Space Wars battle in Sports Boat Heaven

by Rob Kothe on 7 Aug 2006 There will be Wet n’ Wild Sports Boat action at the 17th annual Airlie Beach Race Week which starts this coming Friday August 10th. The fastest sports boats in the southern hemisphere will be assembling in the boat park at the 500 berth Abel Point Marina at Airlie Beach by Thursday, with skippers and crews preparing for an epic series.

A top class fleet it is too. Peter Sorensen’s green machine Vivace, the space age carbon fibre Bethwaite 8, will be the fast Sports boat on Pioneer Bay if the former 18 footer World Champion has his way.

But Frenchman Pierre Gal, America’s Cup sailor from the French Kiss campaign, is expecting a Revolution, as the name of his new canting keel production Sports 8 suggests.

The Sports 8 has created a stir down south, with the builders Sydney Yachting Centre displaying the revolutionary winged canting keel racer at the Sydney International Boat Show.

Pierre Gal commented this morning. ‘It’s going to be a tight battle between Vivace, Stealthy and Revolution and we will be sailing in Sports Boat Heaven.'

Sorrensen agreed. ‘Being carbon, Vivace is 150kg or so lighter than Revolution which has been developed from Vivace’s lines, but the new boat has a canting keel and a bigger rig, so it’s going to be a close run thing.

‘We had a little trial against her a few weeks ago and Vivace was marginally faster, but it was the very first sail for the Super 8 and they did not have everything sorted.’

Lake Macquarie sailor Bob Cowan, who successfully campaigned Penguins on Parade winning at Airlie Beach in 2005, bought the all carbon Stealthy from the Ben Cawardine, son of the designer Alan Cawardine last year and he is hoping for light weather. Lighter conditions have favoured Stealthy over Vivace in the past.

This morning at the Darling Harbour show, Cowan paused to inspect the 600mm + Admiralty brass wings on the canting bulb of the Sports 8 on display.

‘Well they should stop the Sports 8’s going side ways,' he commented. ‘It's going to be a great battle on Pioneer Bay, we are really looking forward to it.’

The handicap battle in the 13 boat fleet is going to equally tight, with chances right across the board. Vivace has had good handicap wins in the past and it will be interesting to see how the Sports 8's rate.

Alan Cawardine is also the designer/builder of another Queensland boat in the 2006 fleet. Franco Bortolin's Stealth 7.8, So What, was second at the Airlie Beach Nationals in 2004 and could easily figure again.

But don’t be surprised if Steve Battley’s much travelled Thompson 7 Road Warriors again all the way from Western Australia, which was third in the 2006 Nationals at Skandia Geelong Week, is on the podium.

John Hudson’s Stealth 8, Guided Missile, is a last minute scratching.

Full coverage of the 17th annual Airlie Beach Race week at www.airliebeachraceweek.com