How to watch the fleet heading for Lord Howe
'Pacha at sea - Gosford to Lord Howe Yacht Race'
Peter Campbell ©
Click Here to view large photo
Members, their families and friends - and, of course, families of competing skippers and crews - have two wonderful opportunities to see the fleet off to Lord Howe Island on Saturday afternoon, 25 October.
The classy 15-boat fleet will set sail from Broken Bay - the starting line will be set between Barrenjoey and Lion Island - at 1300 hours (1.00pm) with their first (and only) rounding mark in the 414 nautical mile race a large marker buoy off Terrigal.
Members, families and friends can either:
Pack a picnic lunch and find a firm spot on land at The Haven to get almost a bird's eye view of the fleet as they sail up from Broken Bay, past Maitland Bay to leave the Terrigal mark to starboard and head out into the Tasman Sea. Best to be there from one o'clock onwards as there are a couple of quick boats in the fleet.
Get afloat on the spectator ferry organised by Gosford Sailing Club. Tickets are on sale at the bar and office, or by phone using credit card (GSC phone: 02 4325 7216). Pick-up will be 12 noon at Ettalong public wharf and at Palm Beach public wharf at 12.30pm. Adults $20, children under 15 $10, under 5 free. BYO food and drink. The drop-offs will be within an hour or so after the start, Ettalong first then back to Palm Beach.
This year's fleet includes two boats representing Gosford Sailing Club - Bill Koppe's classic Pacha, which won the Sydney Hobart Race back in 1970, and Chris Dawe's Polaris of Belmont, a veteran of 22 Sydney Hobarts and many Lord Howe Races, built in Gosford in 1970.
Sailing with Bill Koppe will be wellknown club member and former yacht division captain Bob Swan - 'he's sailed with me in almost every one of my ten races to Lord Howe,' says skipper Koppe.
During the race, the position reports ('skeds') and progressive handicap results will be updated on the web site - www.gosfordsailingclub.com.aualong with regular news reports. These will also be displayed in hard copy at the Club and on other sailing web sites, including the CYCA, RSYS, RPAYC and Sail-world.com
The fleet includes boats representing Gosford Sailing Club, Middle Harbour Yacht Club, Lake Macquarie Yacht Club, the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club and Manly Yacht Club.
Heading the fleet is the maxi yacht Andrew Short Marine, an 80-footer sailed from the USA where she raced with great success as Shockave 5.
Andrew Short Marine's rival for line honours will be Getaway Sailing, the Volvo 60 skippered by Peter Goldsworthy which has taken line honours in the last two Lord Howe Island Races, setting the record for the new course of 414 nautical in the 2006 race - 34 hours 52 minutes 02 seconds.
Other boats of interest in the 15 yacht fleet include Sanyo Maris, the vintage yawl-rigged Tasman Seabird class yacht designed by the late Alan Payne. Maris is owned by Clean-up Australia founder and round-the-world solo sailor Ian Kiernan and a group of his crew.
Looking for another win since her first in 2001 is Occasional Coarse Language, Warwick Sherman's well-sailed Cookson, while a newcomer to the race is Patrice Six, Tony Kirby's X-41 launched late last year.
by Peter Campbell 
Paynesville, VIC
