Forrester Properties Sydney to Mooloolaba...at last ...breeze

by Rob Kothe on 8 Apr 2001 After a soggy morning, with light drizzle and the occasional heavy shower, the sea breeze came in for the struggling fleet.

A fresh North Easter of 18-25 knots progressively hit the fleet and the front runners have stretched away.

Wild Thing and Brindabella benefited from around 11am, whereas
Ragamuffin and Ausmaid had crew off the leeward rail, hiking hard and thinking fat by around 12 noon.

By 1pm in a burst of brilliant sunshine it had reached the 40 footers Occasional Course Language, No Fearr, Nips n Tux and the Beneteau boys.

Wild Thing, at the 3:35pm sked was 13 miles south of Korogoro Point. She has stretched her lead over George Snows Brindabella from 2 miles this morning to 5 miles this afternoon. This gain was made in negotiating the well-named Tacking Point, in the soft northwester this morning.

Xena had fallen back to be 12 miles behind Brindabella and was still 4 miles south of Tacking Point.

Ragamuffin was still three miles ahead of Ausmaid, having been unable to stretch her lead over the last 9 hours.

At 4pm this afternoon Ausmaid Navigator Sally Gordon reported the 2000 Sydney to Hobart winner was about 100 metres away from Marchioness, pushing along in a bumpy seaway in 18-20 knots breeze, with full main & No. 3

The brooding black hull of Wild Thing II was only two miles back and Martin James racing green Infinity III was close behind.

Aspect was only just short of the corner, with Hugh Treharne and his sailing school cadets, aboard Robbo's Sydney 60 Eureka was still 5 miles south of Crowdy Head.

Handicap positions still have Brian Saunder's Beneteau 40.7 Fireball consolidating its IMS division lead, from Nips n Tux and Ragamuffin.

In IRC, Stephen Ainsworth's Loki, now 8 miles south of Crowdy Head is finding conditions more and more to her liking and is leading IRC.

In PHS, Bimble Gumbie, skippered by Mooloolaba Yacht Club Commodore Nick Cox is holding her lead, from Convergent Telecoms.

For more detail look at Sail-World's full fleet position chart, with ETA's, progressive placing's and boat locations.