Lambs in the Paddock at Hamilton Island

1:29 AM Thu 27 Aug 2009 GMT
It's the newly designated 'Windy day' at the 2009 Audi Hamilton island Race Week.

From the top of One Tree Hill on Hamilton Island, Kiwi born Regatta Director Denis Thompson reports Lambs in the Paddock on the Eastern (Catseye Bay) course. (that is small whitecaps) so the building breeze has lifted from an eight knot east south easterly to 12-13 knots by 11am.

So far this has been the least windy regatta in its 26 year history of racing at Hamilton Island.

Racing was abandoned yesterday when the seabreeze failed to stabilize, so Thompson is much happier today.

The Cruising Division 1, 2 and 3 along with the Non Spinnaker fleet are sailing course 17 and after an almost drifting start, the wind began to build and the fleets are now midway through the 12 mile race. The Performance Racing classes are sailing Windward Leewards on Catseye Bay and the IRC Racing divisions are sailing a shortened version of the Baynham Island Race.

PRO Megan Kensington from Auckland sent the fleet east anticipating more pressure there and it seems to have been an excellent decision. Some amusing banter on the Grand Prix start line when race officers needed to move the pin mark and the crew from the Alan Brierty's Reichel Pugh 63 Limit offer to do it. A reference to their marking dragging efforts of a few days ago.

More news and images from the Race Course and from the Dent Island Party later.

by Rob Kothe

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Lambs in the Paddock at Hamilton Island

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