Raw Nerve set for fourth Gladstone win

by Rob Kothe on 7 Apr 2007 At the 11:35pm radio sked last night Martin Riley’s 50 foot catamaran Raw Nerve was pushing north towards Breaksea Spit, having averaged 15.6 knots. Until that time, she was just behind record pace.

To break her own 2004 record she will have to average around 20 knots for the remaining 120 miles to the Gladstone Harbour finish.

Fighting for second place were Philippe Coste’s Rogntudjuuu and Tony Considine’s ABC Max, just short of Indian Head and less than a mile apart.

Another 22 miles further back was Akimbo, with Free Sprit two miles astern.

Keith Glover's Trilogy has retired into Tin Can Bay with a broken rudder.

On OMR handicap at the second sked, Akimbo is leading from Renaissance, with ABC Max third and Raw Nerve fourth.

In the multhull versus monohull battle Matt Allen's Jones 70 Ichi Ban has now passed ABC Maxi and Rogntudjuuu and sailed into second place.

At 3am the wind off Lady Elliot was a steady 16 knots, stronger winds had been forecast and the next few hours will decide if the wind builds sufficiently to blow Raw Nerve across the Auckland Creek finish line in Gladstone Harbour before 05:55:09 am, to set a new out right record for the Brisbane to Gladstone race.