Secret Mens Business 3 smashes Lexus Adelaide - Pt Lincoln race record

8:32 AM Sat 21 Feb 2009 GMT

'Secret Mens Business III' Jack Atley&copy Click Here to view large photo

High profile South Australian Sydney to Hobart contender 'Secret Men's Business3' (SMB3) has slashed 40 minutes off the race-record in the prestigious Lexus Adelaide - Pt Lincoln Yacht Race.

After 14 hours and 21 minutes on the water, SMB III skippered by Geoff Boettcher, crossed the line at 5.21am this morning cracking the previous record of 15 hours and 1 minute set by Grant Warrington's Wild Thing in 1999.

'The crew is absolutely thrilled. We had our minds set on the race record and it's wonderful to be able to deliver such a strong result,' Mr Boettcher said.

'Grant Warrington was one of the first people to ring and congratulate us, which was really nice,' Geoff said. 'Two of our guys actually crewed on Wild Thing in 99, so the win was particularly special for them'.

'It was a bit lumpy on the nose coming across from Adelaide to Marion Reef, which was hard work, but from the tip of Yorke Peninsula it smoothed out and we were able to pull the spinnaker up about five hours out of Pt Lincoln,' he said.

Secret Mens Business III - Andrea Francolini / Skandia

It caps off an already fabulous season for the 47 foot SMB, having broken the Sydney to Hobart record for an SA boat and for boats under 50 ft.

Exile, skippered by Nick George, was second across the line, reaching Pt Lincoln at 7.20am.

'It was a good race. The first leg was hard work but the rest was champagne sailing,' Nick said. 'We sailed to our maximum capacity; we couldn't have done any better - we're stoked'.

SMB III and Exile were among a fleet of 70 boats that left the Cruising Yacht Squadron in Adelaide at 3pm yesterday afternoon for South Australia's premier yachting event.

Dozens of yachts from across the nation, both racing and cruising, are still on the water, tackling the 156 nautical mile journey in the Lexus Adelaide - Pt Lincoln Yacht Race.

'The race conditions were certainly a lot better than last year, when more than half the yachts were forced to retire,' said Event Chairman David Buckland.

'This is a race which offers some of Australia's most exciting waters and that's why the yachties come back year upon year,' Mr Buckland said.

The last boat in the fleet is expected to reach Pt Lincoln at around 7pm tonight.

The open ocean race is followed by the Lexus Lincoln Regatta - a week of racing offering spectacular flat-water sailing in Pt Lincoln's picturesque Boston Bay for IRC, Cruising, Multihull's, Trailables and J24's.

'The regatta is as much loved for its friendly hospitality and on-shore festivities as it is for its stunning flat water racing,' Mr Buckland said.

by Nicole Haack

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