Quest wins IMS in Cabbage Tree race, Pippin wins IRC & PHS

by Peter Campbell on 20 Oct 2002 Yachts contesting the 2002 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race have taken out top line and handicap honours in the inaugural 165 nautical mile race from Sydney to Newcastle, via Cabbage Tree Island and Bird Island on the New South Wales Central Coast.

A qualifying event for the Sydney Hobart, the race, which started Friday evening and finished early today, was sailed in a variety of wind direction and strength.

Line honours went to Sean Langman’s Grundig, an Open 66 designed by Murray, Burns & Dovell, but she averaged only 7.5 knots for the course, finishing at 5.55pm yesterday. The last finisher, Krakatoa, crossed the line at 5.41am today.

Langman described the Friday night sail to windward into a 30 knot nor’easter with lumpy seas as “a nasty night at sea” but from midnight onwards conditions eased throughout Saturday with Grundig enjoying a spinnaker run from Bird Island to the finish at Newcastle as a south-easterly change moved up the coast.

On corrected time two other contenders for the Sydney Hobart Race, Bob Steel’s Nelson/Marek 46, Quest, and David Taylor’s Farr 37, Pippin, shared top honours.

Quest, returning to ocean racing after her success at Hamilton Island Race Week in August, won the IMS Division (Blue Water Pointscore) from Pippin and Grundig, but Pippin reversed the placings in the Cape Byron IRC Division, Grundig again third.

Pippin also won the Tasman Performance Series (PHS) Division, second place going to MRZ (Phillip Rowe), third to Grundig.

Both Quest and Pippin sailed exceptionally good tactical races, Quest crossing the line shortly before midnight last night, only minutes astern of Terry Mullens’s Farr 49, Sting, and an hour and 43 minutes ahead of Syd Fischer’s Farr 50, Ragamuffin.

Sting, which next Saturday will contest the 408 nautical mile Gosford to Lord Howe Island Race, placed fourth in the IMS Division and fifth in IRC, while Howard de Torres’ Nips-‘n’-Tux also did well with a fifth in IMS and a fourth in the IRC Division.

The fleet in Ocean Pointscore Race direct from Sydney to Newcastle yesterday enjoyed a spinnaker run for most of the 55 nautical mile race, with Ron Ellis’ Future Shock taking line honours and first place in the IRC Division, after being beating the former Volvo 60, Magnavox (Peter Sorenson, Stan Zemanek, Julie Hodder) across the line by just 27 seconds. Magnovox will also contest the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race.