A fleet of more than 30 yachts, almost all of them nominated for the 2007 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, have entered for this weekend’s 180 nautical mile Cabbage Tree Island Race, the last long ocean race and NSW qualifying event before the Hobart Race.

The race, from Sydney Harbour to Cabbage Tree Island, north of Port Stephens on the NSW Central Coast, and back to Sydney, starts from the harbour at 8pm Friday evening.

The Cabbage Tree Island Race is the fourth in the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s prestigious Blue Water Pointscore (BWPS) of ocean races over the season, including the Rolex Sydney Hobart. The fleet is also racing for two of the CYCA’s major perpetual trophies, the 45th Halvorsen Bros Trophy and the 35th Woollahra Cup.

In addition to the 20 or so yachts that have nominated for the season-long BWPS, the Cabbage Tree Island Race has attracted ten boats using it as a qualifier for the Rolex Sydney Hobart.

Leading the BWPS and emerging as a strong contender for the Tattersall’s Cup, the perpetual trophy for overall IRC winner of the Rolex Sydney Hobart, is Graeme Wood’s Wot Yot, a Nelson/Marek designed TP52.

Wot Yot has had 2-3-1 results so far in the BWPS against her nearest competitor Mr Beaks Ribs,  David Beak’s Beneteau 44.7, with an IRC scorecard of 5-1-5.  In third place on the leader board is Limit, Alan Brierty’s Corby 49 which has sailed consistently for a 6-5-4 score.  All three are racing to Cabbage Tree and, in late December, to Hobart.

Also heading north tomorrow night are Syd Fischer’s latest Ragamuffin, also a TP52, the Pittwater-owned Secret Mens Business #1, the veteran former world One Cup winner Stormy Petrel and the Volvo 60 Getwaway-Sailing.com, which last week took line honours in the Hempel Gosford to Lord Howe Island Race, and Andrew Short Marine Brindabella,  the Jutson 79 now owned by Andrew Short, and Krakatoa, Rod Skellet’s new Pogo 40.

Middle Harbour yachtsman John Walker, now aged 85, is sailing to Cabbage Tree in his Peterson 34 Impeccable in preparation for his 24th Rolex Sydney Hobart Race.

West Australian surgeon Philip Childs and his crew have flown over to sail his Farr 49 Knee Deep in the Cabbage Tree Island, hoping to repeat his success 12 months ago with the same boat in this race, winning both IRC for the BWPS and PHS for the Tasman Series in the 2005 Cabbage Tree Island Race.

Among the other casual Cabbage Tree Island Race entries campaigning for Hobart are Jazz,  the J145 owned by British yachtsman Chris Bull, the former Hobart boat Quetzacoatl, skippered by CYCA member  Anthony Sweetapple, Papillon, Phil Maloney’s Archambault 40, Geoffrey Hill’s Swan Song,  the Swan 48 which previously raced as Loki, and the Farr 1020 Zephyr, owned by James Connell and Alex Brandon from Balmain Sailing Club.- Peter Campbell