Weekly Sailing Summary

Summary for w/b - 04 Apr, 2006 12pm

SYDNEY GOLD COAST YACHT RACE
The Sydney Gold Coast fleet started the 384nm race from Sydney Harbour on Saturday afternoon in a wild 25-30 knot sou'wester and a nasty swell which knocked two yachts out of the race within the first couple of hours. By Sunday the winds had eased dashing all hope of a record run.

Grant Wharington's 98 foot Skandia crossed the finish line first with an elapsed time of 1 day, 7 hours, 36 minutes and 5 seconds, Wharington's third line honours victory in this event.

Leaving the rest of the fleet inshore and heading out to sea in search of the strongest winds paid dividends for both the IRC winner, Steven David's Reichel/Pugh 60 Wild Joe, and and PHS winner, Geoff Lavis' 13 year-old timber boat UBS Wild Thing.

KEEL BOATS
The new Wild Oats XI made her way from Sydney to Adelaide under her own power for loading aboard the new CP Ships containership 'Leda Trader'. The Rolex Sydney Hobart race record holder is bound for Italy for the Maxi World Championships and related regattas in the Med.

Registration is still available for the Club Marine Commodore's Cup, hosted by Southport Yacht Club on April 6 - 9.

Grant Wharington's Skandia will challenge her record in the 2006 Brisbane to Gladstone Race starting off Sandgate Pier at 11am on Good Friday. Veteran Caloundra sailor Bob Robertson has a burning ambition to win his third Brisbane to Gladstone yacht race before he retires to go cruising.

Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show on May 18 - 21 is the site for the Australian release of two Delphia vessels - the D40 (40ft or 11.95m) and the D37 (37ft). Manufactured in Poland, these monohulls feature a modern design with top-quality sailing hardware such as a Selden mast, Furlex furling gear, full batten mainsail and electric windlass which come as standard equipment.

The 33rd Gosford to Lord Howe Island Yacht Race will start October 28. Entry is limited by the number of moorings available and will be on a strict 'invitation only' basis. There are only five moorings in the South Passage for yachts that draw in excess of 7ft, 2in. Deep draft yachts that cannot be allocated one of these moorings are usually invited to race to the Island on a 'turnaround' basis.

Boat Week, Melbourne Docklands, will be held March 16 - 25, 2007. A major highlight  will be the start of the Melbourne Osaka Cup, a 5000km double handed yacht race held every four years.

Peter Gilmour AUS manages to hold on to the top spot in the latest ISAF World Match Race Rankings but James Spithill AUS is within a whisker of uniting the World title and World number one spot. Nicky Souter AUS moves up six places to 10 in the women's rankings.

23rd China Sea Race - A total of 28 entries has been received for the biennial 565nm race which starts in Hong Kong on April 13 and finishes at Subic Bay, north west of Manila.

Centennial Bermuda Race - As of March 31 race organisers had 287 applications for entry. The previous record entry total was 182 set in 1982 and 2002. The race starts June 16.

IdeaArgo, an Italian based organization, will be launching an unique challenge for the 2010 America's Cup. An international crew of athletes with a disability will take on the challenge and the team is already being assembled from around the world.

Asian Record Circuit 2006 - Ellen MacArthur and her crew have set records on the 75ft trimaran B&Q on Leg One from Yokohama, Japan to Jeju Island, South Korea and on Leg Two from Jeju Island, South Korea to Dalian, China.

Pete Goss returns to competitive sailing with Paul Larsen, sailing a lightweight trimaran in the two-handed 2006 Shetland Round Britain and Ireland Yacht Race. The Seacart 30, constructed entirely from carbon, is 30ft long and boasts a 50ft mast, but weighs in at just 950kg.

Round-the-world yachtswoman Tracy Edwards MBE has won a landmark ruling in her legal battle in Qatar to clear her name after her Oryx Quest 2005 yacht race was left with £2.6m of debts. 

See also 'Off the Beach' - Darren Bundock and Glenn Ashby, below

Euan McNicol and his Club Marine 18ft Skiff team scored a last minute victory in the Cordukes Clubhouse Trophy race on Sydney Harbour when they overtook Casio Seapathfinder on the final leg of the course.

Mater Maria Catholic College (Warriewood) won the NSW Secondary Schools Team Racing Championship for the second time.

16ft Skiff Fluid Building Services' skipper Clint Bowen won the National 16ft title, had a runner-up place at the state championships and won the Manly 16's Club Championship.

The North Queensland Easter Regatta, hosted this year by Whitsunday Sailing Club as part of the Suncorp North Queensland Games, is the venue for the North Queensland Championships in all classes of off the beach dinghies and catamarans.

The Australian Windsurfing Championships will be held on Hamilton Island from April 22 - 28, providing a spectacle on Catseye Bay for guests.

AROUND THE WORLD
Volvo Ocean Race - Over 20,000 spectators lined Copacabana Beach on Sunday and thousands more took to the water to wave off the competitors for leg five, the 5000nm race through the Atlantic Ocean to Baltimore, USA. Local hero Brasil 1 was over the line at the start and ABN AMRO ONE's headsail dropped to the deck soon after. The Ericsson Racing Team lead the fleet out of the bay, but since then the yachts have been swapping positions regularly in fickle winds.

Solo yachtswoman Dee Caffari will rendezvous with a helicopter from Cape Town on Tuesday to drop off videotape before being left alone again for the remaining 7000 miles in her quest to become the first woman to sail single handed non stop westabout round the world.

Clipper 05-06 Round the World Yacht Race - Liverpool 08 wins the race from Subic Bay to Qingdao. Victoria Clipper crossed the line 21 minutes later. Singapore Clipper fought the strong tide to prevent them from being swept past the line and were beaten to the finished by Durban Clipper. Singapore finished fourth with only 44 minutes separating the top four after 1200nm of sailing.

PRODUCTS
Navman is launching two products in Australia at Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show on May 18 - 21. The Navman 8120 is a multifunction navigational system which eliminates the complexities associated with the operation of multiple devices. Northstar's 8000i, a modular, expandable and flexible networked system, is an integrated navigation and entertainment unit capable of supporting up to 20 screens simultaneously.

A new inflatable Zodiac, donated to Sailability Pittwater by Sydney Powerboat Centre, has been officially launched. It is powered by a 4 HP Mercury motor donated by Enterprise Marine. The safety and support craft is named the 'John L Gordon' in honour of  a volunteer, coach and safety boat man, who has been involved with Sailability since it's inception 10 years ago.

The inaugural Sailability Port Stephens Cup sailed on Grahamstown Dam could become an annual regional event.

POSITION VACANT
Yachting New South Wales is seeking a Development Officer. Applications must be forwarded by April 7.

WHAT'S ON
April 7 - 9 -- Brisbane, Tinnie, Tackle & Outdoor Show - Includes the National 4X4 Show and the Camping and Outdoors Expo to be held at RNA Showgrounds, Brisbane.

April 7 - 9 -- Herald Boat Show, Newcastle. Boating Industry Association of NSW

April 8 - 9 -- Sail Boat Show, Sandringham Yacht Club, Melbourne - Features include Try Sailing, Boat Show Alley with 61 booths, and the on-water, hardstand, and off the beach display areas that accommodate more than 100 exhibitor displays.

April 12 - Photographer Sam Hood's 'working harbour' revealed in talk at the Australian National Maritime Museum, Darling Harbour, Sydney from 10.30am to 12pm ($5 per person).

April 14 - Good Friday - public holiday

April 15 - 16 -- Heritage Afloat Festival, Toronto, Lake Macquarie. An Easter gathering of Classic and Wooden boats, with associated family activities.

April 17 - Easter Monday - public holiday

Photo: Start of the Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race by Andrea Francolini

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