The Tassie four range across the fleet

by Peter Campbell on 27 Dec 2005 Tasmania’s four entrants in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race are spread across the fleet as the 84 boats still racing enjoy a magnificent day of spinnaker sailing down the New South Wales South Coast and across Bass Strait.

'It’s a beautiful day, we’re running down the coast under spinnaker before a 15 knot nor’easter and making 8.6 knots,' Julian Robinson, the designer, builder and skipper of Apollonius told Sail-World early this afternoon. 'It’s almost a pity to be racing.'

At that stage Apollonius, a 40-footer which Robinson designed himself using his own computer program, then built from King Billy pine over Celery pine frames, was 15 nautical miles south-east of Montagu Island off the NSW Coast.

'We built the boat in the backyard and a only a few weeks ago cast a new lead bulb for the keel ourselves,' added Robinson, a former high school mathematics and science teacher. 'The boat was finally measured to the IRC rule in Sydney and came in right on target.'

Apollonius is running 63rd in the 84 boat fleet while the other Tamar Yacht Club entrant, Jailhouse Grill, owned by Jason Van Zetten and Mark Koppelmann, is just two miles ahead in 57th place.

Coogans Stores, the wellknown Open 66 which until recently sailed as AAPT, heads the four Tasmanian boats. Chartered by a crew of Sydney and Hobart yachtsmen headed by Phil Turner, the boat is racing under the burgee of the Derwent Sailing Squadron. Late this afternoon, Coogans Stores was sixth in fleet, 38 nautical miles south of Gabo Island and 96 miles astern of fleet leader Wild Oats XI.

Quest, a former Rolex Sydney Hobart winner which the late John Bennetto bought last year with his sights set on an overall IRC win, is 28th in the fleet. Skippered by Tony Nicholas from the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania, the Nelson/Marek 46 was approaching Green Cape late this afternoon. She was 56th on IRC overall handicaps.

On IRC corrected times, Coogans Stores was sixth, with the big boats dominated provisional progressive handicap placings. Quest was 56th overall but 5th in IRC Division B.

Farr South, Ian Hall’s Farr/Jutson 1106 from the Port Esperance Sailing Club at Dover, was 74th in the fleet, 18 nautical miles north-east of Montague Island and 55th overall on IRC handicap.