Mixed fortunes for Sports Boat No Limits
Brisbane yachtsman Bruce Tardrew is having mixed fortunes with his new Sports Boat No Limits at this week's Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week - the first regatta for the fast Stealth 8. 
'No Limits - Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week'
Peter Campbell ©
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Yesterday he damaged the boat's rudder but managed to complete the Molle Islands passage race, then last evening he won a protest hearing that saw rival Raptor, Mark Buchbach's Stealth 7 disqualified from race 2.
Today, however, the odds rolled the wrong way again - No Limit's rudder snapped in two, forcing Tardrew to retire and limp back the Meridien Marina Abel Point.
'We led the fleet around the first mark in an 18 knot breeze and were still going well downwind,' a disgruntled Tardrew said,
The damaged rudder was repaired overnight following the damage yesterday, but the fresh winds and choppy waters on Pioneer Bay proved too much today and at the Bluff mark, with No Limit still in the lead, the repair gave way., the blade snapping in two.
Tardrew, a former ocean racing yachtsman, was optimistic they would be back racing on Tuesday, following Monday's lay day for all divisions.
'Today was great.we were first around the mark and doing fabulously, then the rudder went. We had no choice but to retire. We have this afternoon and then the lay day tomorrow to do the repair; we'll be back on Tuesday,' Tardrew added.
Raptor had protested No Limits in race 2, claiming a mark rounding rules breach by Tardrew. However, the protest committee found that Raptor had, in fact, broken the Racing Rules of Sailing and disqualified the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron boat.
Going in to today's fourth race for the Sports Boat division, No limits had a result record of 10-16-17 while Raptor's
scorecard read 8-dsq-8.
by Peter Campbell 
Port Macquarie, NSW
