2008 Rolex Sydney to Hobart Protest dismissed

6:49 AM Fri 8 May 2009 GMT
The protest lodged by Alan Whiteley's Cougar II against 2008 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race winner, Bob Steel's Quest, was today dismissed by a Protest Committee of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia.

The protest concerned the validity of Quest's IRC certificate and an error discovered after the race. (the keel depth was under recorded by 50mm)

The error was an omission by a measurement official which was not known to the crew or owners of Quest or Cougar II at the time of the race.

In issuing its findings, the Committee stated that there was "no evidence before us that Quest was aware of the omission at the time of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2008."

The protest was technical in nature and there is no suggestion by either party of bad sportsmanship.

Amongst the evidence, there was an email from IRC Mike Urwin who said he believe that Quest's IRC racing certificate was valid.

Steel and Whitely both say they look forward to competing with each other in the coming race season.

The Protest Committee had earlier concluded that the protest was out-of-time and invalid, but decided to hear the evidence to put the matter to rest.

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2008 Rolex Sydney to Hobart Protest dismissed

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