Skippers on the hunt for final points

by Lisa Ratcliff, CYCA on 4 Mar 2004 Brian Emerson can't believe that heading into the FKP Limited Sydney Mooloolaba Yacht Race his ‘1985-built clunker’ Wahoo is in the top five in the CYCA's Tasman Performance Series, which will be decided by this race.

‘There is some pretty serious competition for the top three places with the likes of Nips 'n Tux, Ragamuffin, Quest and Ichi Ban, but we also have a strong crew and one of these boats might not complete the [Mooloolaba] race, in which case we are in with a chance for a third place on PHS for the series,’ said Brian.

‘We are going to sandpaper the hull pre-race - we are taking this very seriously,’ he laughed.

Entries for the 469 nautical mile race to Mooloolaba on the Queensland Sunshine Coast have also been received from Gunther Schmidt-Lindner and his Lyons/Cawse 46 Austmark, which placed 3rd in IRC Division 1 last year, and Howard de Torres' IMX40 Nips 'n Tux, the current pointscore leader in the eight-race Bluewater, Cape Byron and Tasman Performance Series pointscores.

Howard's competition for his first Bluewater Champion title includes Matt Allen's Ichi Ban, Syd Fischer's Ragamuffin and Bob Steel's Quest.

Just one point separates 1st place from 3rd in the fiercely contested Cape Byron (IRC) pointscore while in the Tasman Performance Series, the difference is four points and in the Bluewater Pointscore (IMS), it is nine points.

Howard, 69, is realistic about his chances of claiming the Bluewater Pointscore against the likes of the eight-time champion Syd Fischer, the four-time champion Roger Hickman, who will be aboard Ichi Ban, and last year's winner Bob Steel, but he is determined to give it his best shot.

‘We only go out to win. We don't think it's fair to the others if we don't try,’ Howard said recently.

The Notice of Race for the FKP Limited Sydney Mooloolaba Yacht Race, which starts Wednesday March 31 from Sydney Harbour, is available from the CYCA Sailing Office and on-line from www.cyca.com.au