The finale of the Pallas Capital TP52 Gold Cup started in sporty conditions with sensational racing from all eleven entrants, with reports of over 25 knots of boat speed, in a blustery southerly at times blowing over 30 knots on Pittwater.
David Doherty’s Matador took all three wins on TPR to lead that series overall, the first race was a dead heat on IRC between Marcus Blackmore’s Hooligan and Matador, with Matador taking the remaining two races of the day.
Craig Neil’s Quest is in second on TPR, with Geoff Boettcher’s Secret Men’s Business (SMB) in third.
“It was an awesome day”, said Craig Neil, who is also the TP52 Australia Class President.
“It was so good. There was a lot of breeze and we had some amazing rides on beautiful Pittwater. Nice flattish water but really lots of gusts and I think we saw nearly 33 knots at one point, our boat speed hit 26 knots on most of the runs so it was pretty good and exciting in a small course. It’s just so competitive,” he exclaimed.
On IRC, it is SMB, out of the Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia in second, with Gordon Ketelbey’s Zen in third place.
“The excitement! The close proximity of all the boats coming together at marks and everything. You can’t beat that. It’s fantastic racing”, commented an elated Boettcher.
“It was excellent. All the boys were working their butts off all the way around the course, and to do that and all come out together at the end, how good is that! It’s really good. No one realises how difficult it is”, revealed Boettcher.
“Lots of edgy moments I think for everyone, it was one of those days. It was great”, smiled Neil.
Boettcher was loving the conditions, even though it was marginal at times.
“I looked forward once, and all I saw was people, and the whole front of the boat was underwater. It was just all this white water and everyone was up to their waist. We are missing a boat here. But it all came good!” he finished.
While some opted not to hoist the kite at times, that wasn’t the case for Quest.
“Well, why not, you’re here, you only live once”, said Neil.
“A few boats unfortunately had a bit of trouble today, there was a bit of breakage which isn’t good but otherwise I think everyone had a great day, but it was certainly a very challenging day, not an easy one,” he concluded.
Michael Martin’s Frantic tore a spinnaker in Race 1 but still went on to finish every race, they have been named the “Crowd Favourite” of the fleet. Peter White’s First Light will be out tomorrow with a broken forestay, Koa broke their jib foil during race two and retired for the remainder of the day but will be back for day two, while Denali opted to retire during race one of the series to be ready for Sunday.
Racing continues Sunday with a scheduled three races to complete the 2024 Pallas Capital TP52 Gold Cup. Bragging rights are up for grabs throughout the fleet, with the minor placings on TPR and IRC still tight, and of course places across the line never given away lightly.
For more head to the TP52Aus Facebook page.
Thanks to sponsors Pallas Capital and Zhik for their support.
Full crew lists and more information on the TP52 Aus Website.
Nic Douglass
Content Manager || TP52 Class Australia
