Bobsled ‘re-powered’ for Gladstone race glory

by Ian Grant on 12 Mar 2004 Bobsled, the only yacht to break the 308 nautical mile Brisbane to Gladstone yacht race record in successive years, has been modified in a bid to re claim some of her former glory in the 2004 Easter blue water classic starting on Brisbane’s Bramble Bay at 11am on Good Friday.

The Kell Steinmann pocket maxi, now fitted with the rudder salvaged from the burnt out wreck of Amazon, and a new asymmetrical spinnaker described by watch captain Stephen Zaphir as the size of a ‘circus tent’, has logged some impressive speeds in pre race trials.

A normally conservative Stephen Zaphir was excited when the revamped Bobsled reproduced exciting spinnaker sailing speeds above the 25 knot range.

All of her crew instinctively understood Bobsled was back on track because the noise level produced from her aluminium hull bouncing and bashing through the seaway was equal to when she set the sensationally fast 21 hour 59 minute 43 second race record in 1993.

Bobsled’s record remained a benchmark as the fastest average speed for an Australian ocean race before Sean Langman and the Grundig Zena crew power sailed before a strong wind warning to set the present record of 21-44-39 in 2001.

Sean Langman winner of the past three Brisbane to Gladstone line honours trophies to equal the feat of the Jack Rooklyn skippered Apollo in 1982, 1983, 1984 has entered the sensationally fast AAPT Grundig.

Langman has set a number of high standard ocean racing performances with a 2-3 line honours in the past two Rolex Sydney-Hobart races a 1-1 in the Sydney-Mooloolaba and three consecutive wins in the Brisbane-Gladstone classic.

However the AAPT Grundig crew will need to produce a special speed sailing performance to retain their supremacy in the Brisbane- Gladstone race with her head to head match race against Grant Wharington’s super maxi Skandia.

The size and power of Skandia provides her with the speed potential to outpace the smaller AAPT Grundig but this will remain unproven until the two high performance combinations match race over what can prove to be an overnight spinnaker racing sprint or a far more demanding slog against headwinds.

Hopefully seasonal southerly winds will prevail providing these two equally impressive offshore racing crews with a chance to not only set the pace for line honours but also have a chance to improve on Grundig’s record average of 14.17knots.