Andrew Short Marine-Club Marine wins Melb-Vanuatu Yacht Race
The Volvo 60 Andrew Short Marine-Club Marine has finished the 1850 nautical mile Queensland Government South Pacific Boomerang Melbourne to Vanuatu race, winning line honours, her division and setting a race record of seven days seventeen hours and six minutes.
Last night skipper and navigator Andrew Short reported; ‘Before dawn we went through the Passe De La Sarcelle - the narrow inside passage through the coral reefs at the bottom of Noumea.
‘At the 05:30am sked we had opened our lead out to 470 miles and were still pulling away fast, with our bullet proof Cuben-fibre masthead reaching spinnaker up doing speeds between 12-22 kts.
‘Last night at the sked, we were flying along at 16 knots plus with our number 3 Reacher up and a reef in the mainsail with 25-30 knots of easterly.
‘Our lead has stretched to 530 nautical miles over the next boat and we only have 85 miles to go to the finish line in the mouth of the harbour at Port Vila.
At 05:06am this morning Andrew Short Marine-Club Marine crossed the line in Port Vila, Vanuatu to set an inaugural race record of seven days, 17 hours and six minutes.
Andrew Short reported by satellite phone; ‘It has really been a fantastic team effort from our crew of a great bunch of guys; The two Melbournians - out of retirement twice round the world racer-Mark Willett - (Co helm) and young Billy Sheers (Bow) and the rest of our Sydney Crew: Peter(Boxhead) Geddes, Scott Birdsall, Damian Hurt (all steer and trim), Justin Sutherland, Mick Stuart, John Magin (Grinders), Stuart Ford and Onno Schenk, (trimmers) Tim Harold, (No.1 Bowman) and myself - Navigator and Skipper.
‘The boat certainly lived up to its reputation as a very fast and safe ocean racing yacht with the only damage for this 1,850 mile race being a torn spinnaker and a broken halyard which we already have replaced during the race.
‘I guess it will take them a few years to get the Volvo 70s to the stage of strength and reliability of these third Generation Volvo 60’s.
‘After seven and three quarters days alcohol free, as you can imagine, we are all very much looking forward to a well earned beer or two now.’
‘We are looking good for the triple-Line Honors, Handicap honors and of course (as it is the first time this race has been run and there are plans for it to be a bi-annual event) the Race Record!’
At the 05:35am radio sked today Bill Rawson’s Nautilus Marine Insurance Helsal II had sailed into second place. She was 263 nautical miles south west of Noumea, with 588 miles still to sail. Pat Guidice and Brian Pattinson have the Open 60 Gusto in third place, just 28 miles behind.
The Commodore of the race organising Club, the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria, Angus Fletcher has his Radford 45 Tevake II in fourth place, 332 miles north east of Lord Howe Island.
On Performance Handicap Andrew Short Marine-Club Marine cannot be beaten. Her corrected time is almost three days inside that of the second placed Nautilus Marine Insurance Helsal II. Geelong’s Ocean Skins is currently third and with at least two more days of sailing she still has time to snatch a placing off the pocket maxi Helsal II.
In the IRC division Mike Welsh’s Alien leads Tevake II with Moomba third.
In the Double Handed division, the two dinghy sailors James Ryssenbeek and Andrew McCole have their Sayer Sumo 101, Runaway well on the pace; they are currently leading George Shaw’s By Order of the Secretary (BOOTS) ahead of Gusto.
The fleet now stretches over 1,000 miles from Port Vila almost back to Lord Howe Island. Mark Folley’s Bruce Roberts’ design cruising ketch, Solitaire is 64 miles west north west of the Island, with at least another week of sailing ahead of her.
There have been three retirements in a race which has had both soft conditions with boats being becalmed for long periods, and heavy squalls approaching 60 knots. Just a Minor Hickup hit a sunfish in Bass Strait and returned to Melbourne with canting keel damage, Phil Coomb’s Dekadence has sailed into Newcastle this morning with rig damage and Elektra, after suffering boom fitting damage, is in Sydney. Both of the last two boats are expected to sail north in the Sydney to Mackay race at the end of July.
In Port Vila harbour this morning, the Vanuatu customs officals are currently clearing Andrew Short Marine- Club Marine. While the crew line up with their passports, they are ‘re-hydrating’ with a case of local Tusker beer, provided by Vanautu Yacht Club Commodore Ross Wilson who fired the finishing gun.
Race Director Graeme Watt commented from dockside in Port Vila. ‘The town has been abuzz this morning, with most of the locals cheering for France in the World Cup final. Andrew Short Marine-Club Marine is moored less than two boatlengths from the shoreline, just near the local mid-town markets and the guys are about to come ashore for a well earned shower and a big yachtie’s breakfast.’
An in-port race will be sailed when all the fleet has reached Vanuatu and then the second leg (or arm) of the South Pacific Boomerang Yacht Race series, an 1,150 nautical mile race to Mackay on Queensland Whitsunday coast, will start on August 1st 2006.
Full sked information at www.melbournevanuatu.com
Vision online now at video. www.smarketing.com.au/sailing_video
To view Images from the event go to the following photographers web sites. Andrea Francolini www.afrancolini.com Teri Dodds at www.teridodds.com.au and Steb Fisher at www.steb.com.au