Heatwave hammers Queensland for a sweltering SuperFoiler Grand Prix Gold Coast build-up
by Nick Vindin 13 Feb 2018 22:29 PST
16-18 February 2018
Glenn Ashby at the Geelong SuperFoiler Grand Prix 2018 © Andrea Francolini
It has been a hot and steamy Valentine's Day for the SuperFoiler team in Queensland after the Australian east coast was gripped by a heatwave.
It made for a horrific build in sweltering 32 degree temperatures as the shore teams and world class sailors prepare to assemble the superfast machines they will race on in the Gold Coast this Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
"Some of the extreme conditions we have had it feels like we have just come out of a swimming pool it is that humid," said Kleenmaid Skipper and Olympic Silver medallist Olivia Price, "We are going to try and get as much done as we can today because this heat is just killing us all. We are going to try and drink as much water as we can and get in the shade when we can too."
For tech2 skipper Luke Parkinson who drove 1,800 kilometres to transport spare parts from Geelong to the Gold Coast – it was a bracing welcome to the beach-lined state.
"It is smoking hot, everyone is going to have the big floppy hats on, long shirts and lots of sunscreen each week," said the Volvo Ocean Race winner, "We are hoping to build on last week. Here is a completely different race track, a lot of different things will play their part. We are looking forward to it."
For Record Point's Phil Robertson, the Gold Coast was 31 degrees hotter than his home base in Gothenburg in Sweden today, so he was understandably also feeling the heat.
"The key is going to be staying hydrated because it takes a couple of days to catch up once you have gone the wrong side of that scale so you have to make sure you are drinking lots of water and electrolytes and stay out of the sun as much as you can," said the World Match Racing Champion.
Euroflex leads the SuperFoiler Grand Prix series (12 points) ahead of Pavement (9), tech2 (6), iD Intranet (6), Record Point (5) and Kleenmaid (5).
Queensland's Gold Coast is scheduled to host nine races from Friday – Sunday with live streaming on www.superfoiler.com as well as on the Sail-World.com and YachtsandYachting.com homepages.