Wired blitzes record in Sunferries Series

by Rob Kothe on 8 Sep 2008
A new race record for the 22 nautical mile Magnetic Island has been set by the New Zealand Bakewell-White designed Marley Wired (Rob Bassett). In the IRC Racing fleet, two Townsville boats are tussling for the overall crown. Wayne Millar’s Sydney 41 Zoe leads the series on count back from Leon Thomas’ 7 metre sports boat Guilty Pleasures.

Today's very scenic Round the Island race took the fleet from Nelly Bay, to Orchard Point, across Horseshoe Bay, round the shoreline of Five Beaches Bay, then around West Point to Middle Reef and back to the finish line.

Low cloud and a confused seaway along with 12 knots of breeze blowing from the east-southeast, provided some interesting sailing conditions for the fleet.

In the IRC Racing division, Marley Wired accelerated away at the start, with Zoe hung on her hip.

Guilty Pleasures, the current Sunferries Magnetic Island Race Week series leader, tacked to port only 100 metres after the start line and headed right.

Mach 1, the Bavaria Match 38 of John Stokes also went right, as did Wild Spirit the Elliott 9.6CR of Kevin Horne. The rest of the fleet played 'follow the leader' and went right.

Zoe followed shortly after, the crew deciding they could not live in the ‘gas’ behind Marley Wired, however Marley Wired immediately covered her as they too headed towards the star-board layline.

Round the top mark Wired stayed high, while Zoe hoisted her red kite; it was very shy and she was dropping down the course but she had speed.

Round the top Marley Wired lead the fleet. The decision to go wide or stay in close was the key. On the inside, the biggest winner was the little T-7 Guilty Pleasures, with her big white A-kite flying was getting bullets out of the bay and she accelerated into second place.

But it did not last, at the bottom of West Point the breeze came in from the south east and Guilty Pleasures messed up her transition out wide and Zoe sailed through her.

Up ahead Marley Wired was well ahead of Zoe’s race record as she tracked towards the finish line.

The small white caps were becoming visibly larger as the breeze built and continued to push the fleet home.

Only three miles from the finish Marley Wired hit the wall. A rainsquall sucked away the breeze, she ghosted past Hawkings Point and round the corner then sat with sails flapping just 500 metres from the finish.

The breeze came back in and she took the gun smashing the race record set by Zoe for the Round the Island course in 2007 of 2 hours, 56 mins 38 seconds.

Zoe came in second, she completed the course 75 seconds faster than her old record, but up front the Kiwi boat had taken almost 26 minutes off the record, her official elapsed time was 2:32:50.

Dockside Bassett was smiling. He said ‘We are very pleased to have taken the record. We hope it will stand for a few years or until we break it again. When the wind is in the right direction, the canting 50's can be impressive.

'It was a fast race until the end. We ran a reaching chute initially, then peeled to our biggest kite and we boogied along the back of the Island.

'The scariest moment of the whole race, was when we were in shallowing water before West Point. We were in 5.8 metres of water we heard this bang, then we saw a tail fluke behind us, it was obviously only a glancing blow.'

Wayne Millar was happy too, as he heard the results. With three first places, Zoe is leading the Sunferries Magnetic Island Race Week series on a count back.

‘A great race today, our record is gone. Marley Wired broke it and so did we ... just.

‘We came off the line well and then we set a very shy kite, we wanted the early drive in the light airs, it was a gamble and it worked.

‘In spite of that the little sports boat came through us across the top of Five Beaches Bay.

‘We won the race on handicap with our move, round at the bottom of the course. Between Liver Point and West Point, we cut the corner, we picked the narrowest line across the soft patch and it worked for us, again... just.

'We hoisted our asymmetric in Picnic Bay, we had some speed then, we overtook Storm 2 100 metres from the finish line but we had to shoot the mark, so it was a close call.'

Leon Thomas and his Guilty Pleasures crew were looking 'like drowned rats' on the dock.

'The best part of the race was when we climbed into second place. A broad reach, ideal for our boat and we got up on the plane, hitting 21.5 knots at our best.

'We threw the race away going through West Point. Zoe did it so much better than we did.

'It would have been a great race for a fleet of sports boats, 25 knots and flat water. Hope we see a big sports boat fleet here next year.'

In the IRC division on handicap, Zoe won from Guilty Pleasures and Boudicea. With one race to go in the series Zoe and Guilty Pleasures are both on eight points, with Zoe leading on count back, helped by her three wins. In third place is Boudicea.

In the PHS Division Kachina, Phillip McGuire’s McGuire 11.3 continued its form and won the PHS Division on handicap today. Amaya 11, Peter Boxall’s Farr 11.6 sloop was second with The Major, Michael Gillum’s Swarbrick 99 third.

Overall in PHS, Zoe leads from The Boat and Feral.

In Cruising Non Spinnaker Shaun Watson’s White Fin (Jeanneau Sun Odyssey 42i) won on handicap from Vantage, Robert Kimlin’s Adams/Mottle and Dick Cerny’s Beneteau Oceanis 500, Aussie Rules. Overall in the series to date, its Aussie Rules ahead of Bushwacker II with Ngak Ngak third.

Today in the Cruising with Spinnaker class, Ben Plummers's Shea won from John and Kim Clinton's Holy Cow with Ian Johnson's Lightwave Catamaran Two Shea third.

Overall Two Shea leads from Barbarella (Mal Tynan's Schionning Signature 14 Cat) and White Pearl (Gary McCarthy's and Tracey Johnstone's Simonis Voogd).

Full results are available at http://www.magneticislandraceweek.com.au/index.cfm?eid=1109