The mass start of 150 boats on two start lines made for a palette of colour on Pioneer Bay for Day 1 of Ocean Dynamics and Mount Gay Airlie Beach Race Week 2024, but the day was not without incident, as a number could not control their boats in the unruly winds that gusted to 24 knots causing many a capsize and broken masts across the classes taking part in the 36th running of the event.
Tommy Rue's Little Boss (Qld), an 11.5 metre catamaran racing in Multihull Racing Division 2, lost her rig in the big conditions, as did Performance Cruising Division 2 boat, Alabaster, owned by Ian Westlake. It ended both boats' week early.
"The start of the race was awesome," Rue recalled. "We dropped the rig on the upwind. Unfortunate. It was a bit rough out there. Everyone is OK – no injuries – and in good spirits. I have an awesome crew, but that's the end of our regatta. Unfortunately, we work with a small budget, so no spare mast. We came down from Cairns, so will move on from here," an upbeat and philosophical Rue said.
Ray Roberts is proving hard to beat again, sailing his Botin 40, Team Hollywood (NSW), to a win in the IRC/ORCi Rating Division 1 from Rob Appleyard's Extreme 40, Secret Weapon (WA) and Gordon Ketelbey's TP52, Zen (NSW).
Roberts, aka 'Hollywood', led his division from the opening race at this event last year and did not relinquish.
"It was a pretty hard day. First downwind leg to the island was high pressure sailing. Our downwinds gave us the lead. We turned round the island for a broad reach, and sailed well to get away. The first two legs were downwind, then upwind home. It was important to sail well through the troughs and tide."
Roberts, who has a mix of Polish, Kiwi crew and Aussie crew inclusive of tactician David Chapman, ended: "I felt the presence of Maryrose onboard today. Her partner died on my boat coming back from Hobart in early 1995, so Maryrose, who died in 2019, is always a presence on the boat."
In the Performance Racing division, George Kompolthy held off two WSC committee members to take the win with his Super 30, Mr Mojo (NSW). Mark Beale's Farr 40 Bobby's Girl placed second, while Leo Rodriques and co-owner, Iyas Shaheen, took third with their RP36 Shockwave, Smooth Criminal.
"It was really rough," Kompolthy said. "We were nosediving in the waves, but ended up getting the nose up and were doing 18 knots with a reef in and small spinnaker - and the boat was still a handful! We busted two blocks so couldn't use the kite anymore. Upwind was a real slog, but we managed to plough through."
"We're very happy we went so well. We saw there were problems with some of the sports boats and multihulls," he ended.
In Multihull Racing 2, Drew Carruthers and a group of family and friends sailed Rushour, the Drew 15 he designed and built, to a win from Pierre Gal's Fez and Greg Alder's Top Gun.
"Rushour is a really strong offshore boat, which makes it easy for me, because it always stays upright. It was perfect conditions for us. We had a top speed of 28 knots and averaged 22 knots from the Cones to Gumbrell Island. The boat's going very well," the Queenslander said.
Carruthers added, "Everyone was well behaved at the start and we had a great day. The crew did a great job. We're not going to go well when it's light, so we're making hay while the sun shines, so hopefully that will be all week."
In other news, George Owen sailed his 4.4 metre trimaran, Weta 'Wetasashag', to a win today over his 11 rivals and said, "Drive and survive was my motto today. It was hard going out there."
Owen won the day from Terry Bailey's Manaia and Bill Henebery's Captain Cartwheel. Warren Myles, also in the Weta division with Sea Miles, elaborated: "It was a good 18 knots gusting to 24. Plenty of bullets (big gusts) coming through. On our course, when the bullets come, you get no warning, they just hit you."
Myles, Commodore of Lake Cootheraba Sailing Club, at Boreen in Queensland, sails in a class that has attracted a strong following with people over 65. "It's because it's a comfortable boat to sail and you can sail it with one or two people," he explained.
Myles said of the WSC hosted event, "This is a great regatta. I've been coming here since 2007 or 2008 and only missed one - because of the COVID lockdowns."
Following the afternoon prize giving at WSC, the crowd was entertained by DJ and Wave Raiders.
Racing is set to continue tomorrow morning from 10am.
Ocean Dynamics and Mount Gay Airlie Beach Race Week 2024 is held from place from 8-15 August and enjoys continued support from Tourism and Events Queensland, including as a feature on the It's Live! Queensland events calendar. The event also enjoys support from Coral Sea Marina Resort and d'Albora Port of Airlie Marina.
