believer that cunning and guile will beat youth and inexperience every time. The fleet leaders could reach Mackay as early as the seventh of August, it’s a busy time for the north Queensland city. It is preparing to welcome the Sydney to Mackay fleet is sailing north from Sydney, with race leader Skandia already past Mooloolaba. |
|
| Last Updated ( Monday, 31 July 2006 ) |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|