| Light air spinnaker start to 24th Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race. |
| By CYCA Event Media. |
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Photos and edited By Peter Andrews. |
16:00 AEST, July 25, 2009. |
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| The Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race commenced at 1pm today in light ESE breeze of 3 to 5 knots, with a strong ebb tide and in glorious sunshine. A total of 80 boats took to the start line with a total of 859 crew onboard the yachts. |
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Mike Roberts and Anthony Hooper's
Sydney 38 The Bigger Picture, leaving the
docks of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, ahead
of the start of the Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race
2009.
Photo © Peter Andrews.
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| Craig Cairnduff from the Audi Centre Sydney had the honour of starting the race by firing the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s 19th century replica cannon. "It was a pleasure to be given the honour of starting this race. It’s not something you do everyday. Watching the yachts go up the harbour was a stunning sight," said Cairnduff. |
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Geoff Ross' Reichel Pugh 55 Yendys,
just after the start of the Audi Sydney to Gold Coast
Yacht Race 2009.
Photo © Peter Andrews.
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| Wild Oats X, Wot Now and Yendys chose the Committee boat end of the start line, but it was those that started down the pin end of line that got off to a better start. Tony Donnellan’s Shamrock nailed the start which saw him take an early lead on the fleet which he held to the heads. |
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The bowman onboard Robert Oatley’s
Reichel Pugh 66 Wild Oats X, after the start
of the Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race 2009.
Photo © Peter Andrews.
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| Andrew Short’s Pricewaterhouse Coopers also got themselves into a good position, with Ray Sweeney’s Sydney 38 Mondo, Peter Millard and John Honan’s Lahana, and Stephen Ainsworth’s Loki, who all benefited from the pin end of the starting line. |
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Tony Donnellan’s Shamrock nailed the start which saw him take an early lead on the fleet which he held to the heads.
Photo © Peter Andrews.
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| Michael Hiatt’s Living Doll was called on course side (OCS) just ahead of the starting gun. Having returned and re-started the race, Living Doll made a spectacular recovery to catch up to the lead boats within minutes. |
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Michael Hiatt’s Farr 55 Living Doll, below North Head after the start of
the Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race 2009.
Photo © Peter Andrews.
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Peter Harburg’s Black Jack who was in the middle of the start line appeared to get boxed in and had a tough fight to find some breeze.
As yachts approached Hornby lighthouse, the breeze had swung around to come from the northeast at around 5 to 8 knots of wind speed, as predicted at the weather briefing earlier in the day. |
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New Zealand entrant Ray Haslar's Davidson
35 Jive Talkin, below North Head after the start of
the Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race 2009.
Photo © Peter Andrews.
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| First out of the heads was Tony Donnellan’s Reichel Pugh 47 Shamrock by a bow sprit from Robert Oatley’s Reichel Pugh 66 Wild Oats X. Both were closely followed by Andrew Short’s Reichel Pugh 80 Pricewaterhouse Coopers. |
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Victorian yachts Rob Hanna's Cookson
50 Shogun and Bruce Taylor's Caprice 40 Chutzpah, outside
the heads after the start of the Audi Sydney Gold Coast
Yacht Race 2009.
Photo © Peter Andrews.
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| In the light conditions the fleet took around 30 minutes to reach the heads. Once through the heads, Pricewaterhouse Coopers took the lead with Wild Oats X close behind.
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Graeme Wood's Judel Vrolijik TP52 Wot
Now, in
the care of skipper Peter Seary and watch captain
Stuart Bannatyne. Bannatyne has just returned from
a successful Transpac race and the Volvo Ocean
Race with the winner, Ericsson 4. Mike
Dunstan and Chris Nicholson (watch captain on Puma
Ocean Racing for the Volvo ocean Race) are
also onboard Wot Now.
Photo © Peter Andrews.
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The fleet can be tracked on the internet as they sail up the coast as each yacht is fitted with the CYCA’s unique yacht tracking device which sends regular updates to the race website at: http://goldcoast.cyca.com.au.
Details of all yachts participating in the event can be found under ‘The Yachts’ tab. Line honours positions and handicap results will be updated regularly until the last boat cross the finish line.
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 |
