Trilogy has the class

by Ian Grant on 7 Sep 2011 Intensely competitive multihull racing skipper Keith Glover and his Trilogy crew has a racing record to justify being named favourites to win the Corsair Marine Australian championship on Brisbane’s Moreton Bay later this month.

Trilogy a fleet footed trimaran from the drawing board of Tony Grainger has been recently rigged with a complete locker of high performance Sail Tech sails and a revolutionary canting mast which has improved her speed potential.

However the question of the improved speed will be seriously tested during the six race series which as expected has attracted many of Australia’s best multihull sailors.

'Personally we have a good understanding on our speed potential’ Said sail maker Ben Kelly.

But they will need to race super smart and fast to save their higher handicap rating over the equally impressive Wilparina 11 Robert Remilton from Goolwa and the Victorian skipper Tim Pepperell in Bare Essentials.

Former Brisbane to Gladstone Multihull race winner George Owen will also present a formidable challenge with the Tony Considine owned Mad Max while talented sailors Peter Elkington and Matt Von Bibra head an interesting challenge with Blackrunner.

This fleet represents the best multihull racing crews in the Nation and while Trilogy is favoured her crew can expect to b e hard pressed in what has the potential to turn into a tactical ‘dog fight’ to protect their reputations.
Collectively the crew of owner skipper Keith Glover, Ben Kelly and Brendon Mann have won 18 national multihull titles while the youngest member Harry Bethwaite adds a special touch of class to the crew.

The Trilogy crew who have extensive experience in racing over the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron courses on the tactically demanding waters east of Green Island will have a head start but there will be little margin for error.

Their secret weapon rests with the combined skill of the crew to select the best time to cant the mast to back up the advantage of racing on home waters.

But as skipper Keith Glover understands it will be a difficult task to keep Trilogy logging the required speed to outpace her handicap rating.

The championship opens with a Bay Passage Race on Monday September 19 followed by four tactically demanding windward leeward races with a final passage race on September 23rd.