In 2007 Bill Wild's Hugh Welbourn 42 Wedgetail took a clean sweep of the Brisbane to Keppel Tropical Yacht Race (B2K). In 2008 it was Peter Harburg and his Reichel Pugh 66 Black Jack that dominated the results. In 2009, the divisions will be split ensuring a fair separation of divisions and results to encourage the more laid back racers to enjoy some of the Brisbane to Keppel Tropical Yacht Race glory.
Regular Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron racer Rob Pennell is excited about the division concept for the 3rd B2K race.
“In club racing I race my boat Dancing Lady which is a Farr 11.6 in Division 1; however for offshore races such as the Brisbane to Gladstone and Brisbane to Keppel we slip back into Division 2,” said Pennell.
“The split of division enables us to compete against other boats that are similar in rating to Dancing Lady and means that we have an opportunity to get an outright result and a division result.”
In the two previous years of racing from Brisbane to Keppel there was a fine line on whether to split the divisions.
“In 2008 we could have split the fleet into divisions however we decided to hold off just one more year,” said Principal Race Officer Denis Thompson.
At present there are 24 confirmed entries for the 2009 B2K race however race organizers are confident that number will reach 30 plus.
“The race is attracting a lot of attention from the southern sailors,” said Thompson.
Whilst getting the high performance boats entered into a race is good for PR having a solid 35-40' fleet is what makes the numbers.
“My boat is nearly 30 years old and she still races well. We are looking forward to joining the fleet and racing to Keppel Bay this year,” said Rob Pennell.
For information on the race log onto www.brisbanetokeppel.com
