Drina leads into Auckland in 2002 Tranz Tasman

by Rob Kothe on 4 May 2002 Short handed racers, use auto-helming systems to give them respite from the round the clock demands of hard ocean sailing.

When the auto-helming system goes down as has happened to Phil Hearse and his son Josh aboard 'Anteater' and Vince Lamond and Ian Schmidt on 'Spirit of Down Under', then the race becomes even more of a physical and mental challenge.

The single sailor on deck can no longer retrim his sails for a few seconds with his helm on auto, the dual demands means the second crew is often on deck helping and sleep deprivation becomes a major issue in a 1260 nautical mile like the 2002 Tranz Tasman race.

The strong south westerly winds are providing a tough final beat for the tired sailors, with winds of 25 knots, gusting to thirty as they move closer to Auckland.
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Last night 'Touchstone' was ahead of 'Drina', with 'Anteater' 12 miles back.

This morning at the 7:45am Pentacomstat sked Mike Thurston's 'Drina' was less than 13 miles from the finish line. She had clawed her way to the lead, three miles ahead of 'Touchstone' with 'Anteater' now 20 miles further back.

There are already some tired sailors in Auckland and later today when these three close racing competitors cross the finish line the beer will taste good but the celebratory sessions are likely to be short with sleep will be a greater priority.
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Yesterday, Anthony Day and Mark Findlay sailed the 13 metre 'Sayernara' across the line at 10:58:07 AEST

Vince Lamond and Ian Schmidt aboard the 12 metre 'Spirit of Down Under', crossing the line at 14:38 AEST.

Radio Skeds during this race have been operated by http://www.pentacomstat.com.au

To discover more about Short Handed sailing go to http://www.ssaa.com.au
The event mini-site is at http://www.sail-world.com/tranztas