Adelaide to Port Lincoln Yacht Race overall

by Bob Ross on 18 Feb 2012 Lexus Adelaide to Port Lincoln Yacht Race kicked off on Friday 17th February. For the third year in a row, the two near-sister Reichel/Pugh designs Scarlet Runner from Melbourne and Secret Men’s Business 3.5 from Adelaide have finished first and second over the line and also on IRC handicap in the Adelaide to Lincoln yacht race.

Scarlet Runner, a Reichel/Pugh 52 owned and skippered by Rob Date of Sandringham Yacht Club, after finishing 18 and a-half minutes ahead of Geoff Boettcher’s Reichel/Pugh 51 SMB 3.5 from the Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia, beat her by 11min 01sec on corrected time.

Third on corrected time was Andrew Saies’ Beneteau First 40 Two True, the 2009 Rolex Sydney-Hobart race winner, also from the CYCSA, a distant 1hr 27min 04sec behind SMB 3.5.

The wind conditions suited Scarlet Runner and Secret Men’s Business 3.5, the two biggest yachts in the fleet of 60.

The fresh sou’-easter that prevailed for most of the 156n mile course, gave them a swift sheets-sprung reach across the bottom of the Yorke Peninsula at speeds of up to 20 knots and a spinnaker run across Spencer Gulf to Port Lincoln.

The smaller boats were slowed by having to sail longer almost directly downwind in fading breeze across Spencer Gulf to Port Lincoln this morning.

Rob Date was gratified by the result and acknowledged the strength of the opposition from Secret Men’s Business 3.5, saying she had the edge upwind while Scarlet Runner was faster downwind.

'Three wins in three starts is sensational really. But it just gets harder and harder and harder.'

He said the two boats were so close at Marion Reef Beacon, the first turning mark, after being on the wind from the start that they could have almost hit each other.

'After 40 miles they got over the top of us and gassed us just before Marion Reef and got 400 or 500 metres in front.

'When we turned the corner at the Yorke Peninsula we put up the jib top and just took off. The 500 metres they had got ahead of us we had back in about half a second.

'We passed them with the jib top and the full main, while they had jib top, a genoa staysail and a reefed main.'

Geoff Boettcher said, 'We just rolled them before Marion Reef but we knew once we got around Marion they would have the legs on us. They are a couple of feet longer.

'We worked our butts off and they worked their butts off.'

'It was fantastic racing, boat on boat. It’s going to be a great week' he said, in anticipation of the Lexus Lincoln Week regatta, which starts on Monday.'

Tearaway, a Farrier F9a trimaran owned by Kneebone of the Royal South Australian Yacht Squadron took both handicap and line honours in the multihull division with an elapsed time of 15hr 03min 45sec.

Adelaide to Port Lincoln Yacht Race website