Day six brought a different Whitsundays altogether. After five days of solid breeze, competitors sat on the water from 9am waiting, with racing finally getting underway at 12.30pm in conditions that barely reached 8 knots. Both whales and sharks were spotted on Pioneer Bay during the day.
The light air scrambled several division standings, and with a drop now in play for those who have completed six races, some results look quite different heading into tomorrow's final day at the 38th running of Whitsunday Sailing Club's regatta.
New Zealand sailors featured in the small boat fleet. Terry Bailey, sailing his Weta 4.4 Teal Spirit, took two wins in the Off the Beach Multihulls to claim the overall lead on countback over Stuart House's Nacra 500 mk11 school 1up, The Bandicoot, from Queensland. Bailey purchased Teal Spirit at last year's regatta and keeps the boat at his son's place in Brisbane between visits.
His return carries some weight. Bailey was at Airlie Beach last year, slipped over, and was initially thought to have a slipped disc before being diagnosed with cancer, which is now in remission. He has barely sailed since. "I haven't been sailing since I left here last year. One, because of the cancer and then it got too cold at home," he said. He also confessed he is "not good in light air, but slowly getting better at it." Two wins in a maximum of 8 knots suggests the improvement is real.
"The Nacras are faster than me, but on the breeze I'm competitive with them. They get me downwind though," Bailey said. On the social side: "I love sailing here. I enjoy the camaraderie, especially ashore. The Nacra guys have been great at helping me get the boat in and out of the water too. I'm still not back to full strength after the cancer."
Cat+Ion from New Zealand is also racing in the Multihull Racing Div 1 fleet, up against Guy Chester's Oceans Tribute.
In the Multihull Passage division, the lead remains with Bill Kennedy's Schionning Waterline 1480, Freedom Express, from NSW. Ocean Blue, skippered by Trevor Dean from Queensland, won today's race from Craig Molloy's Avalanche and now sits just one point behind the overall leader. "Light airs suit our boat, being smallest and lightest in the fleet. It seems we chose the right way to go on the first leg, which helped and then it was just a run to the finish line. A few overtook me on the way home, but we had enough in reserve to win on handicap," Dean said. "I'm fortunate to have such a good crew."
In Performance Racing, Smooth Criminal has overtaken Barracuda on countback after winning today's race, with the two boats having traded the lead throughout the week. Tasmanian Hughie Lewis and Hartbreakers sit further back but will likely drop a seventh place from Day 2, when Hartbreaker hit a reef and retired, ahead of tomorrow's final race.
Ray Roberts' Botin 40 Team Hollywood extended her lead in Rating Division 1 to five points over Grant Pocklington's Bakewell-White 40, Anarchy, while Paul Heyes' Thompson 920 Road Runner reclaimed the top of Division 2 with two wins, holding a three-point buffer over Beneteau First 45 Ikon.
In the VX One division, Rob Douglass' Dollop scored two bullets to extend its lead to four points over Scott Day's Great Xcape, with 11 races now sailed and two drops in play.
Racing resumes from 10am tomorrow, weather permitting, with champions across all divisions to be confirmed by early evening.
