Konica Minolta has finish line to herself

by Peter Campbell on 19 Dec 2004 It’s a one horse race for line honours in the final two races of the Rolex Trophy being sailed off Sydney Heads today with Konica Minolta able to stretch its legs without its closest rivals, Skandia and Wild Oats on the course.


Stewart Thwaites’ New Zealand super maxi Konica Minolta enjoyed its biggest line honours win in Race 1 today with approximately 9 minutes separating the 98-footer from the Steven David’s Reichel/Pugh 60 Targé.

With Iain Murray at the wheel, Targé has shown herself to be something of a lethal weapon, giving the bigger boats a lot of stick over the last three days and establishing herself as a real chance for Overall honours in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race which starts a week from today.


Both Konica Minolta and Targé screamed to the finish line of Race 1 under spinnaker reaching boat speeds of 15 knots in the freshening northerly breeze, according to on-water reports.


Third over the line was George Snow’s Jutson 79 Brindabella, the crew enjoying its first top three finish in this regatta, followed by Dick Cawse’s Vanguard, which is reveling in today’s fresh sea breezes.


Skandia chose to have a training day today with the crew practicing sail reefing while Wild Oats decided not to compete in the final day of the series even though they were leading the provisional pointscore by five points from Targé.


After the bangs and shouting at the start of Race 2 yesterday afternoon, the only close call in Race 1 today was when Fuzzy Logic and Nips N Tux's masts came close to touching mid-race.