Audi Hamilton Island Race Week day 3 preview
by Lisa Ratcliff on 20 Aug 2012
Day 3 weather - Audi Hamilton Island Race Week Andrea Francolini / Audi
http://www.afrancolini.com
Sailors representing Australia and New Zealand will find they will have few places to hide during another day of racing on a corrugated sea surface and with fresh winds as day three of Audi Hamilton Island Race Week gets underway.
A ridge extending from a high pressure system moving east into the Tasman Sea and a trough in the Coral Sea have combined to bend strong winds onto Queensland’s tropical coast, however they are expected to move away from the coast later today.
Thankfully it will not become a case to batten down the hatches, but the crews can expect to race with a spray drenched deck compensated with fast spinnaker rides.
Similar conditions yesterday caused a minor list of damage including a dismasting and broken spinnaker poles during a number of spectacular broaches in the cruising divisions.
In his morning report, regatta forecaster Kenn Batt advises, ‘With the upper trough moving eastwards and off the coast this morning, the bulk of the middle level cloud and rain should clear this morning’.
He’s anticipating winds will ease from this morning’s 20 knots out of the south east which brought heavy showers, but only marginally with the chance of a sea breeze influence this afternoon.
The Audi IRC Australian Championship divisions will tackle an islands course, A class racing course 11, which is a 30.8 nautical mile race, B will be racing 26.5nm and C 24 nm.
The three cruising divisions and non-spinnaker will also race an island course.
Performance racing will enjoy short course racing on the eastern area along with the Melges and SB20s.
All information relating to Audi Hamilton Island Race Week 2012 is on the regatta
website
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