Runaway winner of Maurice Drent Boating Services trophy

by Ian Grant on 6 Jul 2009 Graham Matthews had no complimentary passengers onboard Brandy Creek Ferry when he steered her to a runaway six point win in the four race Maurice Drent Boating Services trophy series on Pioneer Bay.

Skipper Matthews has developed a good understanding on sailing Brandy Creek Ferry to her .830 handicap rating but he was not alone pulling the strings which allowed him to ultimately outpace his Multihull class rivals over the Whitsunday Sailing Club courses.

He was again well supported by his crew who enjoy the challenge to ensure that Brandy Creek Ferry produces the required all angle sailing speed to consistently sail in the fast lane.

They had sailed smart in a varied range of conditions to enter the trophy deciding final with a 2-4-3 score trailing series leader the Keith Roberts skippered Wild Thing 1-2-5 by 1 point.

But when Wild Thing failed to show up for start the Brandy Creek Ferry crew automatically became free of being seriously challenged for the trophy.
However Graham Matthews still had to manage racing with smart tactical options in the ideal 12 knot breeze while also staying clear of any possible breaches of the racing rules to be assured of steering Brandy Creek Ferry to her trophy winning result.

He quickly realised that Brandy Creek Ferry was never in the hunt of match racing the power sailing Hobie Tiger or Overdrive.

As expected the speed sailing Hobie Tiger dominated breaking away to an early lead which was increased on all legs of the course eventually recording a comfortable corrected handicap win over the Rupert King skippered Overdrive while the Brandy Creek Ferry crew enjoyed sailing their final free of any challenging tactical pressure to fill third place to win the series from Doctors Orders and Wild Thing.

The Brandy Creek Ferry crew enjoyed the opportunity to share a deserved celebration but the competition will heat up when they race for the important top three points in Whitsunday Doyle Sails trophy.

Bob Thompson helming the Tony Grainger designed sprint machine Sirocco has proved she is capable of outpacing her .990 time correction factor while the Keith Roberts skippered Wild Thing will return to salvage some pride along with the consistently well sailed Overdrive.

Peter Millar’s ocean racing catamaran Cynaphobe winner of the 2009 Dent to Dunk Island line honours trophy with an exceptionally fast light wind average speed of 9.8 knots will also return to bolster the competition for line and corrected handicap honours.

Cynaphobe faces a busy racing schedule over the next two months when skipper Millar and tactician Dave Chittleborough prepare to defend the fastest times trophies in the Multihull Rendezvous championship followed by the Great Whitsunday Race.

Both Peter Millar and Dave Chittleborough are noted thrill seekers and are hoping for the return of moderate to fresh trade winds to give Cynophobe a full scale hit out in hull flying wind pressure before they line up to defend their title as the fastest sailing yacht in the Whitsunday Islands.