Hamilton Island Results

Heats 7 and 8 of the Musto Performance, EngwirdaMarine 505 National Championships saw the wind strength continue to decline. The pressure dropped down to the 5-8kn range. Marginal trapezing weather for the 505. At the same time, the start times had come forward to take us out of the worst of the tide to bring down the lumps. Oh yea and it was shifty, big swings of up to 30 degrees.

Heat 7 saw the usual battle to get to the left for the leaders, but there was an early swing to the left Quirk/Reffold (White Boat), Duessen/Spencer (Commonwelth Bank) and Higgins/Camel Groove Train) rolled straight onto it, the rest hung on. By the time the rest did roll, our lead 3 were going back the otherway and a long way in front. The White Boat rounded with the lead from Commonwealth Bank and Groove Train. Nothing changed till the last beat Nigel Lott and Robert Franks on Sweaty Betty cam flying through. They had speed to burn and moved to second by the finish, Groove Train came through for 3^rd after Commonwealth Bank sailed a poor last run.

Heat 8 took a while to get off as the race committee couldn’t get a stable breeze to set the course. Eventually we got under way and the gate boat lead, Kevin Cameron and Bevan Webber on Alarm Innovations came back from the right to cross the fleet and cover the bunch coming from the left. Jackson and Nicholson (farm) came up the middle in second and Phil Gray and Darren Gilbert from the hard left (Jenneau Yachts). This time the fleet was a lot more buched and there were plenty in contention. However the boys on the farm moved into the lead on the second beat. Alarm innovations hung tough, but there were a lot of different people in 3^rd. The wind kept cranking left throughout the race causing big position changes. On the final beat the Commonwealth Bank nailed the shifts and pushed up to 3^rd and managed to hold it on the final run with the race finishing in that order.

Overall, Cuneo/Warlow had two 5ths, whereas Higgins/Marsh had two 9ths after the centreboard strips started to come off. Therefore, with one race to go, with two drops, Cuneo/Warlow have it won. Higgins/Marsh are second with a 4 point gap to Commonwealth Bank (Duessen/Spencer) in 3^rd.

There is one race Friday, but so far, there is very little wind.

Race Report - Heat 5 & 6

Heats 5 and 6 of the Musto Performance, EngwirdaMarine 505 National Championships were held in almost perfect conditions. The wind had dropped to around 15-20kn and the swell had backed off a little. Add in blue skies and warm water and it was pretty hard to complain about.

The easing in conditions brought a whole lot more of the fleet into play as well.

Race 5 saw the usual battle by the Queenslanders to be first out of the gate. It was lead off by Cuneo/Warlow in Daring Kestrel 2, with Phil Gray and Darren Gilbert in Jenneau Yachts and Earle and Ian on Alexander & Associates. Then you had to add in the Toronto lads Rich Gallimore and Mark Jackson on 50Magic and Longy and Mick on Whatever, plus a bunch of others. Whilst the gate boat Sleek, with Martin Pike and Pip Pearson did look glamorous for a minute or two, this lot all headed to the left corner and picked up a lovely bend to lead around the top mark. Higgins and Marsh didn’t have a great start, so worked the middle, but had the pace to be in the mix. Downhill the fleet spread a little, with Higgins and Marsh able to get up to second behind Warlow/Cuneo and in front of Gallimore and Jackson. From there, these three battled it out with several lead changes. In the end Higgins and Marsh prevailed from Cuneo/Warlow and Gallimore/ Jackson.

For race 6, basically read the race 5 report again, except Cuneo/Warlow got the win from Higgins/Marsh and Gallimore/Jackson. This was the 3^rd win for Cuneo/Warlow and gives them a fairly solid lead. However, conditions are expected to lighten off over the next couple of days and this may see some other boats emerge.

Race Report - Heat 3 & 4

The action at the Musto Performance, EngwirdaMarine 505 National Championships was chaotic today. Heats 3 and 4 were held in some seriously tough conditions. The wind was reasonably strong, maybe 20-25kn with a few gusts higher, but it was the swell and waves on the course that really hurt.

Proof of that fact, was that no masts were broken today, but there were a shed load of broken centreboards, rudders and snapped gudgeons on the ground at the end of racing today. The combination of strong wind against solid tide saw some real rollers jack up on the course. It wasn’t unusual to pop up over a swell to find an upside down 5oh at the bottom of another that you couldn’t see. They we at their maximum 12-15’ from top to bottom.

Race three was again one for the Queenslanders. Cuneo/Warlow were the first out of the gate, followed by Earle Alexander and Ian Gregg. These guys seem to be running slightly flatter gear than the others and they were flying in todays pressure. Earle and Ian were the first to head back right and hooked into the next move to the right. Cuneo/Warlow managed to climb back into the lead by the top mark. From there they were never headed, nor were Earle and Ian. Behind them though, there was a tight bunch of eight boats and there were some position changes in the hairy conditions. With boats going down across the course, Higgins and Marsh emerged into 3^rd.

By the start of the second race, only half the fleet were left. Again the flyers came out early and again it was our Queensland friends, but this time Neil Long and Mick O’Donnell were out on the charge. However, none of them had counted on Mal Higgins and Nick Johnston with the Camel supercharger. Camel (Nick) is the biggest crew here, 6’5” and 105+kg and while most were dumping main, these boys were still sheeting on the centreline. They horizoned the fleet. Unfortunately for them, they snapped their rudder on the way to the start of the first race, otherwise I suspect they would have had a perfect day. Behind there was a big battle and again the conditions playing their part, with a lot of the front runners having a swim. In the end Michael Quirk and Simon Reffold just held out Cuneo/Warlow.

Tomorrow, the conditions are expected to be the same, maybe a little stronger and the carnage should continue.

Race Report Heat 1 & 2

Racing for the Musto Performance, EngwirdaMarine 505 National Championships got underway in great conditions Monday. 12-15kn Seaster and plenty of lumps for downhill fun. It was a long day on the water for the crews with two races and shifting conditions making it taxing for the sailors.

Today was a Queensland day. The first race saw the pathfinder, Malcolm Higgins and Nick Johnston lead the fleet on Groove Train and they had a large gap. But by the bottom mark the Daring Kestrel team of Cuneo and Warlow had pushed through, never to be seen again. By the end of the race, Malcolm’s younger brother Sandy and Marshy had popped through into second. The next three boats were about 3 seconds apart, with Michael Quirk and Simon Reffold holding out the Commonwealth Bank team.

Race two looked to be slightly lighter and a little more shifty. This time it paid left. Earle Alexander and Ian Gregg on Alexander & Associates were first out of the gate and had the fleet knock into them. After they rolled onto port, they crossed the fleet comfortably and they locked everyone in behind. The boys were flying. Earle is a long, long time 505 sailor and very popular amongst the crews around the World, yet he had never won a 505 Nationals heat. Behind, there was a real battle in three, Higgins and Marsh, Carter Jackson and Darren Nicholson and the Commonwealth Bank team of Duessen and Spencer. Jackson and Nicholson were second around the top mark, but were then rolled by Higgins/Marsh and the Commonwealth Bank team. The Com Bank team then rolled HigginsMarsh, but none of them could pull in Earle and Ian. On the final beat Neal Long and Mick o’Donnell hit a corner and pushed through to fourth, behind our lead three.

So after two races Higgins and Marsh lead on points from three boats on seven. Racing continues with two races each day till Friday. There is a little more wind forecast for tomorrow and the tide is picking up, so as a result should the lumps.

Race Report - invitation

The first day of the Musto Performance, EngwirdaMarine International 505 Australian Championships on Sunday at Hamilton Island with the invitation race.

The 505 sailors are truly enjoying sailing in this small patch of paradise. The boats are located on Hamilton’s Cats Eye beach and sailing nearby out of Turtle Bay.

Conditions are a little tough. Even though it is effectively a neap tide at the moment, there is still plenty of water moving through the passage, making for lumpy conditions and the wind is patchy, but everything else is unbelievable.

Hamilton Island and our sponsors have laid it on for the competitors and I don’t think anyone could ask for more. At the end of racing, competitors wander over to a huge pool 20m away and relax with a cold beer and enjoy a very relaxed environment.

The first invite was a South Australian affair. It was won by Sandy Higgins and Paul Marsh, sailing Hawaii 5 0. They were the first out of the gate and managed to tack and cross the fleet fairly early and get out to the right hand side, which became favoured side up the final part of the first beat. They rounded the top mark with a gap and were never headed.

Behind them at that first mark, there were about eight boats fighting hard for second. By the bottom mark the Commonwealth Bank team of Robbie Duessen and Jordan Spencer were second, just in front of Kevin Cameron and Bevan Webber on Alarm Innovations. These two battled up the next beat, with Bill Cuneo and John Warlow on Daring Kestrel 2 coming into the battle. Eventually, Commonwealth Bank stretched the gap between second and third, which ended up belonging to Daring Kestrel 2.

It was good to see Carter Jackson and Darren Nicholson on the farm move into fourth after a bad start. Carter has worked and is working like a dog to organise this regatta, which makes tough to focus on your sailing.

The first two races of the series are scheduled to start Monday.