Layday at SeaLink Magnetic Island Race Week 2024 was enjoyed by all yesterday, but today it was back to serious business for ‘It’s Live in Queensland Race Day’, when Division 1 and the Sports Boats were put through their paces with two windward/leeward races each, while the rest were set one longer course.
The Rob Reynolds chartered Farr 40, Bobby’s Girl (NSW), took out Race 3 in Spinnaker Division 1’s first race of the day, while Gordon Ketelbey sailed his TP52, Zen (NSW) to a win in 4.
Even so, it’s the Malcolm Roe chartered DK46, Amazing Nizam (NSW), that sits atop the leaderboard due to slightly more consistent results. However, that scoreboard is so close, just two points separate the top five boats.
“The first one (race) we loved,” Reynolds said of victory in Race 3. Not so much the second one,” he said of seventh place. The breeze was only 5-6 knots in the first one. The second one was up to 9 knots. It was a good breeze, a bit light for us, but everyone else had to suffer too.
“We had to do two races and everyone seemed to enjoy it. The Race Committee sent us on an appropriate course. Full marks to them.”
Sydneysider Reynolds brought the sails from his Farr 40 here to Magnetic Island. “Easier than bringing my Farr 40 here,” he said laughing. “This is my fifth year here – you get used to Maggie,” he said of the Island that lives up to its name.
Amaya II (Qld) had the goods in Division 2, her timely win moving her into contention for the overall win. Owned by Ben and Matthew Kingsley, their Farr 11.6 moved up to third place but is on equal points with John and Andrew McDougall’s Mac 2 after the latter scored 11th today, her worst result (I think she underwent a handicap adjustment) following a pair of wins.
Second place in Race 3 handed Andrew Clark’s Adams 10, Single Malt, a one point overall advantage on the aforementioned pair though.
“It’s been a fabulous regatta and I’m enjoying it immensely,” Clark said this afternoon. “Fabulous people, fabulous location, fabulous sailing, fabulous everything,” he enthused. “This is my sixth time here and the third with my own boat. It’s the best regatta in Queensland!”
Today’s racing, he said, “Was beautiful – champagne sailing. Sunshine, blue skies, nice breeze, everyone sailing along nicely. Everyone is being very respectful, no crashes, very tidy, nobody barging the start.
“The course took us right over to the other side of Cleveland then all way to White Rock and home, sitting in 10-12 knots. It dropped to 8-9 knots, depending on where you were on the course and we had nice flat seas, no swell. The breeze was just enough to keep you nice and cool. It doesn’t get any better than this.”
Jason Lea’s Pali Pali (Qld) continued her solid form in the regatta to-date, adding a second win to the scorecard to retain the Multihull Division lead. Rod Sweeney’s Rhomberg Sersa Australia (Qld) placed second, her best result so far.
The crew of Julian Bethwaite’s Bethwaite 89er, Don’t Panic, let their heads go and moved to the top of the Sports Boat division following third and first places in the day’s two races. However, yesterday’s leader, Justin Van Stom’s Thompson 7, Bambalam, is on equal points.
It has been interesting observing one pristine and beautifully dressed mature crew over the past few days – butter wouldn’t melt in their mouths. I’d met one of them on the ferry coming over to the Island on Thursday (we’ll call him ‘Lord Barry’ for anonymity sakes).
Lord Barry shared the crew’s dark little secret with me. He gleefully revealed their cache of golden amber, otherwise known as rum, disguised in a musician’s case. I was given a quick glimpse. This morning he informed me that what I saw was just a portion of their goodies.
Shocked, when I counted the number on the small crew, I asked if they were drinking while racing, but he assured me that “No, we save it for after racing only.” Talk about wolves in sheep’s clothing! Their secret is safe with me – no names – no pack drill.
Racing here too is official clothing partner, Musto’s David ‘Oli’ Oliver, helping Mike Steel’s E5 Elan, Boadica go fast. Musto is familiar to SMIRW, as is Oli. Crew on the winning 2013 Rolex Sydney Hobart yacht, Victoire, among his accolades, Oli is also here showcasing a new attractive women’s leisure wear line and sailing gear for all – and the range is selling well.
In other news, this morning Principal Race Officer, Denis Thompson was looking at racing for today and also the days ahead. “It looks OK tomorrow, a nice breeze, but there’s a wind warning for Wednesday. I’m planning the Round the Island Race for Wednesday,“ he said.
“It’s predicted to be 25-30 knots and if that’s the case, we won’t race. If it’s 20-25, we will consider it, depending on the seaway of course,” he said.
“We may start an hour earlier (10am instead of 11am), so the smaller boats aren’t caught in the predicted building breeze, but I’ll decide on the morning, once I’ve checked the weather models again. I don’t want to make decisions too far ahead; I just want to have a contingency plan ready and do the right thing for competitors,” Thompson ended.
Racing continues Tuesday
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By Di Pearson/SMIRW media
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