Sydney Gold Coast Race - More Images by Crosbie Lorimer

by Crosbie Lorimer on 26 Jul 2015 With Perpetual Loyal nearing the finish line in Southport, it seems barely the blink of an eye since the start of the race some 36 hours ago. Although the fleet enjoyed some excellent racing overnight last night, that all came to a grinding halt today, with many of the fleet left drifting around at less than 3 knots.

At one point today, the IRC Overall Standings on the CYCA Tracker showed an unusual scenario, with the largest yacht in the fleet (Perpetual Loyal) running first and the smallest yacht (Quikpoint Azzuro) lying second!

Rupert Henry's new JV 62 Chinese Whisper (ex Jethou) is now leading IRC overall. For those not familiar with this potent mini maxi the all-back livery is not just show; Peter Ogden's Jethou started life modestly enough in 2008, but got some turbocharge modifications c/o Brad Butterworth in 2012 and went on to win the Giraglia Cup, Rolex Volcano Race and the Mapfre Palma Vela all in that same year. One to watch.

Tonight the bulk of the fleet is spread along the rhumbline from Port Macquarie to Yamba, with Ichi Ban in westerlies sailing at 10 knots and Quikpoint Azzuro in southwesterlies at 4.5 knots, with 199nm still to go to the finish.

Here are some more of Crosbie Lorimer's start images.