24 July 2006

Sydney Mooloolaba and Sydney Mackay fleets join migration north this Saturday

This Saturday, 29 July, a fleet of 38 yachts will join the humpback whale migration north along the east coast of Australia to warmer waters with the start of the Sydney Mooloolaba and Sydney Mackay yacht races

But following Wild Oats X’s whale tail slap from a humpback at 3.00am in the morning en route to Hamilton Island for owner Bob Oatley last week, the Sydney Mooloolaba and Sydney Mackay fleets will be hoping to stay well clear of the giants of the sea.

With the final race of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s BMW Sydney Winter Series decided yesterday, the countdown to the start of the northern Queensland yachting program, which attracts a big following from the southern states, is on.

The Sydney Mooloolaba and Sydney Mackay races will start at 1.00pm off Nielsen Park this Saturday, 29 July, and will feed entries into Airlie Beach and Hamilton Island race weeks, a bonanza of sailing for those who can arrange a month off work.

This Saturday’s starting line up is heavily weighted with smaller and mid sized boats and many are first time entrants. A number of the larger boats which might have competed are overseas contesting the European summer circuit leaving Grant Wharington’s 30m Skandia from Victoria and Steven David’s Reichel/Pugh 60 Wild Joe, fresh from its win in yesterday’s Ladies Day Race on Sydney Harbour, to represent the big end of town.

Amongst the smaller boats and a first timer for the race to Mooloolaba is Andrew Buckland and Andrew Hunn’s Mr Kite 40 called Mr Kite. A decidedly low key Buckland admits they’ve been “doing a lot of fiddling” since striking trouble at the start of the last major ocean race they attempted, but wouldn’t divulge much more.

Newcomer Knee Deep, a Beneteau 40.7 from Western Australia owned by Chris Hogan, has been chartered for the Sydney Mooloolaba, Bird Island, Cabbage Tree and Rolex Sydney Hobart races by Philip Childs, a Perth surgeon who skippered his own boat Courtesan to win Division D in the 2004 Rolex Sydney Hobart. Most of the crew from that race are returning to campaign Knee Deep, named after Childs’ Margaret River Vineyard and Winery - Knee Deep Wines - for the upcoming season.

The smallest boat contesting both races is Anthony Paterson’s Mumm 30 Tow Truck possibly sailing its final voyage under the expert hands of its owner and Lake Macquarie crew before being sold to make way for a new boat.

A healthy fleet of seven Sydney 38s, including first timers Hasta La Vista from Victoria and Limit from Western Australia, will race in their own division as well as for overall IRC handicap honours while the Sydney Mackay fleet will vie for a new perpetual trophy donated by prominent CYCA member Geoff Lee AM OAM.

A fleet of 40 had originally entered the Sydney Mooloolaba Race however two have since withdrawn - Colin and Gladys Woods' Pretty Fly II, last year’s Tasman Performance Series winner, and Martin James’ Infinity III, which was to continue onto Mackay.

Bill Wild’s Queensland Welbourn 42 Wedgetail has also withdrawn from the Mackay leg, leaving a fleet of nine to take on the 903 nautical mile race, but will still contest the 468 nautical mile Sydney Mooloolaba Yacht Race, the first points earner of the CYCA’s 2006-07 seven race Blue Water Series.

The official race briefing will be held this Thursday at the CYCA at 6.00pm when the Bureau of Meteorology will outline its preliminary race forecast to skippers and navigators. The race forecast will be updated at 8.30am on Saturday morning at the official weather briefing.

Both fleets heading north will carry tracking devices that will allow constant updating of their positions across the fleet via Yacht Tracker, and provisional handicap placings. From Mooloolaba, the Sydney Mackay fleet can be tracked via Google Earth on the Sydney Mackay Yacht Race website.

Entry lists for both races are available from the race websites:
Sydney Mooloolaba Yacht Race http://mooloolaba.cyca.com.au 
Sydney Mackay Yacht Race http://mackay.cyca.com.au