Two straight wins for Quantum Racing

by Di Pearson on 27 Jan 2006 Ray Roberts and his ‘rock star’ crew on the DK46 Quantum Racing scored two straight wins in the Scotchmans Hill Series at Skandia Geelong Week today to consolidate their lead at Skandia Geelong Week.

Quantum Racing won both Races 4 and 5 today, with its sistership, Robert Hanna’s Shogun from the host club finishing second in Race 5. The third DK46 in the fleet, Dekadence, belonging to Phil Coombs, finished sixth.

In another ‘double design’ coup, Reichel/Pugh 46s, XLR8 (Graeme Troon), also from Royal Geelong YC and Hardys Secret Mens Business (Geoff Boettcher), took out third and fourth places respectively in Race 5.

The Quantum crew now lead Steven David’s Wild Joe by nine points for the series, with XLR8 another two points behind.

The race was delayed, as a thunder storm with lightening loomed, but eventually passed overhead. Quantum Racing started one third of the way up the line in around 9 knots of breeze out of the south.
Roberts stayed on starboard tack and watched as other tacked off straight after the start.

‘There was a massive shift to the left and we were lucky to get into it with Skandia and Wild Joe. The shift was so big, that was almost the end of the boat race,’ Roberts said this afternoon.

Roberts said only a small group of boats had gone left and they were the ones to benefit. He and his crew continued to play the shifts downwind in the split breeze and won the race by almost two minutes.

‘I have the fortune of a great core crew. I’ve got Olympians Jamie Wilmot (trimming), Stuart Broom, and Steve McConaghy (tactician) and Barney Walker, who has great local knowledge joined us as strategist,’ the Sydney businessman commented, adding, ‘I told Barney he hadn’t done enough work in the Volvo Ocean Race – that he needed more sailing - this is doing him the world of good.’

In other news, following a bad start to the series which included shredding two spinnakers, losing engine power and a computer breakdown, Sean Langman’s 92ft canting keeled maxi finally came good this afternoon.

AAPT, with a partial Youth crew and sponsors aboard, led her larger counterpart, Skandia (Grant Wharington), up the first beat and down the run before 98 footer overtook to score its fifth line honours win of the series. But AAPT came home second, with Wild Joe trailing her for third on line.

The Scotchmans Hill Series finishes tomorrow with two further windward/leeward races on Corio Bay. The prize giving will be held at host venue, Royal Geelong Yacht Club on Sunday morning.

Top ten results following five races:

1. QUANTUM RACING Ray Roberts 6
2. WILD JOE Steven David 15
3. XLR8 Graeme Henry Troon 17
4. HARDYS SECRET MENS B Geoff Boettcher 22
5. CHALLENGE Lou Abrahams 23
6. DEKADENCE Phil Coombs 30.50
7. COUGAR Alan Whiteley 36
8. WILD OATS Roger Hickman 37
9. VELOCE Philip Simpfendorfer 42
10. SHOGUN Robert Hanna 44