Quantum Racing wins despite mast drama
Sydney yacht Quantum Racing has bounced back into contention for overall honours in the grand prix IRC division 1 of the Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week, winning today's long distance event despite a mid-race drama which could have seen the 50-footer lose her mast.
'Quantum Racing - Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week Day 5 racing'
Peter Campbell ©
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With one race to sail tomorrow on the tropical waters of Pioneer Bay, the Melbourne yacht Living Doll, skippered by Michael Hiatt from the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, leads the series pointscore by just one point from Quantum Racing, skippered by Ray Roberts from the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia.
Quantum Racing won the 35 nautical mile Dent Island Race on provisional corrected time from the New Zealand yacht Pussy Galore, skippered by Anatole Masfen from the Royal Akarana Yacht Club, with Living Doll in third place. All three boats are Cookson 50s, with Quantum Racing and Pussy Galore having canting keels and Living Doll a conventional fixed keel.
Quantum Racing again won the start this morning and led the fleet across Pioneer Bay, leaving the Molle Islands to starboard on the long beat to windward down the Whitsunday Passage to Dent Island.
'We were beating to windward down towards the bottom of Dent Island, still comfortably clear of the fleet, when the headsail trimmer noticed the leeward D2 fitting on the lower portside spreader of the mast had become undone,' Roberts explained later back at Abel Point Marina.
'I immediately bore away off the wind and the crew hauled Barry Manson aloft to fix the loose D2,' he added. 'Had we not noticed the loose fitting and quickly pulled off the wind we could have lost the rig. The end result was losing the lead and a good quarter of a mile on the other 50s.'
Roberts praised the tactics of Steve McConaghy in getting Quantum Racing back into contention after rounding Dent Island for the long spinnaker run back to Pioneer Bay and the finish off Airlie Beach. 'He is a world class tactician and his gybing calls gave us huge gains as we raced back inside the Molle Island.
'We did a Lazarus, with Wired, Pussy Galore and us crossing the finish line, all three of us only seconds apart.' Roberts added. 'It's going to be right down to the line tomorrow for the overall trophy.'
Going into the final race, on Pioneer Bay, Living Doll is on 10 points after one discard from placings of 3-1-2-1-4-3; Quantum Racing 11 points (6-3-3-3-1-1) with the Beneteau First 45 Bluewater, skippered by Graham Jones from Port Douglas Yacht Club , dropping back to equal third on 15 points after placing 6th today. She shares equal third with Chris Dare's Corby 49 Audi Centre Melbourne which placed 5th today.
While the tradewinds were not as strong as yesterday, the 50-footers all recorded high windward and downwind speeds, the tide with them all way to Dent Island and a 20 knot-plus sou'-easter behind them on the run home.
Wired, Rob Bassett's Bakewell-White 52 from the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, logged 22 knots, as did each of the other big boats, although Quantum Racing's better gybing angles gave her a top speed of 23 knots.
Wired has taken line honours in five of the six races but has only once placed in the top three on handicap.' All our rating went up this year, but our's seems to have gone up double those of our rivals in the IRC fleet,' skipper Anatole Masfen said today. 'We have tried, without response, to raise our concerns with the IRC administrators in the UK,' Masfen said bitterly.
Full results are available at www.airliebeachraceweek.com.au
by Peter Campbell 
Toowoon Bay, NSW
