Qld: Five yachts finish Brisbane to Gladstone

AAP General News (Australia)
04-11-2009
Qld: Five yachts finish Brisbane to Gladstone

BRISBANE, April 11 AAP - Five yachts are already home in the 61st Brisbane to Gladstone
race, but the last boat in the fleet isn't expected to cross the line until lunch time
on Easter Sunday.

Peter Harburg's pocket rocket Black Jack romped to an impressive line honours victory
in the 308 nautical mile race on Saturday morning, finishing at 9.07am (AEST).

Quantum Racing took second place at 1.23pm (AEST), closely followed by Wot Yot, Wot
Now and Shogun.

Racing under principal helmsman Mark Bradford, Black Jack's crew overcame relatively
light winds to become the first 20-metre yacht to complete the physically demanding classic
in less than 24 hours.

Bradford was full of praise for the crew who had virtually no sleep overnight.

They had averaged 14.86 knots in winds that failed to gust above 20 knots.

"It was a fairly uneventful night which improved with the fast ride across the top
of Hervey Bay," Bradford said.

Black Jack's official course time was 22 hours, seven minutes and 18 seconds, setting
the race handicap clock ticking against 47 rivals.

The yacht had docked and the crew were enjoying a cold beer while Quantum Racing, Wot
Now, Wot Yacht and Shogun duelled for the minor places.

All four high performance yachts continued to race in close company but still had 55
miles to race when Black Jack finished.

Quantum Racing is tipped to take provisional handicap honours, which will be confirmed on Sunday.

She finished at 26 hours, 21 minutes and 23 seconds.

AAP bp/it/apm

KEYWORD: SAIL GLADSTONE UPDATE

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