| Australia. Airlie Beach Race Week: Sailors need faultless race strategy as wind back off |
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| Friday, 11 August 2006 | |
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Ian Grant at Airlie Beach: The normally reliable South East Trade wind which has blown the coconuts off the tropical palms over the past week has subsided to provide the 95 yachts contesting the 2006 Airlie Beach Race Week with an interesting opening race today. Any promise of a perfect tactical sailing wind of a 15-20 knot Sou’easterly for the 23 n/ml race over the Double Cone and Armit Island course seems remote with a mix of different winds recorded in the race area when another perfect tourist brochure day presented light winds and warm sunshine on the picturesque yachting destination at daylight this morning. Wind recordings at Creal Reef to the East, Hamilton Island in the South and Bowen in the North varied with a 3 knot Sou’wester inshore to a 16 knot East South East breeze blowing over the fringe of The Great Barrier Reef. This forecast will have a rating A with the holidaying tourists heading to sea for a relaxing day of Whale watching and soaking up the sun on Whitehaven Beach while the crews in the International Airlie Beach Race Week will be presented with a test of their respected tactical skills. There will almost certainly be frowns and beads of perspiration on the brows of the skippers and tacticians as they struggle with what will almost certainly be a supreme test of tactical racing for the major points in all classes. The champion New Zealand sloop Pussy Galore skippered by specialist fresh wind sailor Anatole Masfen should master the variable breeze to win line honours in the IRC class but will need more ‘grunt’ in the breeze to beat the lower handicapped Australian Grand Prix racing combinations of Quantum Racing (Ray Roberts) of Sydney and Living Doll (Michael Hiatt) of Melbourne for the more important championship points. A faultless race strategy will be required to sort the best from the rest when the highly competitive 32 yacht Performance Handicap fleet representing Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland line up on a warm and sunny Pioneer Bay with the intentions to become the ‘top dog’ after a 23n/ml tactical dog-fight. Apart from just throwing a dart at the entry list there is a chance the low handicapped Mooloolaba yacht Hans-On helmed by the experienced Col Thomas could record the fastest corrected handicap result. However there are several other top combinations including local Whitsunday Sailing Club skippers Chris Nicoll (Africa), Kevin Fogarty (Idle Time) and Craig Piccinelli (Wobbly Boot) who has the valued experience of racing in the tricky winds and current flow to be in with a chance when the course times are officially declared by Race Director Denis Thompson later today. |
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| Last Updated ( Friday, 11 August 2006 ) |
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