Fast start for ocean race to Lord Howe Island

by Peter Campbell on 27 Oct 2006 With a forecast of 20-30 knot south to south-westerly winds, the fleet of 19 yachts in the Hempel Gosford to Lord Howe Island ocean race can expect a fast start from Broken Bay tomorrow afternoon.

The race starts from Broken Bay, between Lion Island and Barrenjoey headland, at 1300 hours (1:00pm) followed by a dash up the Central Coast to a rounding mark off Terrigal Beach where navigators will set a north-easterly course for Lord Howe Island, some 400 nautical miles across the Tasman Sea.

Outside of the Rolex Sydney Hobart, the Hempel Gosford to Lord Howe Island Race is the only annual Category 1 ocean race in Australian waters and is noted as a tough test of crews and boats.

It is also a qualifying race for this year’s Sydney Hobart, with at least seven of the fleet planning to race south to Tasmania in December.

The leg up the coast, with the most daring crews setting spinnakers, will provide a spectacular sight for the public on headlands such as the Skillion and the Haven. The leaders should reach Terrigal by 1:30pm.

Conditions will be ideal for the three big boats in the fleet – David Forbes and Richard Brooks’ Merlin, Geoff Lavis’ UBS Wild Thing and the former round-the-world Volvo 60, Getaway-Sailing.com, skippered by Peter Goldsworthy.

However, IRC handicap favourite, AFR Midnight Rambler, a modified Farr 40 One Design skippered by Ed Psaltis, is also exceptionally fast downwind.

Race record stands at 33 hours 34 minutes 21 seconds set by the Volvo 60 Merit in 2002, and while the fleet can expect strong winds from astern tomorrow and Sunday, the wind is expected to moderate on Monday and Tuesday.

As the fleet heads offshore, sea conditions will build to 3.5 metres on a 3 metre swell, calling for accurate steering and careful sail-handling under spinnaker.

AFR Midnight Rambler is using this 33rd Lord Howe Island race as a major preparation for December’s Rolex Sydney Hobart, which co-owners Ed Psaltis and Bob Thomas won in 1998 with their previous, smaller boat of the same name. (They also won the 1999 Gosford to Lord Howe Island race the following year).

Also preparing for the Hobart Race are Jim Holley’s Aurora from Newcastle, the Gosford Sailing Club entrant Polaris of Belmont (Jim Dawe), Getaway-Sailing.com, She (Peter Rodgers), Berrimilla (Alex Whitworth) and Illusion (Graham Jackson.

Illusion, a Davidson 34, was the overall handicap winner of the 1988 Sydney Hobart and is making a comeback to ocean racing. The Lord Howe Race will be her qualifier for this year’s Hobart Race.

Of the fleet of 19, 11 boats are competing for the IRC handicap honours and eight for PHS handicap success, including Trevor Cosh’s Azzurro which is in line for her third successive victory on corrected time.

Sponsors of the 33rd Gosford to Lord Howe Island Yacht Race, Hempel Yacht Paint, has had a long association with the sailing fraternity around the world and Hempel's global intity sponsored the Danish Olympic team at the 2004 Athens Games and will again sponsor the team at the 2008 Beijing Games. Hempel is also sponsoring the legendary Sir Robin-Johnston in the VELUX 5 OCEANS solo race around the world. Hempel has been in the business of protecting and beautifying boats since 1915, employing a combination of 'traditional' and 'state of the art' knowledge to ensure a winning result for their clientele.