Champion Sydney blue water yacht racing skipper Ray Roberts successfully steered his high performance Cookson 50 Quantum Racing to an outstanding win in the 61st Brisbane to Gladstone race.

Quantum Racing was a firm favourite after winning last year’s 60th Anniversary classic followed by similar impressive victories in the Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race and the Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Regatta.

Skipper Roberts openly admitted he is a self confessed lover of ocean racing in Queensland – ‘The Gladstone Race is among my favourites’.

‘By nature, all of the 308 nautical miles of the course are challenging but the wind and water is like the hospitality – warm and friendly’.

‘Quantum Racing will be back on the start line in 2010′, said the happy Ray Roberts.

The popular skipper had good reason to be in a relaxed and happy mood adding the 2009 victory to his previous wins with Quantum Racing in 2008 and Millennium in 1995.

His crew including experienced navigator Richard Hudson and master tactician Stephen McConaghy combined cleverly to emerge from a course long tactical ‘dog fight’ to finish ahead of the almost identical match racing Graeme Wood’s TP52s Wot Now and the Bill Sykes skippered Wot Yot.

The Quantum Racing crew built on a tactically smart start to hold the upper hand when they cleared Moreton Bay and then protected the margin to complete the course with a 5.1 second per mile advantage over Wot Yot and third placed Wot Now to claim a well deserved win in Queensland’s premier blue water classic.

The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia won the Federation Cup teams trophy which is often recognised as the nautical version of the State of Origin.

The CYCA secured the Trophy when three of its members’ boats took the top three placings on IRC handicap. Ray Roberts skippered Cookson 50 Quantum Racing sealed the popular win when her crew including five times Gladstone race winning skipper/navigator Richard Hudson successfully defended their 2008 IRC class win with a 25 minute 59 second victory over Wot Yot (Bill Sykes) while Graeme Wood steered Wot Now into third another 4 minutes 19 seconds astern.

All three highly competitive crews sailed to their potential in a complex weather system generally dominated by unfavourable 22 knot easterly winds which by the geographical nature of the course eliminated spinnakers for the initial 193 n/mls of the 308 nautical mile classic.

But despite the conditions and the added tactical gybing workload over the final 115 nautical miles Quantum Racing completed the course with an impressive 11.69 knot average leading Wot Now (11.51knots) and Wot Yot (11.32knots) to a deserved Federation Cup win.

Peter Harburg’s Reichel Pugh designed 20.32m sloop Black Jack helmed by Brisbane’s Americas Cup sailor Mark Bradford predictably dominated the race for line honours completing the 308n/ml race in 22 hours 7 minutes 18 seconds.

However while this was an impressive line honours win and the fifth fastest time ever recorded in the 61 year history the New South Wales team showed their class to claim the second, third and fourth fastest times and 1-2-3 on overall corrected time.

IRC Overall & IRC Div 1

1. Quantum Racing,  Ray Roberts 
2. Wot Yot, Bill Sykes 
3. Wot Now, Graeme Wood 

IRC Div 2

1. Ceilidh Lass,  Gilbert Ford
2. Pagan, Peter Kerr
3. Wistari, Scott Patrick

PHRF Overall

1. Shogun,  Robert Hanna
2. Cadibarra 8,  David Netherton
3. Black Jack, Mark Bradford

PHRF Div 1

1. Shogun Robert Hanna
2. Cadibarra 8 David Netherton
3. Black Jack Mark Bradford 11/04/2009 09:07:18 AM 22:07:18 1.4002 30:58:29

PHRF Div 2

1. Mondo, Ray Sweeney
2. Lady Katherine, Ben Stark
3. Marriah, Peter & Kris Holm

Cruising Division

1. Seafarer 4. Greg Lambert
2. Women Race4…Redkite South Passage, Bill Fenelon 
3. Marriah, Peter Holm 
   

For a full list of results, click here

By Ian Grant & Jennifer Crooks with additional information from Sail-world.com