Yacht racing reputations on the line
Bob Oatley's triple Rolex Sydney Hobart Race line honours champions will need to find a marginal edge in boat speed to successfully defend their fastest times trophy in the Audi Hamilton Island Race Week today. 
'2008 Hamilton Island Race Week -’Wild Oats X’, left, and ’Black Jack’'
Jack Atley© Click Here to view large photo
Skipper Mark Richards and the Wild Oats X crew have been forced to play catch up in their Americas Cup style match racing against the improving Queensland challenger Peter Harburg's Black Jack helmed by 2008 Americas Cup sailor Mark Bradford of Brisbane.
Both almost identical 20.3m Grand Prix IRC racing yachts contested the same sailing space in the initial four races when Wild Oats X proved the faster in the Island Passage races while Black Jack was superior over the shorter windward leeward courses.
However Black Jack has continued to improve in the moderating trade winds and promises to again match Wild Oats X tack for tack when both highly experienced crews enter into another tactical dog-fight for the fastest of the series title.
Black Jack with her 2-1-1-2-2-1 score leads Wild Oats X 1-2-2-1-3-4 by four points which suggests the Wild Oats X crew will need to wind shadow every move or see Black Jack sail away to win the trophy with a race to spare.
The expected forecast of variable 15-20 knot trade winds which are likely to bend from South to South East will present an element of risk for the tacticians however the winds are not expected to alter the race plan for Black Jack.
'We on Black Jack are all sorted and ready to race'. Mark Bradford said.
They have progressively improved and are in the box seat to celebrate the 25th Anniversary Hamilton Island Race Week by becoming the first Queensland owned yacht to win the prestigious fastest yacht of the series trophy.
by Ian Grant 
Aldgate, SA
