Wild Oats X set to take gun in Southport

by Lisa Ratcliff on 1 Aug 2005 After a relatively slow night at sea, with lots of sail changes, Sydney Gold Coast leader Wild Oats X has only 20 nautical miles to sail and the crew are anticipating hearing the sweet sound of the finish signal off Southport’s Main Beach at around 9.30am this morning.

Wild Oats sailed most of the night in a light land breeze, but it was enough for her to maintain a 10 mile advantage at daybreak over nearest rival Wild Joe (Steven David), which is looking at finishing second over the line at around 10.30am this morning.

Sailing in his first Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race with the Reichel/Pugh 60 he purchased from Bob Oatley, who now owns Wild Oats X, Steven David is pleased they have managed to keep the larger Reichel/Pugh 66 in their sights for most of the 384 nautical mile race.

He reported sailing into some shifty winds during the night, including a surprise nor’easter which caught them head on in the dark. ‘The kite blew back onto the rig and it was a bit of a battle to get it onto the deck,’ said David this morning.

While first and second on line looks sewn up, the chase for the final podium placing between George Snow’s record holder Brindabella and Neale Cawse’s Queensland 60-footer Vanguard is far from over.

‘We have been duelling with them for at least nine hours now, it’s been very exciting,’ said Cawse this morning, from abeam of the 79-footer and keeping pace with them.

‘The boat has performed well and we have made the most of the conditions we have been dealt,’ Cawse added. ‘We are still aiming for a podium finish.’

Brindabella and Vanguard are some 35 nautical miles astern of Wild Oats X and are expected to finish this afternoon.

On the Beneteau 47.7 Eagle Rock, owner Ross Wilson and his 78 year-old fellow Victorian and Rolex Sydney Hobart veteran, Lou Abrahams, are enjoying the better than expected conditions, with 124 miles to go and a pleasant 12-15 knot southerly pushing them northwards.

After hitting the rocks at South Head, soon after the start in Sydney Harbour on Saturday at 1.00pm, the boat will be lifted out of the water at Southport to inspect any damage that may have occurred, before it moves on to compete at the Hahn Premium Hamilton Island Race Week.

The last boat in the 74-boat fleet, Mark Burton’s Victorian Sunfast 36, Redline, is south of Coffs Harbour, due to finish late tomorrow night, 2 August.

At 0700 hours this morning, Andrew Cochrane’s Stewart 34 Pendragon had moved back into the IRC overall lead after slipping from first to 15th yesterday afternoon.

Andrew Short’s Club Marine (ASM) has figured heavily in the top three handicap placings since late yesterday afternoon and is currently sitting in second overall, while Geoff Boettcher’s Hardys Secret Mens Business from South Australia has continued to perform well on handicap and was third overall at 0700hours.

In the PHS placings, Gunnar Tuisk’s Cadenza is making the most of the conditions and was leading the PHS fleet at 0700hours ahead of Dreamtime (Paul Spira) and Trevor Cosh’s Azzurro.

Today’s forecast is for S/SW winds at10 knots early on, tending to SE/E at 10/15 knots.