Idle Time returns to Airlie Beach winners circle

by Ian Grant on 16 Feb 2009
Whitsunday Sailing Club Commodore Kevin Fogarty returned to the winners circle when he steered Idle Time to a comfortable seven point win in the Airlie Sails trophy series.

The Idle Time crew again expressed their liking to racing in moderate to fresh trade winds when they clearly outsailed their .750 handicap rating to win two of the three race series which was dominated by boisterous winds spinning off a very wet and windy monsoon trough.

Skipper Kevin Fogarty has sailed numerous windy and bumpy miles in the ageing Kym Swarbrick designed Spacesailor to claim the reputation as a consistent heavy wind performer.

This was again the case when the Idle Time crew showed their class when the going got tough to be the standout performer leaving Jeff Brown’s OO7 and the Tim Osborne helmed Rising Farrst to settle a closer duel for the minor places.
007 with a 1-5 in the opening two races appeared to be poised to apply the tactical pressure on Idle Time (4-1) when they only trailed the pace setting Spacsailor by a single penalty point but the challenge slipped from their grasp when 007 crashed to seventh fastest on corrected handicap in the trophy deciding third race.

However while this was a disappointing result 007 still managed to claim second overall with a two point advantage while Rising Farrst with a 5-7-3 claimed third three points clear of the John Galloway helmed Queensland Marine Services.

There was really no explanation by the 007 crew for this reversal of form which ultimately allowed Idle Time to open her 2009 season with a runaway win.
The result has boosted the confidence of both skipper and crew who were forced to miss a major part of the 2008 racing season when Idle Time suffered damage during the rogue northerly gale 12 months ago.

However while Kevin Fogarty and crew enjoyed the deserved opportunity to celebrate their first trophy win in many months their mood changed when the light winds returned to Pioneer Bay.

Idle time has rarely been a top performer when there is little ‘grunt’ in the breeze and this again became evident in the first race of the Queensland Yacht Charters trophy when she finished ninth after encountering some ‘sticky patches’ in a wind which struggled to gust above seven knots.

Sure there were some soft patches but Idle Time was never in the hunt when John Galloway expressed his light wind skill to steer Queensland Marine Services to a commanding 3 minute 37 second line honours victory over Africa (Terry Archer) while Surefoot (Rod Sawyer) filled third another 10 seconds off the pace.

Skipper John Galloway and crew also had done enough in the tricky conditions to outpace the lower handicapped Africa and the John Hudson skippered Riff Raff to record the fastest corrected course time with a 50 second advantage over Africa who held a 9 second advantage over Riff Raff.