Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race

Nick De Laine called for assistance after breaking the rudder on his brand new Stomp in the Harbour. Not long after, Espresso Forte was heading back through the fleet but rejoined the race a short time later.

By Sunday the winds had eased dashing all hope of a record run in the 384 nautical mile race.

Grant Wharington's 98 foot Skandia crossed the finish line with an elapsed time of 1 day, 7 hours, 36 minutes and 5 seconds, Wharington's third line honours victory in this event. Skandia suffered a series of complications which cost them a couple of hours but in the end, this lost time wasn't the difference between Brindabella's seven year record.

After contesting the Brisbane to Gladstone Race over the Easter weekend, Skandia will be taken out of the water for a couple of months while Wharington completes the final legs of the Volvo Ocean Race with his Volvo 70 Brunel.

Prior to contesting the inaugural Sydney Mackay Yacht Race in late July, Wharington plans to modify Skandia's stern to maximise their waterline length and is also considering fixing his canting keel due to the heavier IRC penalties for canting keels which come into force in Australia in July.

Leaving the rest of the fleet inshore and heading out to sea in search of the strongest winds paid dividends for both the IRC and PHS winners.

"It was a major punt and at times we were worried about our tactics, but after studying the forecast, it was always our pre race strategy," said a delighted Steven David, the confirmed IRC overall winner of the Sydney Gold Coast with his Reichel/Pugh 60 Wild Joe.

Second overall on IRC was Ray Roberts' DK 46 Quantum Racing, which also sailed a brilliant race, and third overall was Bill Wild's Queensland boat Wedgetail, a Welbourn 42.

The "flying toothpick" as one crewmember calls it, is the other success story of this race. A 13 year-old timber boat, Geoff Lavis' UBS Wild Thing, has notched up its second PHS overall win in the Sydney Gold Coast.

"We got into some pretty steep and dangerous seas offshore on the first night and 'buried' the boat a number of times. We actually had to back off and gybe back inshore, luckily we timed it with a good lift", said Lavis, the Commodore of the organising club, the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia.

Second overall in the PHS results was Immediate Past CYCA Commodore Martin James' Farr 65 Infinity III and third was John Woodruff's Volvo 60 Seriously TEN.

"That was a long race" admitted 83 year old John Walker to the finish team when Impeccable finished.

Impeccable's arrival at Southport marked the end of another Sydney Gold Coast Race which saw 37 yachts finish and five retire, four due to minor damage sustained on the first night in blustery conditions and one due to lack of wind!

The race record set in 1999 of 27 hours 35 minutes 3 seconds by George Snow's Brindabella, a conventionally ballasted boat, still stands.

Photo: Yendys and Ginger at the start of the Sydney Gold Coast Race by Andrea Francolini

http://goldcoast.cyca.com.au