Brisbane Gladstone Race- Squalls test sailors

by Ian Grant on 12 Apr 2009 Isolated squalls gusting to 30 knots tested the character and ocean sailing skills of experienced Brisbane to Gladstone Race sailors overnight.

Popular Sydney skipper Ray Roberts and his Quantum Racing crew which completed the 308 n/ml race with a corrected handicap time of 35 hours 42 minutes 46 seconds yesterday remained unchallenged overnight.

Their time while being only 34 minutes 2 seconds slower than their overall win in 2008 was enough to claim back to back Courier Cup wins with almost 26 minutes to spare over the match racing TP 52 class yachts Wot Yot (Bill Sykes) and Wot Now (Graeme Wood).
The end of race reports included a list of damage from broken spinnaker poles, sail blow outs to a list of nerve testing ‘Chinese Gybe’ wipe-outs.

Brisbane skipper Tony Love added some further expense to his ocean racing budget when his Sweetheart crew were forced to recover a tattered spinnaker while the crew of 2006 race winner Corum spent some minutes recovering from an uncontrolled wipe out.

All of the incidents generally spiked by the down draft from top hat type cloud formations near Bustard Head also had the on watch helmsmen struggling for control when their yachts topped speeds in excess of 18 knots.

Twenty five yachts completed the course overnight while the final 15 yachts are expected to complete their race before 1pm today.