Team Raider wins 22 nm. Baymoc Match race

by Ian Grant on 8 Apr 2001 Skipper Joel Berg regained some lost pride when he skillfully helmed Team Raider to a close line honours win in the Baymoc 22n/ml Mud Island race on a squally Moreton Bay today.

Berg and his clever crew sailed two near perfect tactical races on Saturday in similar conditions but they had little answer to the blistering speed produced by the slightly longer trimaran Voodoo Spirit with Bob Hutchings at the helm.

Voodoo Spirit with her 1-1 was rated as a short priced favourite to finish the title with a perfect three win score but the Team Raider crew have never been known to give up without a fight.

This was evident in the pre-start with skipper Berg and crew keeping the options open to take full advantage of the squall-laden clouds on the southern horizon.

He had Team Raider in a strong position out of the start however there was very little difference in boat speed between the two in the catamaran versus trimaran match race on the initial slog into the 12 knot southeast wind.

However that changed in the first squall when the Team Raider crew were forced to dump some power but still managed to lift away when the breeze peaked 30 knots over the deck.

But the variation in the wind velocity that generally averaged out at 15 knots with gusts to 18 and 25 on the fringe of the squalls continued to advantage some crews and disadvantage others.

Berg understood the real value of not only chasing the pressure line in the wind but also made sure he held a cover on Voodoo Spirit.

Their private match race was resolved in the final 500 metres when Team Raider completed the 22-n/ml course in 2 hours 37 minutes 8 seconds, 50 seconds clear of Voodoo Spirit with a runaway 10 minutes 8 seconds to Greg Tulloh's trimaran Lukim Yu.

While all three speed sailing machines hit speeds above 20 knots on the reaching angles they failed to salvage their handicap rating against the 23-year-old 42ft schooner trimaran Shanda.

Her skipper Bruce Weiland noted for scoring his best results in longer strong wind races finished a clear winner on handicap from the comfortable Grainger 43 cruising catamaran Alices Restaurant (Bill Wade) and the Twiggy tri Kiska jointly skippered by Jim Fern and John Morris.

Voodoo Spirit with her 1-1-2 line honours and 1-2-13 places on corrected handicap won the boat of the series title.




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