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Big Guns Prepare for 2nd January Start
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| Strathfield Pittwater and Coffs Harbour Offshore Series 2002-2003 - Big Guns Prepare for 2nd January Start |
NEWPORT, NSW AUSTRALIA-(30-12-2002) Rolex Sydney to Hobart Race competitor Andrew Short was cooling his heels in Hobart this afternoon, having completed the “Hobart Race” aboard his Sydney 38 Andrew Short Marine at just after 10:00pm last night.
Short’s program from here is a busy one. The team board a plane, returning to Sydney for the start of the 22nd Strathfield Pittwater to Coffs Harbour Yacht Race. This event starts at 1:00pm off Barrenjoey Headland on Broken Bay. “We look towards the “Coffs Race” as our second chance, having not enjoyed much luck in the Hobart Race. We have competed in this event six times and have won either overall or in our division on each occasion”. Short will be sailing a chartered Volvo 60 and is focused on breaking the race record of 21 hours.
Also preparing for the 226 nautical mile race to Coffs Harbour is the radical new 60 footer Wild Oats, owned by Sydney’s Bob Oatley. Renowned yachtsman Iain Murray has recently joined the crew as helmsman. Wild Oats is holding a crew training session on Pittwater today.
Wild Oats is a yacht of amazing pedigree. Her design features a canting keel, that is swung out to windward to keep heeling to a minimum. Last August she showed comparable speed to Alfa Romeo, this year’s line-honours winner for the Hobart Race, despite being 30 feet shorter.
This is Murray’s first Ocean Race since taking overall honours in the 2001 Sydney to Hobart Race, skippering Bumblebee V.
Eighty four yachts are competing in the 22nd Strathfield Pittwater to Coffs Harbour Yacht Race, making it the most popular ocean race on the Australian calendar.
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Source: Andrew Palfrey Media and Publicity |
