Strong trade winds continued to blow to cast a collar of foaming white water around the windward shore of the Whitsunday Islands this morning.

The reliable breeze which failed to drop below 16 knots during the dusk to dawn hours overnight reached a peak of 38 knots blowing the dust off the Hamilton Island tarmac at 4-10 am.

Weather forecasters are expecting the breeze to moderate today but the strong International fleet contesting the 2008 Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week championships over the Whitsunday Sailing Club courses can expect to face another test of fresh wind sailing today.

The forecast will certainly please the champion Cruising Yacht Club of Australia skipper Ray Roberts who handed the competitively strong IRC class fleet a lesson in strong wind racing with a runaway win in yesterdays Saddleback Island race.

Skipper Roberts and tactician Steve McConaghy supported by the equally talented crew produced an unmatched display of power sailing on the spray drenched deck of Quantum Racing to record an impressive 15 minute 58 second corrected time victory over Chris Dare's sloop Audi Centre Melbourne.

This win and the incident packed fourth by Michael Hiatt's championship leader Living Doll has compacted the points table setting the stage for an interesting battle between Living Doll (11pts) Blue Water (Graham Jones) 15 pts Audi Centre Melbourne 15pts and the proven heavy wind racing specialists on Quantum Racing 16pts when the race head to head for the fastest corrected course time in the 37 n/ml Dent Island race today.

by Ian Grant

Newsfeed supplied by