2015 Airlie Beach Race Week – Thrilling action in IRC division one

by Di Pearson on 9 Aug 2015 In a thriller to the finish of two windward/leeward races at Airlie Beach Race Week today, Matt Allen’s Ichi Ban has taken the lead in IRC Racing Division One, while Jason Close scored two more bullets with More Noise in Division Two for a clean lead.

Matt Allen boarded his freshly purchased TP52 for his first race yesterday, after returning from the Transpac Race in the USA last week. It did not take the Yachting Australia president long to come to grips with his latest Ichi Ban.

In a two-race thriller, he and Ray Roberts’ Farr 55, OneSails Racing, literally match raced around the course both times, the two side-by-side on the downwind legs, however Ichi Ban trucked away from her nemesis both times on the run to the finish on the two-lap course sailed in a lovely 10-15 knot breeze.

Roberts came home one place better in the Passage Race yesterday, but Ichi Ban held all the cards today, finishing with a third and a win to OneSails Racings’ fifth and second, cutting her opponent out at more than one mark rounding.

Gordon Ketelbey’s Farr 40, Zen, won the first race of the day, with Bob Steel’s brand new Mat 1180 second. Zen was second in the second race and is now third overall.

Matt Allen said, “In the first race it was a bit more of us trying to work out the mode - I’ve still got the learners plates on – yesterday was the first time I’ve steered the boat. We had a couple of gear issues; we’re ironing out the little gremlins.”

Allen continued, “We’ve lightened boat up a little bit since I bought it and it has more sail area, so that’s why our rating has gone up to match (OneSails Racing),” he said.

The Sydney yachtsman said there was a little bit of geographical shift in the first race of the day. “The wind was shifting right a little going up to first mark and there was a current change between the two races,” he said.

Ichi Ban and OneSails Racing ended up bow to bow up first beat on left side of course, the rest of Division One went right. The Goat (Bruce Foye/Sebastien Bohm) rounded the windward mark the first time in front of Ichi Ban, as the right side of the course was favoured.

“The two boats are pretty evenly matched, it comes down to how you execute you’re your crew work,” Allen said of Ichi Ban and Roberts’ boat which have exactly the same handicap.

“It’s pleasing to do so well and know there’s more in the tank – things we can improve; angle heel and all those little things you get used to on a boat that’s new to us. When to change rig settings etc.”

“Going to Hamilton Island there will be more TP52, so Airlie Beach Race Week has proved a great platform for what is ahead.”

Allen acknowledged that tides versus geographical shifts, along with tactics will play a huge role in the rest of the series which will be Passage Races.

In in Division two, Jason Close is having a field day, adding two more wins to his victory of yesterday. The Sandringham Yacht Club member purchased More Noise, an Archambault 31, 18 months ago and has already won the Club Championship and finished third in Division three at the Festival of Sails in January.

Close puts their great performance so far down to a good boat, new sails and “a great team effort. We are all Sandringham Yacht Club sailors and we work really well together. Despite the boat’s name, there isn’t much noise on the boat,” he said.

The yacht is making a lot of noise on the course though, beating the likes of 2014 Rolex Sydney Hobart winner, Wild Rose (Roger Hickman) and noted skiff and yacht champion, Peter Sorensen (The Philosopher’s Club).

“Things are coming together quite nicely. I know we do well locally, but I had no idea how we would go against the big names like Wild Rose and Sorro (Sorensen). This is our first time here with the boat, so we’re pretty happy,” Close said.

“We’re a bit smaller than the rest, so we’ve avoided the argy bargy at the marks; we come through when that’s all over. We try to get a clean start and go for clear air.”

Justin Brownbill’s Botany Access Cocomo is second overall going into Day three. The Sydney 36 pulled off two second places today, while Wild Rose, a Farr 43, is third, but on equal points with Brownbill’s boat with Sorensen’s yacht a further two points in arrears.

Hickman stumped up third in race three, despite being involved in an incident at the bottom mark rounding the first time.

Coming in to the mark from the left side, with boats bearing down on the other gybe, Hickman got inside in the nick of time, but then all went wrong when the headsail twisted in three places, leaving Brownbill and Sorensen’s boats nowhere to go.

However, all competitors enjoyed great racing as Airlie Beach threw on some great breeze, despite a forecast for light air, on another sunny day.

Hosted by the Whitsunday Sailing Club, racing in the ‘Tropical Festival of Sailing’ continues tomorrow from 11.00am.

Results:

Series Results [IRC Div1] up to Race 3

Place	Ties	Sail No	Boat Name	Skipper	Sers Score	Race 3	Race 2	Race 1
1		AUS001	ICHI BAN	Matt Allen	6.0	1.0	3.0	2.0
2	2.0S	AUS8899	ONESAILS RACING	Ray Roberts	8.0	2.0	5.0	1.0
3		64221	ZEN	Gordon Ketelbey	8.0	3.0	1.0	4.0
4		7075	QUEST	Bob Steel	9.0	4.0	2.0	3.0
5		421	THE GOAT	Sebastion Bohm Bruce	14.0	5.0	4.0	5.0
6		B330	HARTBREAKER	Alan Breidahl	18.0	6.0	6.0	6.0
7		65007	ELENA NOVA	Craig Neil	24.0	8.0C	8.0C	8.0C

Series Results [IRC Div2] up to Race 3

Place	Ties	Sail No	Boat Name	Skipper	Sers Score	Race 3	Race 2	Race 1
1		SM3131	MORE NOISE	Jason Close	3.0	1.0	1.0	1.0
2	2.0S	5845	BOTANY ACCESS COCOMO	Justin Brownbill	10.0	2.0	2.0	6.0
3		4343	WILD ROSE	Roger Hickman	10.0	3.0	5.0	2.0
4		MH20	THEPHILOSOPHERS CLUB	Peter Sorensen	12.0	5.0	4.0	3.0
5		SYD8	TULIP	Bernie Van'T Hof	13.0	6.0	3.0	4.0
6		11044	KERAZY	R Curtis G Tailby	15.0	4.0	6.0	5.0
7		B52	B52	Daniel Farmer	22.0	7.0	8.0	7.0
8		RQ432	DEKADENCE	Stephanie Kerin	24.0	9.0O	7.0	8.0

Series Results [IRC] up to Race 2

Place	Ties	Sail No	Boat Name	Skipper	Sers Score	Race 2	Race 1
1		135	LEE-WAY	Tony Horkings	2.0	1.0	1.0
2		6669	CARBON CREDITS	Trevor Bailey	6.0	2.0	4.0
3		RQ64	OCEAN AFFINITY	Stewart Lewis	7.0	4.0	3.0
4	2.0S	1986	TRUMPCARD	Blake Boulton	8.0	6.0	2.0
5		6838	PONYO	David Currie	8.0	3.0	5.0
6		4913	TILT	Peter Cretan	12.0	5.0	7.0
7		M25	HASTA LA VISTA	Mark Jacobsen	13.0	7.0	6.0
8		6037	EUREKA 11	Mal Robertson	16.0	8.0	8.0

Series Results [EHC Div1] up to Race 2

Place	Ties	Boat Name	Sail No	Skipper	From	Sers Score	Race 2	Race 1
1		CHRISTINE	S77	Paul Bunn	RMYS	6.0	4.0	2.0
2		BELLE	SM700	Doug Painter	SYC	8.0	3.0	5.0
3	2.0S	ANOTHER FIASCO	Q999	Damian Suckling	APYC	9.0	2.0	7.0
4		WHALEWATCHINGSYDNEY	202	Charles Wallis	WSC	9.0	6.0	3.0
5		RUNAWAY	B101	Drew Carruthers	RQYS	10.0	9.0	1.0
6		HELSAL3	262	Rob Fisher	RYCT	11.0	7.0	4.0
7		SILVER LINING	SM1155	Andrew McGrath	SYC	13.0	1.0	12.0
8		WITCHY WOMAN	777	Ian Griffiths	MYC	18.0	5.0	13.0
9		BUNDABERG	G16	John Kint	RGYC	19.0	13.0	6.0
10		KATE	R53	John Raff	RYCV	20.0	10.0	10.0
11		CHANTILLY	R56	Timothy Dutton	RYCV	21.0	12.0	9.0
12		BEDFORDCA THREE CS	B45	Charles Cupit	NONE	22.0	14.0	8.0
13		CONDOR	KB80	David Molloy	WSC	23.0	8.0	15.0
14	2R	VANILLA	BOW01	Fred Heavey	SASC	27.0	11.0	16.0
15		HOLY COW!	6797	John & Kim Clinton	CYCA	27.0	16.0	11.0
16		CHARM OFFENSIVE	R83	James Permezel	RYCV	29.0	15.0	14.0
17		LE COCHON NOIR V	BOW2	Roman Guerra	NA	34.0	17.0	17.0

Series Results [EHC Div2] up to Race 2

Place	Ties	Boat Name	Sail No	Skipper	From	Sers Score	Race 2	Race 1
1		DEHLER MAGIC	633	Charlie Preen	WSC	4.0	1.0	3.0
2	2.0S	SKEETER	9997	Sandor Tornai	DSC/CYCA	9.0	7.0	2.0
3		TWISTER	W407	Kevin Fogarty	WSC	9.0	4.0	5.0
4		TRUE LOVE	999	Roger Down	APYC	10.0	2.0	8.0
5	3.0S	WOBBLY BOOT	640	Craig Piccinelli	WSC	13.0	3.0	10.0
6		MATANGI	5350	Dave Turnbull	MYC	13.0	6.0	7.0
7	1.0S	FRANTIC.	M161	Graham Furtado	RQYS	16.0	15.0	1.0
8	4.0S	PACIFIC PHOENIX	4054	Alan Sneddon	WSC	16.0	12.0	4.0
9		HUAHINE	RQ300	Nick Smail	WSC	16.0	10.0	6.0
10		RUN RUN RUN	SM2800	Paul Jackson	RBYC	19.0	8.0	11.0
11		KICKATINALONG	1317	Graeme Poole	MYC	20.0	5.0	15.0
12		ELLA	5432	N/C Cox/Thomas	MYC	21.0	9.0	12.0
13		RIFF RAFF	W440	Dan White Nicole Abb	WSC	22.0	13.0	9.0
14		FARGO	361	Keith McGuire	WSC	25.0	11.0	14.0
15		CROSSBOW	142	David Lund	WSC	27.0	14.0	13.0
16	2R	LAHARA	A121	Mike Warner	SASC	33.0	16.0	17.0
17		SLINGSHOT	L1	Neil Hamilton	NYRC	33.0	17.0	16.0

Series Results [EHC Div3] up to Race 2

Place	Ties	Boat Name	Sail No	Skipper	From	Sers Score	Race 2	Race 1
1		SALTYDOG	305	Greg Hudson	NQCYC	3.0	1.0	2.0
2		WICKED	326	Derek Foley	BSC	6.0	5.0	1.0
3		GONE TOO FARR	SB7500	Ronda Brown	SIBYC	8.0	4.0	4.0
4		KAMERUKA	8035	Bob Beale	WSC	9.0	3.0	6.0
5		CHECKMATE	158	Don Bowden	MK	11.0	2.0	9.0
6		SYNCHRONICITY	8001	Tom Parker	WSC	12.0	7.0	5.0
7		LE ROSSIGNOL	SM168	Peter McKenzie	NQCYC	13.0	10.0	3.0
8		HEY JUDE	876	Stan White	LKSC	15.0	8.0	7.0
9		HARMONY	MB2	Roger Guest	MBBC	17.0	6.0	11.0
10	8.0S	UNTAMED	8	John Parkes	IYC	19.0	11.0	8.0
11		ROSSGO	SA142	Greg Hammon	WSC	19.0	9.0	10.0

Series Results [EHC] up to Race 2

Place	Ties	Boat Name	Skipper	From	Sers Score	Race 2	Race 1
1		TRUE COLOURS	Geoff Adams	RBYC	3.0	1.0	2.0
2		QMS	John Galloway	WSC	7.0	2.0	5.0
3		AWESOME	Peter Harrison	WSC	8.0	7.0	1.0
4		ELUSIVE	Rick Pacey	RYCV	10.0	3.0	7.0
5		SUNRISE	Jeff & Helen Shipsey	APYC/WSC	11.0	5.0	6.0
6	3.0S	ANTHEA	Dewi Hughes	WSC	12.0	9.0	3.0
7	2R	FORTUNA	Greg Elliott	CYCA	12.0	4.0	8.0
8		SERENDIPITY	Roger Boast	WSC	12.0	8.0	4.0
9		KARM	Ray Nankervis	RYCV	15.0	6.0	9.0

Series Results [SMS] up to Race 2

Place	Ties	Sail No	Boat Name	Skipper	From	Sers Score	Race 2	Race 1
1		B1	VIVACE	John Rae	MYC	2.0	1.0	1.0
2	2R	AUS200	VIPER QLD	Noel Leigh-Smith	SYC	5.0	2.0	3.0
3		L650	STAY TUNED	Graham Sherring	SYC	5.0	3.0	2.0
4		7504	THE DUCKS NUTS	Mitch De Vries	SOPYC	8.0	4.0	4.0
5		658	CRANK	Andrew Wiklund	RQYS	10.0	5.0	5.0
6		7002	MISTER MAGOO	Jason Ruckert	RQYS	12.0	6.0	6.0
7		AUS008	OCTOPUSSY	Rees Howell	SOPYC	18.0	9.0C	9.0C
7		014	BEER BALLAST	Ben Downey	SYC	18.0	9.0C	9.0C

Series Results [OMR] up to Race 2

Place	Ties	Sail No	Boat Name	Skipper	From	Sers Score	Race 2	Race 1
1		3002	MORTICIA	Chris Williams	RMYC	3.0	2.0	1.0
2		M165	MOJO	Peter Wilcox	MYCQ	4.0	1.0	3.0
3		641	FANTASIA	Andrew Stransky	MYCQ	6.0	4.0	2.0
4		V2	APC MAD MAX	George Owen	MYCV	7.0	3.0	4.0
5		M1480	RENAISSANCE	Mike Hodges	MYCQ	10.0	5.0	5.0
6		SA532	CARBON CREDIT	Peter Hawker	RSAYS	14.0	8.0	6.0
7		N888	THE BOAT WORKS	Julian Griffiths	NYRC	15.0	7.0	8.0
8		WH3801	J'OUVERT	Stephen Barton	RMYC	16.0	9.0	7.0
9		SA432	CROSSHAIR	Gerald Valk	RSAYS	18.0	6.0	12.0
10		339	QUICK SKIPS	Peter Millar	WSC	20.0	11.0	9.0
11		WH1093	COOL CHANGE	Bob Critchley	MYC	23.0	10.0	13.0
12		V3	BARE ESSENTIALS	Tim Pepperell	MYCV	23.5	12.5	11.0
13		N11	TWO UP TOGETHER	Justin Grunwald	RMYC	25.0	15.0	10.0
14		449	DUX NUTTS	Peter Boyd	RSAYS	26.5	12.5	14.0
15		BFC55	BAREFOOT	Warren Innes	CYC	29.0	14.0	15.0
16		W111	SIROCCO	M Arthur	WSC	33.0	16.0	17.0
17		PC101	NO PROBLEM	Ray Hobbs	PCSC	35.0	19.0R	16.0
18		AUS57	EARTHLING	Glenn Rutherford	MYCQ	38.0	19.0C	19.0C

Series Results [EHC] up to Race 2

Place	Ties	Sail No	Boat Name	Skipper	From	Sers Score	Race 2	Race 1
1		SM777	TYEE III	John Williams	SYC	3.0	2.0	1.0
2	1.0S	BOW3	MON AMIE	Fiona Kermeen	WSC	5.0	1.0	4.0
3		M321	KESTREL	Richard Jenkins	MYCQ	5.0	3.0	2.0
4		MYS09	MISTY SEA	David Davenport	EFYC	7.0	4.0	3.0
5		B112	A WHITER SHADE OF PA	Roger Jepson	RBYC	10.0	5.0	5.0