Hobart Race winner aims to change Gladstone Race History

by Ian Grant on 28 Mar 2001 South Australia's Sydney-Hobart race winner SAP Ausmaid has the proven long race record to change Queensland offshore yacht racing history in the 53rd Brisbane-Gladstone race over the Easter holiday weekend.

The Kevan Pearce owned and skippered Farr 47 which toughed it out in physically enduring cold south west gales to win the Telstra Sydney Hobart classic in late December will be aiming at becoming the first yacht to win the Hobart and Gladstone races in the same season.

Previous Hobart winners Solo, Ripple, Cherana, Koomooloo and Love and War have all tried to achieve the result before, but failed.

The Russell Williams skippered Cherana, which featured in a match race with the former Captain John Illingworth owned yawl Mouse Of Malham almost claimed a unique place in Australian blue water racing history when she held a mid race lead in 1960.

Mouse Of Malham skippered by Norman Wright Jnr sailed on to score a 25 minute 31 second corrected handicap win under R.O.R.C rating after they engaged Cherana in a match-race tacking duel along the edge of the 23 nautical mile Breaksea Spit.

Skipper Pearce and his SAP Ausmaid crew including the experienced principal helmsman Roger Hickman have the collective skills to change the history but first they will have to master the demanding challenge on what can prove to be a soul searching test of ocean racing over 308 nautical miles.

However Roger Hickman will no doubt benefit from his previous race experience with Atara and utilise the skill of last years line honours winning tactician Adrian Finglas to strengthen the bid to pilot SAP Ausmaid into the Brisbane-Gladstone race history book.

But they will need to make all the right tactical decisions to outpace the lower handicapped challengers including the 33 race veteran and four time winner Wistari (Scott Patrick), Koomooloo (Michael Freebain), Restless (Ray Hobbs) and Corum (Bill Wild)