Southport Mackay record could go

by Georgie Brown on 5 Aug 2005 With strong wind warnings predicted, it is going to be a spectacular spinnaker start for the yachts in the 2005 Southport to Mackay Blue Water Yacht Race today.

Gold Coast City Councillor, Susie Douglas, is to start the race at 1100 hours today from Bill Barry-Cotter’s Maritimo 60, the boat which won the Boat of the Year at the Sanctuary Cove Boat Show.

With predicted 20-30 knot winds from the south-south-west for the first 24 hours, skippers are revelling in the thought that there is every chance the record of just over 42 hours could be broken.

Nicorette, the 80ft maxi owned Ludde Ingvall, set the breakneck benchmark in the first Southport to Mackay race in 2003.

The major battle for line honours will be between Seriously Ten, formerly ‘Djuice’, a Volvo 60 owned by Shaun James and Michael Hiatt’s Living Doll, a brand new Cookson 50, which had her first major outing in the Sydney to Gold Coast Race, with NZ builder Mick Cookson on board.

‘I just love it,’ says Michael Hiatt, commenting on the weather. ‘Who knows how we will go, as this is only our second race. It is going to be a very good 24 hours, and we will have a great race against Seriously Ten.’

‘This is going to be a very quick race,’ said Shaun James. ‘Our boat is best at reaching angles, but we are also pretty fast with the wind right behind us. The crew and the boat will revel in this, and yes, the record is do-able,’ he added.

Last year’s line honours winner, Andrew Short, is predicting a great result on handicap.

‘The weather is perfect for us,’ says the second time entrant. ‘We are expecting a fantastic race.’ His boat this year is a Farr 40 called Club Marine ASM and his major rival will be his brother Matthew, on an identical Farr 40 called Short Shipped. The brothers, each with family members as crew, will be intent on sailing a tactical race to see who can take the prize in IRC division.

After the light winds experienced during the Sydney Gold Coast race, all skippers are looking forward to a fast run up the coast, through the magnificent islands of the Capricorn Coast to the lower Whitsunday’s and the huge Mackay marina.

The Southport to Mackay Blue Water Yacht Race is hosted by the Mackay Yacht Club in association with the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia.

This year, the race is proudly supported by the Queensland Events Regional Development Program, a State Government initiative in partnership with Telstra Country Wide.

www.mackayyachtclub.com.au or http://cyca.com.au/editorial.asp?key=1536