Nicorette surprises in the 23rd Strathfield Pittwater and Coffs Offshore race

by Sail-World Team on 17 Jan 2004 A buzz of helicopters on a picture postcard day greeted the 68 boat fleet for the start of the 23rd Strathfield Pittwater and Coffs Harbour Offshore race.

Conditions were perfect off Barrenjoey and the fleet started in an 18 knot north easter.

Nicorette started two thirds of the way down the line from the official start boat, the warship HMAS Yarra. Last year’s line honours winner Wild Oats was three boat lengths to weather of Nicorette and the two boats knocked towards Box Head, then Wild Oats tacked to port across the fleet.

Nicorette stayed on starboard tack and went deeper into Box Head. She then tacked back and was lifted, crossing Wild Oats.

Steven David's Swan 45 Joe, had a good start as did Richard Hudson's Corel 45, Pretty Woman and these two yachts locked into a classic 'tack for tack' battle as they headed up the coast.

The thirteen boat Sydney 38 fleet vied for position, with Blue Sky winning the start.

Going well in the first few hours was Tony Kirby's Game Set, a Bavaria 38. Sailing with a very experienced crew, including Dave Davies, Brad Kellett and Mike Sabey, the ‘volksball’ was on the early pace.

A start line early retirement was Rob Gardner's The Poacher, a Cav 350, which was involved in a port/starboard incident and retired with minor damage and no crew injuries.

Ludde Ingvall’s 83 footer Nicorette led the race all afternoon as the leaders tacked north along the coastal beaches.

Ingvall reported she has already thrown more than 25 tacks as she ‘rock hopped’ ahead of Bob Oatley’s 60 footer Wild Oats.

‘ I canardly believe our lead’ the Finnish sailor commented dryly, referencing back to his Rolex Sydney to Hobart retirement when his retractable forward rudder or canard failed.

‘Our guys worked round the clock to repair the internal structures of the canard and to reinforce the canting keel attachments.

By the time we arrived in Eden, we’d contacted the boat designer Alexis Simonis and overnight he designed a new canard, slightly thinner and shorter.

The old one was flown by helicopter to the Nowra factory of CarbonTech, which belongs to one of our crew Ian Holley. They worked around the clock and built the carbon fibre canard. They started ‘cooking’ it in their pressure-controlled ovens on New Years Eve and they fitted it at 8:30am this morning. We were really lucky to have access to such a great facility. Without it we would not have made it to the start.’

Both yachts staged a similar boat on boat match race in 2003, with Wild Oats being the star performer smashing the race record in faster spinnaker sailing winds.

As expected the ride on the windward rail for the two leading crews was wet but they hardly noticed the spray generated from bouncing, shunting and falling in the ocean ground swell, which built when the wind blew against a south flowing current.

Keeping their yachts on maximum pace as the match race intensified with every tack, they broke clear of the third placed yacht Coffs Harbour Challenger.

After almost three hours of racing Steven David’s 2003 Hog’s Breath Race Week champion Joe, surprised to be well placed on IRC class handicap as she sailed in company with the Richard Hudson helmed Pretty Woman.

The weather forecast with variable head winds held the fleet in a narrow corridor between the first line of surf, dumping on the beach and the south flowing current offshore.

At the 6pm radio sked, officially the third boat on the race track was the 60 footer Coffs Harbour Challenger with the two 45 footers Joe and Pretty Woman sailing shoulder to shoulder.

Laurence Freedman’s elegant 50 foot cruiser-racer, Espresso Forte was less than a mile behind them in sixth place while the PHS division leader Strewth was seventh.

Behind them the 13 Sydney 38’s were having a furious tussle along the breaker line. However, it was another 24 hours before the One Design fleet began to sort into pecking order.

Throughout the night the crew of Nicorette continued to work the narrow band between the surf and the southern flowing current, edging away from her Strathfield Pittwater and Coffs Rivals.

Skipper Ludde Ingvall was guided his charge. ‘Into every cove, every little bay. We are really working hard to maintain the lead we have over Wild Oats. Last time we could see her, which was a couple of hours ago, she was more than three miles back. Over the last few hours, the wind has stayed in the 20-25 knot range and has been very stable, shifting only in a ten degree band and we’ve been making good progress.’

When he was asked how competitive Nicorette would be if the winds lightened as predicted overnight the skipper responded, ‘Upwind speed is all about stability. We are limited to a 10 degree of cant, while Wild Oats can use 20 or 30 degrees, so the stronger the winds the more she is favoured.

If the winds ease to under 10 knots, then we should be able to climb away from her.

Right now, all we can tell is that we are making good upwind gains with our brand new canard (the retractable bow rudder) but there is still another 135 miles to go, so anything could happen.’

While the leaders were in solid northerly pressure, the boats behind them struggled with the overnight lighter north westerlies.

Keen to protect their winning record, the Wild Oats crew were hitting the beaches -
literally.

‘We cut a trench in the sand just off the Stockton Bight beach’ reported crew member Rob Mundle ‘but as the next wave came through we floated off. You might call it hitting the beaches, but we reckon we just stopped for dinner.

The constant tacking is hard on the crew, as the off watch have to scramble from side to side on the boat, as we go through the tacks.'

When asked how many tacks they’d completed tactician Iain Murray commented, ‘We’ve lost count, but it seemed like 50 tacks, while I was trying to get some sleep.’

Next morning, just before the 7am radio sked began, Ingvall reported by satellite phone that his 83 foot maxi had a VMG of 6.5 knots. In the light overnight conditions, Nicorette needed less keel cant and with her big waterline she had made good gains.

Rob Mundle aboard Wild Oats reported breezes were very patchy overnight and the 60 footer lost ground to her bigger rival. However, the Wild Oats team expected to gain first use of the breeze and were still hoping to close the gap.

But it was not to be, she was unable to close up on her larger rival and with her distinctive green hull glistening in the fading afternoon sunlight, Nicorette crossed the finish line at 19:10:17 to take line honours in the 23rd Strathfield Pittwater and Coffs Harbour Offshore race.

A flotilla of small boats greeted her and locals and holidaymakers alike cheered and clapped loudly as she crossed the finish line.

Ludde Ingvall was tired but relieved after one of the longest weeks in his sailing career. His 83 foot maxi was close behind Skandia and Zana in the Rolex Sydney to Hobart crossing Bass Strait when the crew discovered the hairline fractures that ultimately ended his race.

The disappointed Finn retired the boat to Eden and at a crew meeting the decision was made to replace the complete canard and to enter the Strathfield Pittwater and Coffs Harbour Race.

The redesign of the front rudder (canard) paid immediate dividends when it became apparent soon after the start that Nicorette was now significantly faster than she had been over the previous three months. Ludde and his team who were presented with the traditional line honours bell by Coffs Harbour Councillor Bill Wood.

The race record holder and handicap leader Wild Oats finished shortly after dark at 20:15:34.

Coffs Harbour’s own Ray Benson steered the Sydney 60 Coffs Harbour Challenger to a clear PHS divisional line honours victory.

She finished at 05:54:33 on Sunday morning with an excellent third overall behind Nicorette and Wild Oats. Geoff Hill’s Strewth, the 2002