| Light north westerlies for the start of the Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race. |
| By CYCA Event Media. |
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| Photos and edited By Peter Andrews. |
| July 23, 2009. |
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| The Official Pre-Race briefing for the Audi Sydney Gold Coast Race was held this evening with over 160 people in attendance. Rob Webb, a Senior Duty Forecaster with the Bureau of Meteorology, provided an overview of the conditions that the fleet of 80 yachts may experience during the race. |
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Stephen Ainsworth's Reichel Pugh 63 Loki and Andrew Short's Reichel Pugh 80 Pricewaterhouse Coopers are both compeating in the Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race 2009. Both are seen here sailing past the mid channel marker buoy on Sydney Harbour, during the SOLAS Big Boat Challenge 2008.
Photo © Peter Andrews.
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| For the start of the Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race at 1.00pm, Saturday July 25, light nor’westerly winds between 5 to 10 knots are expected. The outlook for Saturday appears to be mostly fine with a maximum temperature of 18 degrees. |
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Ed Psaltis' modified Farr 40 AFR Midnight Rambler traveling north again and seen here after the start of the 2008 Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race.
Photo © Peter Andrews.
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These winds will continue to be light into Sunday, tending from the nor’west early and then NNE later in the morning. Boats may be able to pick up some additional breeze offshore around the Hunter region on Sunday morning.
During the evening, the wind will shift back to the west and there is a possibly that it may even swing further around to come from the southwest. |
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Peter Millard's Lahana when it was Zana, working up the Derwent River towards the Hobart finishing line at the end of the 2005 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. Lahana will be one of the big boats compeating in the Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race 2009.
Photo © Peter Andrews.
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| The unseasonable high that Sydney experienced yesterday has already moved through, with weather returning to average winter temperatures. By late Monday afternoon, an expected low will intensify out over the Tasman Sea and provide moderate to strong southerly winds for those boats at the back of the fleet. |
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Peter Harburg's Reichel Pugh 66 Black Jack is also compeating in the Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race 2009, seen here approaching the top mark on Sydney Harbour during the SOLAS Big Boat Challenge 2008.
Photo © Peter Andrews.
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| With 80 boats in the fleet, the start line will run between Chowder Bay on the northshore to Nielsen Park. Racing will commence at 1.00pm on Saturday with Craig Cairnduff from the Audi Centre Sydney, firing the the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia's historic 19th century replica cannon. |
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Geoff Lavis' UBS Wild Thing, during the Audi Winter Series on Sydney Harbour, will be compeating in the Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race 2009.
Photo © Peter Andrews.
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For line honours contender Andrew Short’s Pricewaterhouse Coopers, the race will be a dog fight between them and the other big boats of the fleet, such as Loki, Wild Oats X, Black Jack and Lahana.
"There will be different sections of the race course that will favour each of us vying for the line honours win. There will be tough beats and some interesting reaching conditions on the way up the coast," said Short. |
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Graeme Wood's TP52 Wot Now, seen here outside the heads after the start of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2008.
Photo © Peter Andrews.
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| For the Wot Now crew, they will be without the boat’s owner Graeme Wood. But they will be guided up the coast by skipper Peter Seary. Seary will work with watch captain Stuart Bannatyne, who has just returned from successes in the Transpac race and Volvo Ocean Race onboard the winning yacht Ericsson 4. Mike Dunstan and Chris Nicholson, watch captain on Puma Racing for the Volvo ocean Race, will also race on Wot Now. |
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Graeme Wood's other TP52 Wot Yot seen here running down to Fort Denison on Sydney Harbour during the SOLAS Big Boat Challenge 2008.
Photo © Peter Andrews.
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"Our goal is to try for an IRC Overall win and we are in good shape to do that. The conditions are okay but we are hoping that we don’t get too much rain. Joining Stuart, Chris and Mike is our regular crew of experienced offshore racers" said Seary.
"We’ll also be keeping a close eye on all the other 50 footers in the race and also our fellow Wot team members onboard Wot Yot, which is crewed largely by members from the CYCA’s Youth Sailing Academy," concluded Seary. |
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David Pescud's Sailors with disABILITIES, during the Audi Winter Series on Sydney Harbour, is also compeating in the Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race 2009.
Photo © Peter Andrews.
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Also one not to be discounted is the 50 year old Sanyo Maris, owned by Tiare Tomaszewski and Ian Kiernan. With the predicted conditions taking a similar pattern to that of the Gosford Lord Howe Island race, which Sanyo Maris won last year, a possible handicap win could be on the cards.
"The team has been out practising our manoeuvres three times a week from 7am to 8am for the last couple of weeks. We have a strong game plan and if we do our best and get everything right, then there may be a surprise winner on the podium in the Gold Coast!" said Kiernan. |
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Ian Kiernan's Tasman Seabird Sanyo Maris outside the heads after the start of the 2008 Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race.
Photo © Peter Andrews.
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| Each competing yacht has been fitted with a device that will alow it to be monitored constantly via Yacht Tracker, found on the official race web site at: http://goldcoast.cyca.com.au. Line honours positions and handicap results will be updated every 10 minutes until the last boat in both races, cross the finish line. |
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Bob Oatley's Wild Oats X is also compeating in the Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race 2009, seen here during the SOLAS Big Boat Challenge 2008.
Photo © Peter Andrews.
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The official website will again feature Google Earth, an interface that combines satellite imagery with local arial photography that covers the entire planet, within a model that can be zoomed, spun and tilted. Information on how to access Google Earth can also be found within the Yacht Tracker page of the official race website.
For a full list of Audi Sydney Gold Coast entries go to http://goldcoast.cyca.com.au/yachts.asp?key=26.
For more information about the host club of the Audi Sydney to Gold Coast Yacht Race, the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, please visit their website at: http://www.cyca.com.au/. |
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| Outimage and CYCA © 2009 |
