Quest leads Audi Sydney Gold Coast Race

by Rob Kothe on 26 Jul 2008
Bob Steel’s TP52 Quest led the fleet out of Sydney Heads this afternoon in the 2008 Audi Sydney to Gold Coast Race.

After the oil tanker Diamond Queen ploughed up the harbour, the fleet was held for around 15 minutes.

At the start Jamie McPhail drove Quest from the eastern end of the line on port gybe in a 3-4 knot south wester and she was not headed in the gradually building breeze.

Bob Oatley’s Wild Oats X, the canting keel Reichel Pugh 66 was expected to win the race to the heads but she had, in helmsman Mark Richards terms, ‘an ordinary start’.

She was on the second row at the western end of the Nielsen Park start line and just never managed to get powered up, while the TP52's -Syd Fischer’s Ragamuffin, Alan Whitley’s Cookson TP52 Cougar and Quest had the best of the conditions.

At Sydney Heads Quest lead the fleet easily from Cougar, then another TP52 Graham Woods Wot Now, were ahead of Ray Roberts' Cookson 50 Quantum Racing.

Behind them was Ragamuffin and Geoff Ross' Yendys and Geoff Boettcher’s shiny new silver Secret Mens Business III with a silvery Australian flag emblazoned on her beam, looking well placed.

As the fleet headed north on a shy reach, the wind had freshened to 10 knots and was still from the southwest, with a slight swell, sunshine and puffy clouds, and it was postcard sailing for most of fleet.

It seemed the only crew not enjoying the day was on the Getaway Sailing Volvo 60, flying her kite from the masthead like a flag.

More news soon.