Brisbane to Gladstone skipper's flashback

by Ian Grant on 28 Mar 2010 The time and date of 11am on April 2nd 2009 is dramatically inscribed into the memory of Brisbane to Gladstone yacht race skipper Bruce Absolon.

He had received a phone call that his dual Sydney-Hobart race champion Ausmaid and her delivery crew were in perilous danger when the sloop lost her rig after being barrel rolled by growling waves and howling winds off Double Island Point.

A prompt and precise sea search involving the Maroochydore based AGL rescue helicopter and the Noosa Coast Guard was successfully performed in spite of the atrocious conditions and limited visibility.

However while the intense 5 hour rescue mission saved the crew the fight to save the deep drafted Ausmaid which was prevented from crossing the shallow Noosa River bar remained a major priority after she was anchored in Laguna Bay.

Unfortunately the sailing history of the champion ocean racer ended dramatically when she broke away from her anchor during the night and eventually wrecked in savage surf on Noosa North Shore beach.

This was an ocean racing sailor’s worst nightmare with owner/skipper Bruce Absolon describing the loss as being similar to losing one of the family.

There is no doubt the popular skipper will experience a flash back as the anniversary is identical in time and date with the official start signal of the Blue Water classic on Good Friday April 2nd 2010.

However Bruce Absolon and his crew of experienced sailors representing the Hamilton Island Yacht Club will remain totally focused on starting cleverly with Nikon Spirit of The Maid in their bid to challenge the Peter Harburg owned and Mark Bradford helmed Black Jack for line honours while the AGL Rescue helicopter stages a sentimental fly past.

Racing over the initial 42 nautical miles to enter the open ocean via the Caloundra Fairway Buoy will be crucial for skipper Bruce Absolon and crew as they tactically prepare the former Norwegian Volvo Globe racing sloop to threaten the speed sailing wake of the more modern line honours favourite Black Jack.

This sleek power sailing sloop remains undefeated in Queensland Coastal passage races including setting a course record for the longer Brisbane to Keppel race and remains poised to improve on her 2009 race average of 13.92 knots in what promises to become an interesting match race against their line honours rivals manning the deck on Nikon Spirit of The Maid.

www.brisbanetogladstone.com.au