Please select your home edition
Edition
Henri-Lloyd - For the Obsessed

Brisbane to Gladstone Multihull Race 2019 - Preview

by Peter Hackett 17 Apr 2019 23:19 BST 19 April 2019
Rushour is ready to rumble - Brisbane to Gladstone Multihull Race © Multihull Yacht Club Queensland

Well I said never again but here I am packing up the foul weather gear for a wet and fast ride north from Shorncliffe Friday morning to Gladstone (hopefully Saturday Morning).

Again the quality of the fleet is way ahead of the number of boats on the line, but the predicted freshening 15-20 knots South East to East winds with big tides can only help the greyhounds, except that my weather eye tells me that the later boats might finish with more wind to chew up the elapsed times of the rock stars.

The crowd will go wild this year to see Beau Geste, arguably the fastest boat in the international and multidenominational fleet of Karl Kwok. This Mod 70 flying out of the bay on one hull (out of three) must surely blow the multihull and monohull race record out of the water if they can keep her upright and in one piece. Yes, she is 70 ft and yes, there is a 100 foot canting motorsailor out there somewhere but my superannuation cheque for the month is all bet the big mother picklefork. Shaun Langman's Team Australia record is looking very shaky....

And then in the 60 foot speedboats we have Darren Drew's Top Gun, fresh from some recent great race results, duelling with Drew Carruther's Rushour, also 60 foot but she took 2 growth spurts in the boat shed to get from a little Rogers oddity to a big Carruthers surging racer. I have sailed hours above 20 knots on both of these boats and this is a race that could well be an episode of Game of Cats as winter seems to be coming.

Dark horse Rogntudju (should be French for Phoenix) has well and truly risen from the ashes after a soggy Gladstone a few years back and years of waiting for the love and dollars to get her afloat again. Relaunched with her mast stepped 70 hours before start time this true greyhound has awesome potential if only the right shackles have been attached to the right pulleys.

Boss Racing knows the way to Gladstone at high speed without Gary Saxby having to lift a finger, but a few tinkerings of the sail wardrobe might make her shake the big boats up in spite of the soggy ride, very likely to be under 24 hours for all of these boats mentioned.

The little black beast Morticia might look like a haloween adornment but if my weather prediction is right they could take full advantage of the experience gained in the Caribbean races last year. Pickleforks like upwind but this girl loves everything since she grew a fine set of foils.

And my ride on the recently launched Stealth cat Cosmo will be interesting as we continue to see what she is capable of with builder Al Carwardine on board. A couple of weeks ago we stayed with Top Gun in strong reaching conditions in spite of a LOA under 40 foot.

Gladstone boy Ray Hobbs has enlisted a bunch of dinghy sailors to help him have another swing at sailing fast home to Gladstone, and Storm Bay and Fruition will be working hard to stay with him right to the line.

In any case it has to be more fun that my first tilt at this race in an Adams 13 monohull upwind in five knots for a 60 hour elapsed time.

Related Articles

Third time not so lucky in Brisbane to Gladstone
Around half an hour into the 2019 Brisbane to Gladstone Race, Mat Allen's Botin 52 lost her rig. Around half an hour into the 2019 Brisbane to Gladstone Race, Mat Allen's Botin 52 lost her rig. This has put paid to there hopes of securing a hat trick of overall wins in the event. Posted on 19 Apr 2019
70th Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race
A big boat race at Queensland Cruising Yacht Club The QantasLink 70th Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race, organised by the Queensland Cruising Yacht Club, was one to remember for many reasons other than just the historic landmark it reached. Posted on 3 Apr 2018
Brisbane to Gladstone race preview
Strong winds replaced by fickle breeze The 2010 Brisbane to Gladstone yacht race fleet could face an unpredictable weather system when they line up to contest the 62nd Blue Water classic on Good Friday April 2nd. Posted on 23 Mar 2010
CYCA the top team
In the Brisbane to Gladstone race Cruising Yacht Club of Australia the nations premier ocean yacht racing club added further trophies to their impressive mantelpiece over the Easter weekend. Posted on 24 Mar 2008
Quantum Racing wins
In the Brisbane to Gladstone race Sydney skipper Ray Roberts added the 60 year old Courier Mail Cup to his impressive collection when he steered Quantum Racing to a resounding win in the 308 n/ml Brisbane Gladstone race. Posted on 23 Mar 2008
Sydney skipper firms grip
On the Courier-Mail Cup Popular Sydney blue water racing skipper Ray Roberts and his Quantum Racing crew remain as strong favourites to win the 308 n/ml Brisbane to Gladstone race on corrected time. Posted on 22 Mar 2008
Line honours for Ichi Ban
Brisbane to Gladstone race Matt Allen skippered his modified Volvo Globe race sloop Ichi Ban to a runaway win in the 60th Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race this morning. Posted on 22 Mar 2008
Brisbane to Gladstone race start
Slow start on calm Moreton Bay A light 8 knot sea breeze presented the Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race fleet with a slow windward start on a calm Moreton Bay today. Posted on 21 Mar 2008
Forecast presents challenge
In Brisbane to Gladstone race Queenslands premier blue water classic the 308 nautical mile Brisbane to Gladstone race will celebrate a major milestone when the start flag is lowered for the sixtieth ocean sailing challenge at 11 am on Good Friday. Posted on 19 Mar 2008
Forecast favours golden oldies
In the Brisbane to Gladstone race A forecast of moderate to fresh spinnaker sailing South East winds could favour the smaller well sailed sloops Saltash II, Wistari and Pagan to record a race winning corrected handicap course time in the 60th Brisbane-Gladstone Race. Posted on 17 Mar 2008