Sydney Gold Coast fleet stalls

by Lisa Ratcliff on 3 Apr 2006 The forecast nor’ east sea breeze has failed to materialise in the Sydney Gold Coast Race and those still on the race course are now inching towards the finish line off Southport’s Main Beach.

Kevin Miller’s Nelson/Marek 46 Quest of Queensland, the next yacht due to finish, has David Pescud’s KAZ abeam and further out to sea and they are well matched in the 3 knot sou’easter. Hunting them both down is Ed Psaltis’ AFR Midnight Rambler.

‘If the nor’easter was going to blow in, it should have been here by now,’ said a frustrated Miller who has less than 10 miles to go but will have to spend a few more hours looking at the finish line if the current conditions persist.

‘We can’t wait to get there!’ Miller added.

Saturday’s howling sou’wester gave the fleet an exhilarating first 24 hours at sea but since then, the breeze has slowly backed off with today’s winds the lightest so far.

The last boat to finish was Ray Roberts’ Quantum Racing at 8.30am this morning and the finishing team has been sitting idle ever since.

The only good news is for those 12 yachts which have already finished – the longer the rest of the fleet takes to complete the 384 nautical mile course, the greater their handicap chances.