Gentlemen don't go to windward

by Traci Ayris on 27 Jan 2007 They say 'gentlemen don’t sail to windward' but Carpe Diem and her crew from Adelaide had no choice if their yacht was to make it to the Williamstown to Geelong passage race start line on Australia Day.

Owner/skipper Christopher Riggs admits that it was a hard slog to bring his Adams 50 around from South Australia but it was all worth it to race with three hundred and fifty yachts in the historic passage race.

'The boat headed down the gulf into 30 knot winds and once we got down the bottom there was no wind at all. It should have taken us a couple of days but motor sailing through the big slop along the way meant that it took us four.'

Arriving in Melbourne late Thursday evening the Carpe Diem crew had time to affect a few minor repairs before lining up for the start gun at 9:30 the following morning. 'It was certainly a lesson in ‘how to give yourself a caning’ but we all agreed it was worth it.'

Christopher says, recalling the passage race which Carpe Diem completed in just over six hours. 'I’ve been to various regattas and this one just blows it all away. To be among so many yachts and see hundreds of spinnakers flying against a Melbourne skyline backdrop was just awesome'

Christopher says that his crew, whom he affectionately describes as 'nearly a bunch of seniors now' love to do passage races and the trip to Skandia Geelong Week is another stage in the boat’s preparation for Sydney to Hobart later this year.

Racing against similar boats in the Cruising With Spinnaker division will provide valuable practice for the many regattas ahead on Carpe Diem’s campaign calendar. 'Our plan is to do Hobart, return to do Skandia Geelong Week, back home for the Adelaide to Port Lincoln race and then we’ll head off for the Melbourne-Vanuatu-Mackay but at the moment all we’re thinking about is catching up with some old friends and enjoying our time in Geelong'