Desert sailors make a splash on Port Phillip

by Mike Sabey on 22 Dec 2000 On Port Phillip Bay today, desert sailors from the Alice Springs Yacht Club hoisted sail on their chartered yacht for a full-on training run in preparation for this year’s Indec Consulting Melbourne–Hobart.

Whilst thousands can only dream at Christmas that they could one day do a Melbourne-Hobart, eleven intrepid accountants, cameramen, cabinet makers and solicitors have found a way to race in one of the world’s top bluewater races.

Led by their skipper, Murray Preston, they made a colourful sight as they set spinnakers, practised tacks and gybed their 14.3 meter flyer, which will race proudly for their home town under the name, Spirit of the Alice.

We are not here to come second
Murray Preston said before the session, “We haven’t come more than 2,000 km to come second in this race. This boat, which races on Port Phillip as “Prowler”, holds the fastest time for the Melbourne-Devonport race.

“When the gun goes off on the 27th December at Portsea, we are out to show the others in the fleet including the joint line honours favourite, “Wild One”, that we aren’t a bunch of red centre cowboys.”



Seven days to gain a year’s experience
It often take as long as a year for a crew to step onto a yacht as fast and complex to sail as Spirit of the Alice, and learn how to get it upto maximum speed.

Mr Preston said, “We have just seven days to get it right. We have done quite a bit of training ashore in the Alice and have spent hours viewing videos of the boat before we arrived at our Mornington Yacht Club Training camp, so we knew exactly how everything operated before we stepped aboard.”

We chose the Westcoaster because is such a tough test, tougher than the Fastnet race
“We chose to do the Westcoaster, because its such a tough and demanding race, even tougher than the UK’s Fastnet race” says Mr Preston.

Last year it chartered a forty footer for the Fastnet and finished a credible 50th after giving the entire 200 boat fleet a 30 nautical mile start.

The English media likened their effort to that of the Bermuda Winter Olympics BobSled team.

Formed in 1993 after a few drinks in a Northern Territory bar, the Club has grown to over 200 members around the world, with only 60 residing in The Alice.