Classic tough race ahead at Port Dalrymple

by David Allan on 24 Oct 2012 There is a tough race ahead for teams in the Port Dalrymple Yacht Club Classic this Saturday. The almost legendary race will encompass three tough sailing legs in the Tamar river, from Rosevears to Beauty Point. Team runners will tackle a 13km run, and Cyclists a challenging 50km road race.

'It’s a unique race, kind of a multi discipline relay, but not, held in the beautiful Tamar valley' says Vice Commodore Sam Edmunds.

'We have fifteen top class teams, and rumors of more last minute entries' explains Sam. 'There will some of the best local runners, yachtsmen, crews and cyclists all on the river this year'

Yachts will race from Rosevears to Gravelly Beach where they will drop off their runner. Runners will run from Gravelly Beach to Devils Elbow (just north of the Batman Bridge) via Deviot road and Auld Kirk road, a scenic but challenging 13km. Meanwhile, Yachts will race from Gravelly Beach to Devils Elbow and collect their runner and drop off their cyclist. Cyclists will then ride from Devils Elbow up into and through historic Beaconsfield on to turn at Greens Beach and push on to a Beauty Point finish, total ride 50km. Once cyclist off and runner is aboard, Yachts will race from Devils Elbow, through Whirlpool and Moriarty reaches, northward up Long Reach (the proposed site of the Gunns pulp mill), past Bell Bay and on to a finish at Port Dalrymple Yacht Club.

'We quietly like our chances of being there' says Sam 'We got a relatively new boat, good crew and gun athletes'

The forecast southerlies will favour the downwind fliers like Sam’s sports boat Lickety split' though his father, Nick Edmunds with his Radford 14, Haphazard is a seasoned competitor and has unrivalled knowledge of the fickle reaches of the Tamar river.

Team 'AdvantEdge' are possibly race favourites sailing an Inglis 47. Skipper Andrew Jones whom has several Australian Three Peaks Race credits to his name, has remained tight lipped about his team runner and cyclist.

Team Obsession sailing on Dave Allan’s Sydney 38 has the credentials to be there, with a win in the last 'Classic', all be it in another boat, Allan plays down his chances, 'got good crew, great runner in Mick Purdon, Three Peaks competitor and Triple Tops winner, and a brilliant young talent on the bike Jacob Langham, but we will need some luck'

'The sailing legs are handicapped so every team has a fair chance' says Dave 'the real dark horses are the teams with cats'

The two catamaran entries are past Classic winner, Philip Marshall sailing Mersey Pharmacy, and Piers Findlay’s brand new FNL. Findlay spent almost three years in the design and build of his 8.5m carbon fibre rocket ship and this will be its first real test.

'We will give it our best and have some fun,' says Findlay, 'I just hope we don’t break anything'. He may be breaking records. FNL has elite athletes Johnno Clarridge and Dan Vandervlist on for the run and ride and this, combined with the predicted boat speed should give team FNL a sporting chance. The Classic is sure to be fun.