The demands of the Audi Winter Series fleet were met today with the winter winds appearing as predicated – strong south to sou-westerly winds between 25-33 knots and waters very choppy as a result. A fleet of 125 yachts took to the water in blustery conditions.

The strong winds enabled some of the heavier boats in the fleet to place well in their respective divisions. 

In Division A, Geoff Lavis’s UBS Wild Thing placed first (under skipper Andrew ‘Spot’ Smith), with Geoff Morgan & Andrew Banks’ You’re Hired second and Graeme Wood’s Wot Yot third.

“We were a bit short staffed without Mum & Dad,” said Andrew ‘Spot’ Smith, skipper of UBS Wild Thing.

“With a strong fresh breeze, this boat was in her element today. It was great to be one of the first few boats out on the race course in these conditions. Our regular crew made sure the ‘Flying Toothpick’ raced cleanly and maintained good boat speed throughout the race. We played our kite runs safely and finished the race in one piece!”

Commenting on today’s race, Peter Seary on board Wot Yot said “It was a great day on the water with some interesting conditions, which made for some great sailing. Graeme was at the helm all day and was pleased with how the yacht placed in its division. The crew performed the basics well including some heavy weather gybes, which allowed us to finish a respectable third.”

In Division G, Brian Carrick’s Velocity finished first, with Glen Stanaway’s Dart SB3 second and Robert Hunt’s Attitude third.

“For us, today’s race was about keeping the boat pointing in the right direction,” said Glen Stanaway, skipper of Dart SB3.

“We knew that the kite runs today would benefit us and shoot us up towards the front. If we didn’t spend as much time on our side as occurred a couple of times, I think we could have made it to the top spot.”

“During the week we conducted some fine tuning to the rig and this helped to contribute to an improved performance. We also tried to keep the boat handling errors to a minimum and held on during the kite runs. Today Dart SB3 hosted Phil Jones, CEO of Yachting Australia, who helmed for us during the race,” concluded Glen.

Other division winners were Gordon Anderson’s Sintara (Division B), Lost Boys Syndicate’s Solahart Rum Jungle (Division C), Tribal Syndicate’s Spearhead (Division D), Robert Bryden’s Tojo never made it to Darwin (Division E), Rob & Sue Segaert’s Shiralee (Division F), Ed Tacey’s Sans Terre (Division H), John Griffin’s  Apres Vous (Division J), Brian Clayton’s Quetzal (Division K) and Alan and Tom Quick’s Outlaw (Sydney 38’s). – Jennifer Crooks