04/08/2024
Only five boats faced the starter for today’s Magnetic Island Race 4, with other competitors perhaps put off by the forecast of 15 to 20 knots from the east. Everyone got off the start line well for the short beat to a clearing buoy set to windward. A starboard rounding of the island had been set and, after rounding the clearing mark, the leaders, Zoe and Single Malt set spinnakers for the run to West Point. Fahrenheit had rounded the clearing mark just ahead of Vaya Con Dios and the two tussled all the way to West Point, with Vaya claiming a small lead. The breeze was generally around 15 to 18 knots but increased to the low twenties near West Point as the wind funnelled between the island and the mainland. Meanwhile Zen was sailing well, keeping up with the Farrs and cutting the corner around the West point sand bank.
Rounding the corner, boats tried to find their way through the usual “car park” which wasn’t at its worst. Even so, Vaya managed a gain over Fahrenheit, while Zen also caught up to Fahrenheit.
The starboard rounding of Magnetic Island gave the competitors a change in the usual conditions, with a long beat to windward across the top of the island. The fleet chose to tack in towards the shore once they could enjoy the shelter (and therefore flatter water and occasional lift) near Horseshoe Bay then Radical Bay. Zoe continued to stretch her lead, while Vaya pulled away from Fahrenheit while Zen continued to perform well in pursuit of the Farrs.
The conditions took their toll on some of the boats, with Zoe ripping out the head of their No. 3 jib and Vaya snapping a jib sheet.
After rounding Orchard Rocks the fleet enjoyed gradually easing sheets for a quick reach home. First home was Zoe with an elapsed time of just over 3 hours, followed by Single Malt 32 minutes later, then Vaya a further 25 minutes behind. On corrected time the win went to Zen, ahead of Single Malt 2nd and Vaya Con Dios 3rd. Full results are available in SailSys.
Thanks to Owen and the crew from Boudica for providing a team for the start boat today.
Meanwhile the race for the Commodore's Cup continues to be interesting, with Single Malt now back ahead of Zoe by 2 points and Vaya Con Dios now equal 3rd with Boudica.