851 miles on the rail

by Rob Kothe on 5 Jan 2004 Having sailed south to Hobart, more and more sailors are using the windward speed of a Boeing to make it back to Sydney in time for the start of the Strathfield Pittwater to Coffs race.

While Nicorette sailed in both the Rolex Sydney to Hobart and the Strathfield Pittwater to Coffs race this year, this is a unique feat because of the 645 miles between the finish line in Hobart and the Pittwater startline means that it will require either a repairable retirement pre-Bass Strait or a superhuman effort to power a maxi back from the Hobart finish line.

However there were many sailors who sailed both races this year. One such crew, the crew of Game Set, a brand new Bavaria Match yacht from Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club entered in the 2003 Strathfield Pittwater to Coffs race, stepped off the Hobart plane on New Years Night nursing headaches.

Tony Kirby, Mike Sabey, Dave Davies (D squared) and Brad Kellett had raced south on the Swan 48 Loki. 627 miles upwind. After considerable celebration, they flew home and then from the Broken Bay start line; they sailed another 224 miles upwind to Coffs Harbour.

Skipper Tony Kirby, on Sunday afternoon at the Coffs Harbour Yacht Club was elated with the performance of Game Set and his crew.

Even with a hard north easterly for the whole 224 nautical miles to Coffs Harbour, Tony managed to keep the yacht within sight of the bulk of the Sydney 38’s and finished third on handicap in IRC division three and sixth overall.

Tony explained ‘We raced hard and we’ve spent a lot of time on the rail. But it was a great boat to race. It has a great racing layout, and the bunks below are very comfortable. We just did not spend enough time in them in this race.

The crew aboard Game Set have shared some considerable successes in recent years. In 2000 Kirby skippered Loki to a third in the Swan Worlds and in 2002 they won the Australian IRC Nationals.

‘The teamwork amongst the crew was spectacular. I’ve sailed with each and every one of them at different times and to bring everyone together and to do such a great job makes it all the more fun.

The beauty about the Match is that it’s a solid offshore performer, is great for club racing and is perfect for family cruising. We are really pleased to have arrived at last in Coffs Harbour. We really need a holiday, right now.

Once Game Set finishes the Strathfield Pittwater and Coffs Harbour Series she’ll sail back to Port Macquarie where Tony will pick-up his daughter for a weeks cruising around the area. ‘You can’t do that with many yachts out there and that’s why I’m so happy with it’.

The official race Sponsor is the Strathfield Group, one of the largest independent retailers of mobile communications products in Australia. http://www.strathfield.com.au/ Final provisional results from the long race are available on the Club website at http://www.rpayc.com.au/cgi-bin/rpayc.cgi?tpl=coffresultsmain.htm
or at www.sail-world.com/coffs2004