Hot Green Racing Machine coming to Sail Port Stephens

8:51 AM Tue 17 Mar 2009 GMT

'Bruce McKay and his Wasabi crew head upwind - Sail Port Stephens' Wasabi Support Crew

A hot green racing machine will be a beautiful sight in the Port Stephens Marine Park next month when she lines up in Port Stephens Trophy at Sail Port Stephens.

A 12 metre class racer designed specifically for the 2007 Melbourne/Osaka yacht race, Wasabi is a full carbon fibre yacht with twin wheels, designed to carry water ballast, has a draft of 3 metres and a displacement of 4 tonne.

Wasabi's owner Bruce McKay has been reading about Sail Port Stephens on various sailing news websites, particularly Sail World, over the last 9 months.

He's watched with interest as the fleet has grown in both size and stature...and last week decided that he and his crew should join the action and the fun.

Bruce has had the boat for 9 months and sails in a very competitive offshore fleet out of Cronulla Sailing Club in Sydney's Sutherland Shire.

He has campaigned Wasabi at Airlie Beach and Audi Hamilton Island Race Weeks, as well as a number of the offshore races on the Australian east coast, and the more they sail, the more fun they're having on the boat, particularly off the breeze.

'We're really starting to understand the many little things about the boat and the way she works, so the opportunity to get amongst a modestly sized quality PHS and IRC fleets at Sail Port Stephens will be a another great test for us' he said.

Bruce, like many boat owners, has a very Corinthian approach to his crew - who all bring with them varying levels of skill, experience, humour, drinking capabilities, cooking skills and general sailing knowledge.

For this boat and crew, Sail Port Stephens serves up some good competition at a place not too far from home that offers good value for money and a great opportunity for non sailing members of the family to enjoy the regatta atmosphere and social mischief.

'Much to her dismay, my wife gets horribly seasick, so she hasn't been hugely enthused about coming to sailing regattas in the past 'Bruce said.

But with Sail Port Stephens, things are a little different...

'With Port Stephens being an easy 3 hours drive from Sydney, and plenty of activity for her to enjoy during the day while we're out sailing, then a nightly social program structured to be appealing for wives and partners as well as crew, she's quite looking forward to being part of the event with us this year ' he said.

And for Bruce and his crew, the timing is just right too.

'We're looking forward to it being a great end of summer bash' he said.

Red and green make a spectacular sight - Sail Port Stephens - Wasabi Support Crew Click Here to view large photo

To check out Wasabi in action, there are some great pics on wasabi88.com.au

Sail Port Stephens racing:

20-22 April - Commodores Cup (PHS)
23 April - Lay Day - Lunching Mischief
24-26 April - Yachting NSW IRC Championship
- Port Stephens Trophy (PHS)

From little things, big things grow, and Sail Port Stephens would not be possible without the support of the foundation partner group of Nelson Bay Diggers, Shoal Bay Resort and Spa, Peppers Anchorage and All Seasons Salamander Shores -as well as the resource contributions of the supporting partner group in SLAM, d'Albora Marina, Yachting NSW and Business Port Stephens, an initiative of Port Stephens Council.

Wild Oats Wines also joins as a supporting partner this year, and their wonderful range of reds and whites, as well as a stunning rose, will be the wine in everyone's glass at the regatta.

For more info and to enter, go to sailportstephens.com.au