Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore 24/25

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Race Updates - 2024 Flinders Islet Race

Race Updates - 2024 Flinders Islet Race

NEWS
22 Sep, 2024 07:23:00 AM

2024 Flinders Islet Race start. Image: David Hislop

Race Updates - 2024 Flinders Islet Race

Read a continuously updated race summary as the race progresses

Sunday 22 September 0700 hours (21 hours after start)

With Chris Taylor's Pogo40 Le Tiroflan just about to complete the course off Watsons Bay, that's a wrap for the 2024 Flinders Islet Race - the second race of the 2024/25 Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore.

Beautiful conditions were on offer for the return trip to Wollongong; the building westerlies seeing many multi-headed configurations and some impressive boat speeds recorded in the afternoon.

A procession of boats came in overnight and the Club stayed open to accommodate their post-race celebrations. URM Group continued their winning ways being the first to finish just after 6pm in a time of 8 hours, 4 minutes and 34 seconds. Not far behind were Whisper and Smuggler.

It was a reaching race that definitely suited the bigger race boats, with the TP52s Smuggler and Koa dominating IRC Overall and the mini maxis Whisper and URM Group holding down 3rd and 4th. Richard William's Calibre 12 was the best placed Division 2 boat in 5th. Congratulations to Seb Bohm and the crew of Smuggler who are looking to give the Pointscore a real shake this year.

Double-Handed IRC was won by Jules Hall's Disko Trooper ahead of Jian Lin's Min River and Chris O'Neil's Blue Planet.

The Wild Rose Prize went to Quantock.

(Smuggler. Image: CYCA|David Hislop)

Saturday 21 September 1330 hours (3.5 hours after start)

Three and a half hours into the 2024 Flinders Islet Race and there is a pack of four boats within 2 miles of each other off Garie Beach in the Royal National Park - URM Group, Whisper, Smuggler and KOA. They still have over 60 miles to the finish. The breeze is still out of the west but is more consistent and has built a bit to 10-15kts.

8 miles astern are the next chasers - Pretty Woman, Sticky, White Noise, Calibre 12, Quantock and the leading double-handed entry Disko Trooper - all in close proximity. The bulk of the fleet is not far behind but stretches back to Coogee.

Saturday 21 September 1300 hours (3 hours after start)

Race 2 of the 2024 Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore - the 88nm Flinders Islet Race down to Wollongong and back - got underway at 1000hrs this morning in perfect sunshine and extremely light and fickle conditions.

The fleet of 33 entries faced tricky 4-6kt WNW breeze at the start and were then challenged by a number of significant holes smattered all over the racetrack. A few of the older, bigger, heavier boats struggled to get rolling and limp kites were a common sight around Sow and Pigs.

Most boats pushed over to the western shore initially; the favoured side where the TP52s KOA and Smuggler soon took advantage of a spurt of breeze & pulled away from a pack which included the mini maxis Whisper and URM Group. At South Head, Smuggler outfoxed KOA to grab bragging rights as first out the Heads in what looks likely to be a good tussle down to Flinders Islet.

A large contingent of double handed entries were amongst the leaders; Disko Trooper_Contender Sailcloth again at the fore.

The last of the fleet were still leaving the Heads over an hour and a half after the start. It could be a long afternoon and night.