Southerners head Cruising with Spinnakers

by Peter Campbell on 17 Aug 2008

Storm 2 - Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week Day 3 Andrea Francolini Photography http://www.afrancolini.com/

Southern yachtsmen who have cruised north to the warmer winter climes of Far North Queensland had good cause for an early celebration at tonight’s Parrot Head Party in Airlie Beach.

The huge street party is a highlight of the social activities at the Meridien Marinas 19th Airlie Beach Race Week and with a lay day on Monday, almost every boat in the fleet of 107 will be represented.

Many of the 46 boats in the two Cruising divisions (with and without spinnakers) have sailed north for this tropical shirt regatta in the Whitsundays and halfway through the event they fill all but one of the top three placings in the two divisions.

Both divisions sailed the similar Gumbrell Islands passage race, a passage race north from Pioneer Bay, and after three similar distance passage races the Mooloolaba Yacht Club’a White Pearl, Gary McCarthy’s Simonis/Voogd 42 has a one point lead in the Cruising with Spinnaker division.

White Pearl has notched up placings of 5th, 7th and 3rd to be on 15 points while Storm 2, skippered by Airlie Beach Race Week founder Don Algie is on 16 points with placings of 1st, 3rd and 12th.

‘We blew out our medium sized spinnaker on the first run and had to hoist our biggest kite in winds of 25 knots-plus…we hit 18.2 knots down past the islands,' Algie said after the race. ‘But that was not good enough to gain a high place on corrected time,’ he added.

However, the crew from Mooloolaba aboard Hans-on, Nick Cox and Col Thomas’ 370e, had their best race of the regatta to finish second and moved into third place on the pointscore with 17 points.

The crew – average age 60-plus – sailed a fine race, resplendent in their multi-coloured board shorts and bright red shirts and hats, but first place on corrected time went to Russell Waddy’s Kick Back, a Harmony 42 from the Royal Motor Yacht Club.

In Cruising with Spinnakers division 2, two other boats from New South Wales share the pointscore - Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club’s Mark Travis with his Northshore 38 Full Frontal and Balmain Sailing Club’s Arthur King’s Adams 12 Breakaway, both on 15 points.

Third overall on 21 points is Rosie Colahan’s Ingenie, a Jeanneau SO 46 from Melbourne’s Royal Brighton Yacht Club.

Winner today was the Whitsunday Sailing Club’s Amadeus, Peter Johnson’s Bavaria 26 with second place going to Casper, a Mottle 33 skippered by Wayne Hoey from the Cairns Cruising Yacht Club.

Tomorrow is a lay day for all divisions, with racing resuming on Tuesday and continuing through to Thursday.
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