Kiwis catch elusive breeze and fly away at ABRW
'Wired - Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week 2008. Photo: Peter Campbell'
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The New Zealand yacht Wired has dashed away to a massive lead in today's opening race for the IRC Division of the 2008 Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week in the Whitsunday Islands of tropical Far North Queensland.
The Bakewell-White 52, skippered by Bob Bassett from the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, was the first to sail into an elusive the south-easterly trade winds out in the Whitsunday Passage after a frustrating first beat to windward in a fickle breeze of less than 6 knots.
In her wake, she left the rest of the IRC Division 1 boats far astern and an hour after the start was at least a couple of sea miles ahead of the next boat, fellow Kiwi Pussy Galore, Anatole Masfen's Cookson 50, as she reached north towards Double Cone Island.
With light south-westerly morning breeze fading to nothing in the start area out in Pioneer Bay, Principal Race Officer Tony Denham abandoned the Cone Islands - Armit Island course for all but IRC Divisions 1 and 2.
Early this afternoon he had the rest of the fleet on hold and was planning to set a new course once the trade wind filled in to Pioneer Bay.
Wired sailed a clever first leg, a two-mile beat to windward, moving from the left to the right hand side of course halfway up the leg and picking up a good slant into the mark that put her 41 seconds ahead of Pussy Galore, with Ray Roberts' Cookson 50 from Sydney, almost two minutes further astern. Fourth to round was the Swan 45 Tulip, skippered by Bernie Vanthof, also from Sydney.
Setting a code 0, Wired sailed on a close reach out towards the Passage before finally picking up a 10-15 knot south-easterly that sent her dashing downwind towards Double Cone Island, followed far astern by Pussy Galore, Living Doll, Tulip and Quantum Racing.
? Racing for other divisions finally got under way at 1255 on alternative courses in Pioneer Bay in a 10-12 knot east-south-easterly breeze.
by Peter Campbell 
Port Macquarie, NSW
