Scarlet runner levels the score

5:49 AM Sat 15 Aug 2009 GMT

'Scarlet Runner (foreground) leads Living Doll (background) at the start - Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week Day 2' Sail-World.com /AUS &copy Click Here to view large photo

Sandringham Yacht Club skipper Robert Date justified the expense to compete in the expensive Australian Grand Prix yacht racing circuit when he steered his Reichel Pugh designed 52 Scarlet Runner to an impressive win on the warm Whitsunday Passage today.

The Scarlet Runner crew deserved to be happy with the 3 hours 17 minutes 40 seconds they spent in a tactical arm wrestle claiming the major points to share the overall lead with fellow Victorian Michael Hiatt's Living Doll in what is proving to be a Victorian state domination of the 2009 Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week IRC class championship.

Scarlet Runner launched just prior to winning her class in the Audi Sydney to Gold Coast race still has traces of boat yard dust in her bilge but it was a totally different scene on deck where the crew sapping up the opportunity to race in a warm tropical environment produced a polished and 'Too hot to touch performance' for skipper Robert Date.

They were promised a chance to compete in a building trade wind but that promise stalled well south of the Whitsunday Islands leaving the 100 yacht fleet racing in seven classes to face a complete test of light air sailing in a variable 8 knot breeze.

Michael Hiatt's Bruce Farr designed 55 Living Doll held an edge in time when they cleared the Molle Island group and appeared to have the down wind speed to protect her rating but that changed when the breeze softened forcing them to tack downwind matching manoeuvre for manoeuvre with the challenging Scarlet Runner.

'I was happy with our upwind performance but Scarlet Runner kept coming at us on the downwind in the lighter breeze'. Michael Hiatt said.

Both crews became engaged in their own private match race with the Living Doll crew appearing to be the slicker sail-handlers with their gybing technique but the smaller Scarlet Runner continued to close the gap and was in good shape when they rounded the Hahn Buoy off Bluff Point with a short beat to the finish.

The Living Doll crew were living on hope when they claimed their second line honours but the 4 minute 52 second margin over Scarlet Runner was not fast enough to protect their 1.396 IRC rating against Scarlet Runner's 1.356 with the smaller well sailed challenger claiming an important win by 1 minute 7 seconds.

Deputy skipper Ian Thomson steered the Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron Farr 40 Eleven into third 42 seconds in advance of Bob Robertson's Cracklin Rosie.

After two races Scarlet Runner 2-1 leads Living Doll 1-2 on count back while Cracklin Rosie 4-4 holds third one point clear of Eleven and defending champion Ray Roberts Cookson 50 Evolution Racing.

by Ian Grant

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