Skip to main content
Time to race start
00 days
:
00 hours
:
00 mins
:
00 secs

New Zealand crew hoping for something dramatic weather-wise

Home 2004 New Zealand crew hoping for something dramatic weather-wise

Zana - NZ maxi

On board Bruce Dover’s EZ Street, they aren’t worrying about chartering helicopters or whether their average boat speed drops below 11 knots.

news
—

“We are on track at this pace,” said Skandia’s navigator Will Oxley at 4.00pm this afternoon as they steamed northwards towards Coffs Harbour with a 15-knot east nor’ easterly breeze pushing them to the finish line of the Ingles Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race.

“We have booked a helicopter and we are hoping for a few general recalls,” he added, referring to the start of the Etchells Worlds tomorrow at midday and the hope that the first race will be delayed to give the four Skandia crew who are due to compete more time to get from the finish line of the 384 nautical mile race they will have just completed.

A final decision on whether to retire from this race to fulfill their commitment at Mooloolaba will now be made in the morning because “this afternoon’s sailing conditions make it hard to give it away at this stage” Oxley added.

On board the New Zealand super maxi Konica Minolta, which is just under 15 miles astern of Skandia in second place, the crew is hoping for “something pretty dramatic weather-wise,” admits trimmer Gareth Cooke, “because we won’t pull her back just out-and-out racing”.

The fact that the 10 crewmen on Skandia will be tiring is also keeping the enthusiasm up for the 23 crew on Konica Minolta who have been rested in rotation since the start yesterday afternoon.

Meanwhile further back in the fleet, a fierce battle is taking place between the Sydney 38s with Lake Macquarie sailor Brett Filby this afternoon reporting the crew of Yeah Baby is having the “match race of our life” with Lisa and Martin Hill’s Estate Master.

On handicap, Estate Master is leading Yeah Baby and Chris Way’s Easy Tiger in the Sydney 38 division.

On board Bruce Dover’s EZ Street, which is sailing in 68th place from a fleet of 74, they aren’t worrying about chartering helicopters or whether their average boat speed drops below 11 knots, it’s which curry to have for tonight’s dinner that is concerning the crew.

That and how they are going to drink the 14 litres of milk they seem to have accidentally stocked on board for this race.

Just before 4.00pm this afternoon, EZ Tiger was off Seal Rocks and sailing in company with Bright Morning Star (Wilson/O’Neill) and Greg Newton’s Antipodes in a 10-knot sou’easter as they “waited for the sea breeze to kick in”.