Hamilton Island Race Week - Living Doll issues an early challenge

6:43 AM Sat 22 Aug 2009 GMT

'Living Doll issues an early challenge - Hamilton Island Race Week' Ian Grant

Audi Hamilton Island Race Week has opened in stunning fashion with close to 200 boats taking to the water for the opening 22 nautical mile Lindeman Island Race, which finished in Dent Passage using the flagstaff on the new Hamilton Island Yacht Club as one end of the line.

As predicted, Michael Hiatt's Living Doll made light work of the shifty breeze, scoring the first points on the IRC ladder and issuing a serious challenge to the rest of the hot IRC division 1 fleet.

The tactician aboard Rob Date's new Reichel Pugh 52 Scarlet Runner out of Victoria took a major punt, breaking away from the fleet and opting for the western side of Pentecost Island where the boat languished before clawing its way back through the fleet to finish second on the IRC scoresheet.
Graeme Wood's JV52 Wot Now with North Sails' Michael Coxon a new addition to the brains trust, finished third on handicap.

In IRC division 2 the strongly campaigned Alegria, Rod Jones' Archambault A40 out of Sydney, made an early break on handicap. A past Audi IRC Australian Championship title holder, Jones is one of the leading combatants for this year's series that will be decided at the end of next week.

The line honours contest that began at last year's Race Week between the two duelling Reichel Pugh 66s, Bob Oatley's Wild Oats X and Peter Harburg's Queensland registered Black Jack has resumed with the same ferocity, Black Jack scoring the first runaway bullet over the line today.

Strategist aboard Black Jack Dave Biggar kept a weather eye out for new breeze lines from up the towering carbon rig and with the wind dropping in and out until it filled in mid afternoon from the NNE, it paid handsomely having the crewman aloft chatting constantly with tactician Peter 'Billy' Merrington.
Black Jack's skipper Mark Bradford had nothing but praise for his light-footed crew, special mentions going to Tom Braidwood on the bow and David Blanchfield in the pit.

'There was also a lot of luck involved, tomorrow it will be someone else's turn,' said Bradford dockside.
With legendary precision the Mark Richards skippered Wild Oats X was first out of the blocks of the Eastern Start line and went well to the right, the crew suddenly finding themselves stranded in a glass-out off the south east tip of Hamilton Island.

Those following the leader had the benefit of watching the grey and red boat come to a complete halt and gybed, Stephen Ainsworth's Loki, with Cameron Miles on the helm and Andrew Palfrey calling the shots, heading way left while Black Jack tucked in nicely along Pentecost Island riding the flood tide conveyer belt south to Lindeman Island.

Steven David's RP60 Wild Joe from Sydney, with six-time Olympic sailor Colin Beashel driving, pulled one out of the bag to be ahead of the larger Wild Oats X at the start of the long reach up Whitsunday Passage to the Dent Passage finish line.

Two impressive new 'Gun Boat' trophies have been introduced at Audi Hamilton Island Race Week to recognise the yachts that dominate the race for line honours during the regatta.
One of the trophies will be awarded in the IRC Grand Prix Division, where the fastest yachts in the fleet are competing. The other will go to what is judged to be the best performing line honours yacht across all remaining divisions.

Tomorrow IRC divisions 1 and 2 will sail two windward/leewards on the Eastern course area and the other classes will be sent on a course around the islands with the course number to be decided in the morning.

by Lisa Ratcliff

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Hamilton Island Race Week - Living Doll issues an early challenge

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