Ffree Fire assured of victory

Lindsay Lyons reports on the China Seas Race as it nears its conclusion

With the rest of her division parked up within 20 miles of the finish line, Sam Chan's eyecatching ULDB Sled Ffree Fire is assured of the China Sea Race 2004 IRC Racing title to go with her November Hainan win. Provisional results for corrected time show Race Committee Chairman Neil Pryde's Hi Fidelity in second, Frank Pong's Jelik just behind that and Kiwi Brian Petersen's Maverick II in fourth place.

This being the case, Hi Fidelity will be celebrating winning the Omega Asian Yachting Circuit title, as Stella Minter Ellison needed to finish in third place or better to equal Pryde's final circuit tally of 9 points. As Kinmonth cannot now finish better than fifth overall, Hi Fidelity is home and dry, even without the benefit of the permitted discard.

Ever the competitor, although delighted to win the Omega Asian Yachting Circuit title, Pryde admitted that it was a small consolation for losing the China Sea Race IRC Racing title to Free Fire. " Hi Fidelity had an excellent race, although the strong winds allowed the bigger boats like 'Ffree Fire' to make too much time on us. We would have been much closer to them (on corrected time) if we hadn't parked up outside Subic for an hour or an hour and a half, just before midnight.

" Ffree Fire finished late afternoon and would have enjoyed a much better finish due to the land thermals at that time - Jelik had a huge problem as she finished in the morning and maybe with hindsight it might have been better to finish the race outside Subic.

"We had no problems at all with the boat, which is down to the amount of work and effort that went into preparing her. Yachting is like motor racing in that, to win, the machinery has to be in great condition - you can't win if you don't finish."

Asked how he felt about the early exit of Omega Asian Yachting Circuit front runner Clariden Karakoa from the race, Pryde added: "obviously it's bad luck for Ray and it certainly helped Hi Fidelity (win the title) but as I said before the race, that's the thing about ocean racing - preparation is the key, but anything can happen."

The backmarkers of the fleet, consisting mostly of HKPN competitors, are progressing well with Tui Tai reporting that she was still enjoying 16-18 knot conditions with around 75 miles left to cover while Glenn Smith's Catalina 42 Bewitched reported losing her rudder overnight but successfully overcoming the problem to continue the race. Most of the fleet are expected to finish before tomorrow's 0800 radio sched, however there can be no certainty, as the winds at the finish line have proved impossible to predict.

Positions at 0800

Boat	Latitude	Longitude	DTF	Div	Handicap	HKPN	Est Cor time	Est HKPN
Ffree Fire	FINISHED			R	1.351	580	3.064	3.911
Hi Fidelity	FINISHED			R	1.236	600	3.146	4.243
Jelik	FINISHED			R	1.5	480	3.157	4.385
Maverick II	FINISHED			R	1.324	580	3.197	4.164
Jaywalker	14.45	120.12	2	R	1.152	745	3.279	3.821
Blue Juice	14.44	120.08	5	R	1.097	755	3.142	3.794
Standard Insurance Centennial	14.43	120.09	5	R	1.183	660	3.398	4.352
Intrigue of Stornoway	14.45	120.06	7	C	1.219	725	3.517	3.979
Time	14.43	120.05	9	R	1.176	680	3.402	4.254
Australian Maid	14.5	120.02	11	R	1.183	690	3.474	4.256
Shahtoosh	14.46	120.01	11	C	1.168	750	3.389	3.869
Moonblue 2	14.52	120.01	13	C	1.256	700	3.723	4.234
Stella Minter Ellison	14.5	119.59	14	R	1.117	740	3.266	3.951
Siren	14.54	119.57	17	R	1.187	675	3.544	4.424
Outrageous	14.54	119.56	18	R	1.128	705	3.322	4.177
Polar Star III	15.24	119.46	45	C	1.123	760	3.477	4.073
Dolphin Six	15.23	119.35	52	H		810		3.892
Kam Loong	15.3	119.41	53	R	1.063	770	3.351	4.094
Tui Tai	15.33	119.12	75	C	1.009	925	3.287	3.522
Bewitched	15.51	119.18	84	H		900		3.796
Moxie	16.06	119.3	89	H		1000		3.337
Windseeker	16.03	119.18	135	H		910		4.368
Drumstick	dns
Clariden Karakoa	retired
Lady Luck	retired