Brisbane to Keppel Race - Sunshine Coast sailors embark on challenge

by Ian Grant on 4 Aug 2010
Club Marine Brisbane to Keppel Tropical Yacht Race starts on Friday August 6th 2010.

Dual Audi Australian IRC Ocean racing champion Rod Jones and his crew of talented Sunshine Coast sailors will embark on a new challenge starting on Friday.

There is no doubt their combined skills have completed the tough sailing miles proved with their National championship success as the only crew currently racing to have won the prestigious trophy and a luxury Audi vehicle twice.

Naturally Rod Jones and his nine member Ocean Buro racing team including the highly skilled sail-trimmer and helmsman Sean O’Rourke and the equally talented Brisbane North Loft sail maker James Chilman are well prepared for what promises to become a supreme test of their physical endurance and blue water racing strategy.

Every mile promises to become a new learning curve as both skipper and crew become more familiar with keeping the exciting maiden race Alegria IV sailing to her speed potential and the chance to become engaged in a boat on boat ‘drag race’ against the 2010 Brisbane to Gladstone race champion the Bill Wild helmed Wedgetail.

Both of the high performance yachts are identical in waterline length however the close similarity ends with Wedgetail starting as the pre-race favourite largely due to her Gladstone Race success and recent win in the Queensland IRC championship.

However Rod Jones and crew are up for the challenge of keeping the Wedgetail crew constantly on guard to protect their sailing space and current reputation as Queensland’s best ocean racing crew.

'We are going into the race with an open mind and to have some fun' Rod Jones said.

Who could blame him after spending several weeks customising the fit out of the sleek GP42 class sloop to have her ready to go head to head in a 348 n/ml match race against the proven pace of Wedgetail?

Owner skipper Bill Wild has left nothing to chance in the selection of his crew with Brisbane’s World Etchells champion Jason Muir forming an important steering role with Mooloolaba’s Gladstone Race winning helmsman Mike O’Brien.

But as proven in previous coastal passage races the heat is on for the crew to continually make the smarter options in sail selection and tactical strategy both in the warmer daylight hours and the colder and more demanding period between dusk and dawn.

Generally these races are won in the dark when the cold winter wind becomes spiced with ‘low grade grunt’ in velocity and unpredictable changes in direction.

However this is not expected to change what promises to become an exciting second by second match race between Wedgetail and Alegria IV while an equally exciting duel will unfold at the front of the fleet when Queensland’s Black Jack defends her 2009 record setting line honours win against the almost identical New South Wales pocket maxi Wild Oats X.

http://www.brisbanetokeppel.com