This Year It's Coffs Here We Come
Newcastle Herald
Friday January 2, 2009
SPINIFEX rolled down the marina car park and slabs of warm VB gathered cobwebs on pallets all told, it was a pretty quiet start to the new year in Coffs Harbour last year, storm conditions having created a hiccup for the organisers of the annual race from Pittwater.
Competitors turned around off Port Stephens and raced back. Today, with 61 yachts entered, theyre going all the way in a 226-mile event billed as the "warm-water classic".Jostling for the lead will be a Marten 49 called Perpetual Mocean, and a trio of Farrs the 45-footer Pretty Woman, 47-footer Ausmaid and past Hobart winner Spirit of Lexus, a 42. The Swan 45 Tulip could also figure.The race starts at Broken Bay at midday and the majority of the fleet is expected to arrive in Coffs Harbour late tomorrow. Wild Oats IX set a race record of just over 18 hours in 2003.It's going to be a case of who uses the conditions the best, says Richard Hudson, helmsman of Pretty Woman. The way the weather pattern is at the moment, it's going to be a bigger-boat race. There's some hot competition around the 45- to 50-foot mark, which will be interesting.The host club, Royal Prince Alfred, is contributing a third of the fleet, but Lake Macquarie Yacht is well represented by six starters. There's Steven Ford's Sydney 39CR Fathom, the Sayer 11.9 Frantic, owned by Michael Martin, High Anxiety, which is Gary Chapman's Elliott 10.5, the Dufour 44 Performance of Mark Benson called Mojo, John Simpson's Sharkface, and the Archambault A40 Xstatic, owned by Peter White.Phil Arnall will fly the Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club flag aboard his Beneteau 40.7 Anger Management.That number puts the region on par with the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron and Middle Harbour Yacht Club.The race event website is www.pittwatertocoffs.com.au.
© 2009 Newcastle Herald