Slowest ever Three Peaks Race

by Peter Campbell on 21 Apr 2003 The 38-foot catamaran API Mersey Pharmacy is tonight sailing towards a unique third consecutive overall victory in the Hydro Tasmania Three Peaks Race - but it seems certain to be the slowest win in the 15 year history of this combination of offshore sailing and endurance distance running around the Tasmanian East Coast.

Early this evening the catamaran was sailing slowly south on the inside of Maria Island, still 70 nautical miles from the finish at Hobart, where the running team then faces a final 33 km dash to the 1270m peak of Mt Wellington and down to the finish at Constitution Dock.

The slow race early this evening took its toll, with the second boat in the fleet, Richard Edmunds' Radford 14, Hydro Wind Power, retiring at Coles Bay after the team runners had completed their 33km dash through the Freycinet National Park.

Edmunds, sailing his 15th Three Peaks Race, told Race Control at Coles Bay that business commitments for himself and members of the fully crewed division entrant had forced the withdrawal.

Race director Alastair Douglas does not expect API Mersey Pharmacy, owned by its designer Rob Chamberlin from Caloundra, Queensland, and Terry Travers from Devonport, to reach Hobart until sometime tomorrow morning.

'The time they get to Hobart will depend on the strength of the overnight westerly winds they encounter overnight,' Douglas said. 'So far, in real time it's been the slowest race since it began and it looks like staying that way.'

In the early hours of this morning, endurance runners Nigel Aylott and Andrew Kromer gave the API Mersey Pharmacy team another boost towards achieving their hat-trick of overall wins.

They dashed over the 33 km of rugged bush tracks in the Freycinet National Park in 4 hours 49 minutes 46 seconds, only 38 minutes outside the record, enabling the 38-foot catamaran to set off on the final sailing leg to Hobart at 7.40 am.

However, in the same way as they finished at Coles Bay at 2.41am today, the catamaran's crew were again pulling on the long sweep oars to get the boat moving out into Great Oyster Bay.

The running teams for seven other yachts this evening were well on their way to completing their leg to Mt Freycinet and back to Coles Bay, with Balmoral on York, Underwater Video Systems, Smart Reading, Antarctic Adventure, ZAB Window Fashions and the Beach expected to start the final sailing leg to Hobart before midnight.

This group of yachts all finished at Coles Bay around lunchtime today, with only 32 seconds separating Balmoral on York, Underwater Video Systems and Smart Reading as they sailed and rowed through the finish line,