Audi Victoria Week 2011 - Scarlet Runner produces Red Faces

by Sail-World.com on 22 Jan 2011 Audi Victoria Week 2011.

Red Faces with a major upset in today's 36 nautical mile Melbourne to Geelong Passage race. Heavy overcast and soft breeze for the 300+ boat start of today's race. A new course took the fleet from St Kilda Pier down the shoreline towards Sandringham, before turning south west towards Corio Bay.

Stephen Ainsworth's Reichel Pugh 63 Loki started midline and extended on the beat towards Sandringham with the 52 footers all in a row.

Marcus Blackmore's tactican Tom Slingby had positioned the former Emirates Team New Zealand, now Hooligan, well and she was most windward boat but Rob Hanna's Shogun slide through ahead of her.

As the spinnakers went up as the fleet headed towards Fawkner Beacon, it looked like 'follow the leader' for a while but the wind swung and down came the kites.

As the leaders headed towards the Bellarine Peninsula the locals hit the Port Arlington shore, while Loki, Michael Hiatt's Living Doll and Hooligan tacked back to the rhumbline.

Rod Date's 52 foot Scarlet Runner was the big winner. Tactician Dave Eichmeyer made sure the Reichel Pugh 52 stayed close to the land. All the boats at some stage parked up and with more pressure she sailed into the lead. Behind her came Colin Wilson's Pretty Fly III, Williams Van Der Slot Calm, Nicholas Bartel's Terra Firma and then Rolex Sydney Hobart handicap winner Geoff Boettcher's Secret Mens Business 3.5.

Scarlet Runner was at one stage almost a mile in the lead and there were definitely red faces aboard Loki.

But the wind lifted and gradually Loki's waterline length began to pay. One by one the 50 footers fell, but Loki was in the channel before she managed to overtake Scarlet Runner. Behind her Terra Firma was well placed and she was confirmed as the handicap winner

DIV	POS	BOAT	SAIL NO	SKIPPER	Cor Time	Finish Tim
1	1	TERRA FIRMA	SM24	Nicholas Bartels	08:26:48	15:56:17
1	2	VELOCE	SM602	Phil Simpfendorfer	08:28:59	16:23:08
1	3	SHAMROCK	M330	Tony Donnellan	08:30:04	16:08:29
1	4	SCARLET RUNNER	SM11	Robert Date	08:35:15	15:49:59
1	5	CALM	SM5252	Williams Van Der Slot	08:41:18	15:55:35
1	6	SECRET MENS BUS. 3.5	YC3300	Geoff Boettcher	08:43:02	15:59:27
1	7	PRETTY FLY III	10007	Woods Colin	08:47:29	15:57:17
1	8	LIVING DOLL	R55	Michael Hiatt	09:06:04	16:00:53
1	9	XLR8	SM460	Ray Shaw	09:08:08	16:31:00
1	10	HOOLIGAN	AUS521	Marcus Blackmore	09:21:27	16:19:13
1	11	LOKI	AUS60000	Gordon Maguire	09:27:32	15:47:06
1	12	SHOGUN	AUS6952	Robert Hanna	09:28:05	16:27:24
1	13	PIRELLI CELESTIAL	421	Sam Haynes	10:06:20	* 17:29:42
1	.
1	.					FinTim to Win
1	TBA	GOLDFINGER	8880	P. Blake K. Mitchell		16:02:34

Dockside Rob Date, the owner skipper of Scarlet Runner was smiling. 'We almost got away with that one. Dave (Eichmeyer) placed us perfectly and the other 50 footers followed us. The Terra Firma guys did very well to grab the handicap win. It was a lot of fun but this is the start. There are four days more racing in this regatta.'