Good day for Quantum despite poor start

Di Pearson reports from Hahn Premium Race Week at Hamilton Island

Six races under the belt at the Hahn Premium Race Week at Hamilton Island this afternoon and the competition is really heating up as all in the IRC and Sydney 38 classes vie for the vital points as the series draws to a close.

Racing got underway late as the wind refused to come in and crews took the opportunity for a bit of water skiing and kite flying from the back of their boats. However, a light northerly five knot breeze finally arrived. “You had to stay out of the middle it was so soft, the call was either hard left or hard right," said Quantum Racing’s tactician Steve McConaghy.

While all had no choice but to sail in the light air, conditions picked up somewhat in race six, the second race of the day. Competitors had a hard time though. With the wind going from north to north-east, the Performance Handicap was the last class to start and all were forced to do so on port tack.

“The angles were all wrong,” was how Living Doll’s owner skipper Michael Hiatt from the IRC Racing Class described it. “It was a straight beat and a straight downhill.” McConaghy commented: "We didn’t even have to tack - we made the top mark in one leg and the same for downwind. It was a sore talking point back at the dock. "

However, McConaghy and the DK46’s owner Ray Roberts were not complaining too much. Coming up to the start right at the pin, the Cookson 50 owned by Hiatt squeezed in, hit the mark and forced Quantum Racing out of the start. A late start and McConaghy decided it was smart to tack straight off the line onto port.

“In retrospect, it was the best thing we could have done. We laid the mark in one and went on to win the race, so luckily it worked in our favour, but the course was a bad one.” At least winds had increased to 12 plus knots with gusts.

Apart from dissatisfaction with the course, Hiatt said he and his crew were having a ball at Hamilton Island and enjoying the racing. “The competition has been very tough - it’s been tough going - all the different breezes, you can’t afford to lose concentration.”

Hiatt is back used a fixed keel, while his two Cookson competitors are canting. But the Victorian says he will go back to the canting keel when he races his boat to Hobart this year.

A little Mumm 30, Kato (Bruce Eddington) pipped her counterparts in the first race off the day, getting away at a blinding pace at the pin end of the line, timing their start perfectly to go on and win the race.

Overall though, the South Australian Reichel/Pugh 46 Hardys Secret Mens Business holds a one point series lead over Quantum Racing (NSW) with a further two points to HSMB’s sistership XLR8, Graeme Troon’s well sailed Victorian entry skippered by John 'Savvo' Savage with Olympic 470 Gold Medallist Tom King calling the shots.

In the Big Boat class, Bob Oatley’s Wild Oats steered by Mark Richards wasn’t too troubled today, taking line honours in both races. However, in the earlier light air race, a number of classes converged on the leeward mark causing mayhem for all - advantageous to some, but not for others. Grant Wharington’s super maxi Skandia looked a little lifeless in the earlier race, but gave her monies worth in race six.

Meanwhile Loki Stephen Ainsworth’s Reichel/Pugh 60 had a blinding race five to take the overall honours from Wild Joe (Steven David), but the latter came back well to take out race six overall from Wild Oats with Dick Cawse’s Vanguard finally getting up for a third place, making it a happy day for the Lyons/Cawse 60 crew from Sydney.

For the series overall, Wild Joe (NSW) has a three point lead over the fixed keeled Loki with Wild Oats another two points in arrears.

In the Sydney 38 class today, Guido Belgiorno Nettis got closer to his dream of reclaiming his 2005 title, taking out race five from his adversary and series leader Shining Sea (Steve Kulmar), after both got away to a late start.

However, in the heavier air race six, Steven Proud’s Swish took the honours from Shining Sea and Rush (David Calvert), with Transfusion finishing a lack-lustre fifth. Overall for the series, Kulmar’s Sydney entry leads Transfusion (also from Sydney) by two points. The next best placed boat is Swish, which is a further nine points behind.