Solo Tasman yacht race finish

by Lindsay Wright on 25 Apr 2007 The last yacht to finish the 2007 Taranaki Daily News Shorthanded Tasman Yacht Race ghosted across the finish line off Mooloolaba last night.

Moonrise, a 10.8m fiberglass cutter sailed by retired New Plymouth engineer Bob Millen and his son Ralph, finished at 5:35 pm NZST; 16d 4h and 35m after the start at New Plymouth on 8th April. The race cutoff point is 20 days from the start.

The first boat home was Pebble Rebel, a Bavaria 46 owned and skippered by Taihape quarryman Bill Byford and crewed by Duthie Lidgard, which finished the 1280 mile race in 7d 7h 37m. 'I think I’ll retire from ocean racing after this,' Lidgard said from Mooloolaba, 'it just can’t get any better. Every decision we made was the right one.'

Pebble Rebel was one of three two handed boats entered in the 14 boat fleet for the 2007 race. 'We included a two handed class to make it more accessible for people who wouldn’t normally be able to do the race,' organizer Harley Watts explained, 'and it worked a treat.'

Light winds foiled the fleet for most of the race, but a sudden southerly storm struck the yachts a few days into the race and caused the sail damage which forced Inglewood sailor Blondie Chamberlain to retire his boat, Gypsy Rose, from the race and head for home. The yacht skippers reported winds to 65 knots (120km/h) and 10m seas.

Moonrise ran north before the weather, a tactic which effectively knocked the father and son sailing team out of contention for race placings and Chamberlain motored into Port Taranaki at about 6:30 am yesterday with just a few litres of fuel remaining in his tanks.

'We’ve had a heap of positive feedback, from competitors, families and friends, about the race. From the stunning start at New Plymouth, to the warm welcome at the other end,' Mr Watts said. 'It has really cemented the future of the race as an iconic and very special Taranaki sailing event.'

Results:

Pebble Rebel – Bill Byford/Duthie Lidgard (7d 7h 37m) Line honours, 1st two handed; Big Wave Rider – Bruce Arms (7d 10h 57m) 1st solo sailor and first multihull; Island Girl – Ian Lillie (9d 4h 45m) 1st monohull solo sailor;
Timelord – Keith Munro/Kevin Ebbitt (9d 8h 44m) 2nd two handed;
Xanadu 11 – Richard Martin (9d 11h 44m) 2nd solo monohull;
ADT Mephisto – Alan Yardley – (9d 12h 16m) 3rd solo monohull;
Scoundrel – Ross Buchanan – (11d 5h 18m) 4th solo monohull;
Delphina – Alan Hay – (11d 13h 44m) 5th solo monohull;
Panther – John Burns – (12d 6h 18m) 6th solo monohull;
Nimbus – Richard Raea – (13d 20h 22m) 7th solo monohull;
Sussex Warrior – Anthony Harrison – (13d 22h 29m) 8th solo monohull;
Uncle Arthur – Graham Perrem – (14d 5h 5m) 9th solo monohull;
Moonrise – Bob and Ralph Millen – (16d 4h 35m) 3rd two handed;
Jellyfish – Tony Florence – withdrawn;
Gypsy Rose – Blondie Chamberlain – withdrawn.
Ends…