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Wild Oats to make Sydney Gold Coast Race debut

Home 2005 Wild Oats to make Sydney Gold Coast Race debut

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Victorian yachtsman Chris Dare will be racing against the clock to have his new one-off 49-footer ready for the start of the opening race of the 2005-06 offshore season and feeder race to the series of popular Queensland sailing events.

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The unfortunate cancellation of the Admiral’s Cup has delivered 20th Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race organisers good news with a new high profile line honours and handicap contender joining the anniversary race fleet.

Bob Oatley’s Reichel/Pugh 66 Wild Oats, which was due to be in Cowes in July for the Admiral’s Cup before heading to the Rolex Maxi Worlds in Sardinia, will instead make its Gold Coast Race debut on Saturday 30 July 2005.

With the absence of Grant Wharington’s super maxi Skandia, maxi Nicorette and possibly the 98-footer Konica Minolta, the race for line honours is shaping up to be a contest between Wild Oats, the current race record holder George Snow’s Jutson 79 Brindabella and Wild Joe, the Reichel/Pugh 60 owned by Steven David which was Oatley’s previous boat. Sean Langman’s AAPT, a two-time line honours winner in this race, is another possible starter and line honours chance.

Bob Oatley won’t be on board for the Sydney Gold Coast Race. He is instead handing the wheel to son Sandy and principal helmsman Mark Richards for the annual winter race to the Queensland Gold Coast and will join the crew for Hahn Premium Hamilton Island Race Week in August.

Riding on the back of his Mooloolaba Race line honours win, businessman Steven David has high hopes for his first Sydney Gold Coast Race with the canting keeled Wild Joe.

“We learnt a lot from the Mooloolaba Race and have made some minor modifications, including those required by the new rule book, to improve our performance for the Gold Coast Race,” says David.

David is also assembling a top heavy crew including America’s Cup helmsman Iain Murray and his partner in the Star class, Andrew Palfrey, and bowmen Sven Runow and Josh Alexander. Relieving Murray on the helm will be Cameron Miles, Chris Links and Steven himself.

Interstate entries are expected to be strong for the anniversary race with the Victorian Reichel/Pugh 46 XLR8 (Graeme Troon) and South Australian sistership Hardys Secret Mens Business (Geoff Boettcher) planning to enter.

Victorian yachtsman Chris Dare will be racing against the clock to have his new one-off 49-footer ready for the start of the opening race of the 2005-06 offshore season and feeder race to the series of popular Queensland sailing events.

Dare is replacing Ninety Seven, the Overall winner of the 1993 Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, with a two-year old boat called Flirt which was specifically designed for the IRC Rule by John Corby and Rob Humphries.

Flirt has been raced extensively in the UK and was proclaimed the winner of the prestigious Queens Cup and Ramsgate Cup and finished third overall at last year's Cowes Week. 

“Based on her UK results she is very competitive against the DK46's and Beneteau 44.7s and behind the Farr 52's, Flirt was probably the best performer in the UK over the past 12 months.

“If we can sail her as well as the results in the UK seem to suggest, then I expect the boat to be a serious contender under IRC in the next few years,” says Dare.

The boat is due to arrive in Melbourne in late June and Dare hopes a month will be enough time to assemble the boat and deliver it to Sydney for the July 30 start.

CYCA sailing manager Justine Kirkjian is hoping for a record fleet for the anniversary race. The biggest fleet ever - 86 – went north in the 1997 Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race.

The 20th Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race Notice of Race will be available to download from http://goldcoast.cyca.com.au early next week.