New territory for Meridien Marinas fleet

by Rob Kothe on 12 Aug 2007 Today the fleet sailed new passage courses with the Premier Cruising Division sailing a 28 nautical mile course north east to the Gloucester National Park Group, first to Gumbrell Island, about three nautical miles west of Armit Island, then to Olden Island and back down the coast to Pioneer Bay.

'The nicest Whitsunday race I have every done' said Premier Cruising division leader John Bacon.

'A glorious sailing day and some great new islands we’ve never seen before, that was the furthest north we have ever been along the coast. At Olden Island there is a great anchorage and a great beach...very tempting. ’

Perhaps Bacon’s view was coloured by his three wins in a row, guaranteed to make any skipper feel good, but the same sentiments came from across the fleet.

For the PHS Racing and Cruising with Spinnaker divisions there was a 24 mile course to Gumbrell Island and return and the Sports Boats and Cruising Non Spinnaker sailed to Edwin Rock, Grassy Island and return - 20 miles.

85 boats in the fleet enjoyed the new adventure. Simon Fisher’s Elliott 780, which on the first day had become X1 Mast, became X2 Tangent again with a tremendous crew effort. An inner and outer sleeve was put on the aluminum mast and today, the Whitsunday locals were back on the course.

The day was not nearly as much fun for the gun boats in the Grand Prix IRC Racing fleet.

Pioneer Bay was the perfect location that was for sure, for two windward leeward races, but the fierce fight amongst the 50 footers is costing them all dearly.

In the first race, the Ray Roberts turbo charged Cookson 52 Quantum Racing hit the line with speed and managed to force Bob Steel's Quest away.

Quantum Racing found an extra gear, controlled much of the race, but Rob Bassett’s Bakewell-White 52 Wired had the speed to come through. Quantum racing's tactician Stephen McConaghy explained, 'coming up to the top mark for the second time, there were four of us locked together. We had to go well beyond the lay to get clear air, but Wired still slammed us and we all suffered....Quest and Living Doll too.'

At the finish a 100 metre beach towel would have covered the top four boats. Ray Bassett’s Wired took the gun with Quantum Racing two lengths back, ahead of Quest and Michael Hiatt’s Living Doll.

In the second race Wired spat Quantum Racing out. McConaghy said, ‘We were forced to the less favored right side of the course and that was the boat race.’

After Quest’s shocker in the first race North Sails Julian Plante explained the second race was a big improvement. ‘We got the gun, we had retuned the rig - got away fast and played the shifts. Behind us we left the other 50 footers fighting each other.'

Helmsman Jamie McPhail is upbeat about Quest's position in the battle of the 50 footers. 'We are in there right part of the learning curve, we have plenty of room for improvement and some extra gear to the boat for next week.'

Amongst the bigger boats, Living Doll has been most consistent. It’s been a fast learning curve, with the removal of her canting keel mechanism, a taller mast and deeper keel with 400 kilo more in the bulb; the boat handles very differently.

Owner/skipper Michael Hiatt commented, ‘We only managed to get new mast, sails, new keel and crew in the one place together on Thursday. The teamwork has been great.’

However clean air is the key to yacht races. While the big boats are taking turns in lamping on each other at the small end of the fleet the little Archambault 35 Arajilla, has been getting clean starts and clean air.

Arajilla continued her handicap winning spree in Race 4 today, from Harold Clark’s Farr 1104 Invincible, with Bob Steel’s TP52 Quest in third.

Arajilla leads the IRC series overall from Michael Hiatt’s modified Cookson 50 Living Doll, with Quest in third.

Owner Bob Pearson smiled. ‘The Archambault 35 and 40’s have been winning well in Europe. Alegria has shown the way in the Audi IRC series and now we are having our place in the sun.

‘We‘ve been getting really nice starts, we have clear air...we are trying hard not to make any mistakes and we are getting good results.’

Nev Witty from Doyle Sails has been driving the boat. He commented this afternoon, ‘Our task has been made easier by the fights at the front of fleet. We are trying very hard to sail smartly. We are working very hard to stay out of the current and that is obviously paying off. Three wins in the last three races …'

Pearson interjected. ‘Can you let the sailing community know we need two more crew - we had two nice crew we met at the Lagoon and they are getting off to back-pack north.

'Should we write an ad? ‘Crew wanted for Leading IRC Racer’.

In PHS Racing today, Race 3 went to Whitsunday Sailing Club’s A.F.R.I.C.A, the Bavaria Cruiser 42 of Chris Nicoll and Terry Archer. Second was Roger Down’s Farr 11.6 True Love, also from the Whitsunday Sailing Club. The Poacher, John Foster’s Cavalier 1050 took third place on handicap.

Overall, A.F.R.I.C.A. leads the PHS Racing Series from True Love and Lorna Rose Too.

In Premier Cruising, John Bacon’s well performed Sydney 39CR Hussy continued her winning form. Berani V11, the Jarken 12.5 of David Todner placed second, with John Moore’s Sydney 36 This Way Up third.

After three races, the series leader is Hussy from This Way Up, with Garry Anderson’s Beneteau 47.7 Esprit in third.

In the very competitive Sports Boat class, It’s What You Do, the Elliott 780 of Brett Whitbread took handicap honours in Race 4, from Andrew Fisher’s Elixir, an Elliott 7.8. Rock N’ Roll, the Townsville based Thompson 7 of Leon Thomas completed the placings.

Overall series leader is Rock n’ Roll, with It’s What You Do second and Health Walters, Melges 24, Melges Asia Pacific.

In the Cruising Yachts with Spinnaker division, Merv Stephensen’s More Intrigue, a Northshore 38C won on handicap from Meltemi, the S&S 34 of Jim Shannon. Mike Roper’s Beneteau Ropabull, completed the top three.

Meltemi leads the series overall after three races with Sunrise, Helen and Jeff Shipsey’s Elan 37 second and Treasure, the Dehler 34 of Harold Menelaus holding third.

Lady Hawk, John Hudson’s Beneteau Oceanis390 from the Whitsunday Sailing Club won Race 3 of the Cruising Non Spinnaker division, from fellow local Lachlan Wilson on his Clansman 30, Felicity. Third was the Beneteau 473 Rainbow. New Zealander Peter Hall and his crew are racing at their sixth consecutive Airlie Beach Race Week and believe ‘its just fantastic to get out of the cold New Zealand mornings and enjoy the warm weather and hospitality of Airlie Beach.’.

Lady Hawk leads the overall series, with local Whitsunday identity Mick Phillips’ Spencer, Shearwater, in second and Fish Frenzy, Wayne Banks-Smith’s converted Frers 50 Pilot House, third.

	IRC RACING
Series Results [IRC] up to Race 4 (Drops = 0)
Place	Ties	Sail No	Boat Name	Skipper	From	Design	Sers Score	Race 4	Race 3	Race 2	Race 1
1		6669	ARAJILLA	Geoff Pearson	MHYC	Archambault A35	8	1	1	1	5
2		R50	LIVING DOLL	Michael Hiatt	rycv	Farr	12	4	2	2	4
3		52002	QUEST	Jamie Macphail	CYCA	Farr Tp 52	14	3	6	3	2
4		HKG2245	BEAU GESTE	Karl Kwok	HKG	Reichel Pugh	19	5	5	6	3
5		43218	LIMIT	Alan Brierty	CYCA	Corby 49	20	6	3	5	6
6		8899	QUANTUM RACING	Ray Roberts	CYC	Cookson 50	21	8	4	8	1
7		A33	INVINCIBLE	Harold Clark	BYC	Farr 1104	24	2	8	7	7
8		9009	NIGHT NURSE	Russell McCart	rqys	Farr 40	26	7	7	4	8
9		NZL10303	WIRED	Rob Bassett	RNZYS	Bakewell-White	36	9	9	9	9
10		NZL8977	RAN TAN 2	John Meade	RPNYC	Elliott 50	40	10	10	10	10
		PHS RACING
Series Results [PHC] up to Race 3 (Drops = 0)
Place	Ties	Sail No	Boat Name	Skipper	From	Design	Sers Score	Race 3	Race 2	Race 1
1		W42	A.F.R.I.C.A.	Chris/Terry Nicoll/A	WSC	Bavaria Cruiser 42	17	1	11	5
2		999	TRUE LOVE	Roger Down	WSC	Farr 11.6	20	14	2	4
3		8041	LORNA ROSE TOO	Peter Mitchelson	WSC	Austral Clubman 8	21	2	1	18
4	1.0S	B707	EFFARRVESCENT	Terry Balson	MBTBC	Farr 11.6	23	10	12	1
5		640	WOBBLY BOOT	Craig Piccinelli	wsc	Mod.Young.88	23	5	16	2
6	3.0S	MK6	THE POACHER	Foster John	MYC	Cavalier 1050	24	3	7	14
7		Q999	ANOTHER FIASCO	Damian Suckling	APYC	Jutson 43	24	6	5	13
8		451	MUMMBO	Chris Smith		Farr	27	13	4	10
9		588	IDLE TIME	Kevin Fogarty	WSC	Spacesailer	29	4	17	8
10	3.0S	5796	QLD MARINE SERVICES	John Galloway	WSC	Holland	30	12	15	3
11		W8	SANDPIPER	Colin Pruden	wsc	Swarbrick S111	30	15	9	6
12		NQ19	DESTINY	Rodger Snell	N.Q.C.Y.C.	Davidson 34	31	17	3	11
13		633	DEHLER MAGIC	Greg/Charlie Tobin/P	WSC	Dehler 39	33	8	10	15
14		5013	AIR APPARENT	Steve Wright	NQCYC	Young 31	36	21	8	7
15		M242	WALLOP	Peter Hewson	l.m.y.c	Sydney 41	37	19	6	12
16	11.0S	MK99	MISTERY	Argus/ Waldmeier	MYC	Swarbrick S99	38	11	18	9
17		6607	WIRRAJURND	Andy Kearnan	CYCA	Sydney 32	38	9	13	16
18		4556	MR BOJANGLES	Pauline Cleaver	HYC	Northshore 38	48	7	19	22.00C
19		6222	AVANTI	Bruce McKay	CSC	Northshore 369	49	16	14	19
20		M4	CADI	John Netherton	Mooloolaba	Jones 42	56	18	21	17
21		RQ444	ASYLUM YEARS	Nico Sieling	RQYS	Lyons 41	60	20	20	20
		PREMIER CRUISING
Series Results [IRC] up to Race 3 (Drops = 0)
Place	Ties	Sail No	Boat Name	Skipper	From	Design	Sers Score	Race 3	Race 2	Race 1
1		9339	HUSSY	John Bacon	RPAYC	Sydney 39cr	3	1	1	1
2		MH360	THIS WAY UP	John Moore	MOFSC	Sydney36	9	3	4	2
3		SM477	ESPRIT	Garry Anderson	syc	Beneteau 47.7	10	4	3	3
4		AUS1047	LIESL	Greg Clinnick	Charter boat	Beneteau First 40.7	12	6	2	4
5		SYD181	BERANI VII	David Todner	CYCA	Jarkan 12.5s	13	2	6	5
6		G5038	CINQUANTE	Ian Murray	RGYC	Sydney 38	16	5	5	6
7		6676	TOTALLY WILD	Graham Macdonald	BBSC	Masram 920	21	7	7	7
											2444
		SPORTS BOATS
Series Results [PHC] up to Race 4 (Drops = 0)
Place	Ties	Sail No	Boat Name	Skipper	From	Design	Sers Score	Race 4	Race 3	Race 2	Race 1
1		5887	ROCK N' ROLL	Leon Thomas	TCYC	Thompson 7	10	3	2	4	1.00G
2		5652	IT'S WHAT YOU DO	Brett Whitbread	syc	Elliott 780	12	1	1	7	3
3		AUS668	MELGES ASIA PACIFIC	Heath Walters		Melges 24	13	5	3	3	2
4		AUS709	KAITO	Heath Townsend	GBYC	Melges 24	21	7	9	1	4
5		RQ200	SO WHAT	Franco Bortolin	RQYS	Stealth 7.8	24	12	5	2	5
6	2.0S	RQ69	ELIXIR	Andrew Fisher	RQYS	Elliott 7.8	29	2	10	6	11
7		138	FEELING CHEEKY	Brett Cooper	RYCT	Young Rocket 7.80	29	6	6	11	6
8		B1	VIVACE	Peter Sorensen	MHYC	Bethwaite 8	32	8	4	10	10
9		RQ202	STEALTHY	Bob Cowan	LMYC	Stealth	37	9	7	14	7
10		38	TOO HOT TO TROT	Bruce/Eric Tardrew/K	RQYS	Lyons	41	10	12	5	14
11	8.0S	RQ777	RAPTOR	Mark Buchbach	RQYS	Stealth 7	45	16	8	13	8
12		5747	THE WORKS	Michael Rynan	rmyc	Elliot 770	45	14	11	8	12
13		7701	MEN IN BLACK	Rod Young	MDSC	Colson 770	49	4	13	12	20.00C
14		1	LIQUID TACTICS	Tom Jordan	MYC	Egan 6	50	11	15	15	9
15		7002	DECKIES.COM.AU	Ashley Gabrielson	MOFSC	Thompson 7	58	20.00C	14	9	15
16		R980	DARK ENERGY	Janet Williamson	RPYC	Thompson 980	64	17	17	17	13
17		6	RIP IT UP	Damien Van Deudekom	RQYS	Knuckles 6m	65	13	16	16	20.00F
18		734	X2 TANGENT	Simon Vincent	NQCYC	Elliot 780	75	15	20.00C	20.00C	20.00F
19		3102	OCEAN BURO	Nickolas Daly	NYRC	Tony Castro	80	20.00C	20.00C	20.00C	20.00C
		CRUISING YACHTS WITH SPINNAKER
Series Results [PHC] for Division 4 up to Race 3 (Drops = 0)
Place	Ties	Sail No	Boat Name	Skipper	From	Design	Sers Score	Race 3	Race 2	Race 1
1	2.0S	RQ40	MELTEMI	Jim Shannon	RQYS	S&S 34	16	2	10	4
2		W677	SUNRISE	Helen & Jeff Shipsey	WSC / APYC	Elan 37	16	4	7	5
3		34	TREASURE	Harold Menelaus	WSC	Dehler 34	18.5	7	3	8.5
4		322	FAHRENHEIT	Andy Muirhead	TCYC	Farr 11.6 Mod	22	8	8	6
5		H370	HANS-ON	Nick / Col Cox / Tho	MYC	Hanse 370e	24	12	9	3
6		B88	INGENUE	Rosie Colahan	RBYC	Jeanneau So 40	25.5	15	2	8.5
7		SA10	STORM2	Don Algie	WSC	Warwick 66	27	11	15	1
8		9111	ROPABULL	Mike Roper	RMYC/BB	Beneteau	28	3	11	14
9	11.0S	M42	WHITE PEARL	Gary McCarthy	MYC	Simonis Voogd	30	14	5	11
10		5899	BOBBY D	Ross Winterbourne	NQCYC	Farr	30	5	13	12
11		50	SWORDFISH	Doug & Clare Barry	BYC	Northshore 38	31	10	1	20
12		A60	ZULU CHIEF	David Simpson	myc	Steinman Pilot House	34	18	14	2
13		6146	KIONI	Nick Athineos	CYCA	Beneteau 47.7	35	6	12	17
14		M298	FINE LINE	Mike Leitch	MYC	Elliott 1050	36	17	4	15
15		6051	THEBIGGER PICTURE	Penny McConaghy		Sydney38	40	16	6	18
16		606	MORE INTRIGUE	Merv Stephensen	RQYS	Northshore 38 C	41	1	19	21
17		6523	HOLY COW!	John & Kim Clinton	CYCA	Beneteau Oceanis 523	43	13	17	13
18		3610	TURTLE TIME	Jason Randall	WSC	Swarbrick Spacesailo	45	19	16	10
19		B60	GUSTO 1	Brian Pattinson	RBYC	Open 60	46	9	18	19
20		BOW2	BLISS	Paul Verdon		Azzura Yachts	53	22	24.00F	7
21		6215	KAT	Chris Stockdale	CYCA	Beneteau 50	56	20	20	16
22		BOW4	STEALING BEAUTY	Adam Dando		Beneteau Cyclades 43	67	21	24.00F	22
23		6657	PANTOMIME IV	Michael Kelly	CYCA	Moody	71	24.00C	24.00F	23
		CRUISING NON-SPINNAKER
Series Results [PHC] for Division 5 up to Race 3 (Drops = 0)
Place	Ties	Sail No	Boat Name	Skipper	From	Design	Sers Score	Race 3	Race 2	Race 1
1		W39	LADY HAWK	John Hudson	W.S.C.	Beneteau Oceanis390	11	1	8	2
2		PC86	SHEARWATER	Mick Phillips	WSC	Spencer	13	6	4	3
3		5090	FISH FRENZY	Wayne Banks-Smith	BYC	Ior Frers 50 Pilot/H	14	12	1	1
4	2.0S	4337	RELISH IV	Bill Bailey	CYCA/RANSA	Elan 43	17	7	2	8
5		HI30	THE OCEANIC HUSTLER	Bill Lipson	HIYC	Gary Mull Ohlsen 40	17	4	9	4
6		SM1616	DELPHIAN	John Sloan	SYC	Mcintosh 47	18	5	7	6
7		BOW1	FELICITY	Lachlan Wilson	WSC	Clansman 30	20	2	13.00F	5
8		KA215	SPLISH TOC	Stuart Garner	APYC	Garner 254	22	8	3	11
9		NZL8835	ISLAND GIRL	Ian Lillie	SSANZ	Farr 1220	23	9	5	9
10	3.0S	S12	RAINBOW	Peter Hall		Beneteau 473	24	3	11	10
11		K8913	TIME LORD	Keith Munro	ssanz	Bavaria 50	24	11	6	7
12		PF57	PLANIT FLASHDANCE II	Brian Evans	CYC	Adams Radford	32	10	10	12