Unusually for a return race from Geraldton, boats were treated to northerly breezes and enjoyed warm weather and calm seas all the way home. Early trash talk suggested a return race record, to add spice to Crush’s record-breaking run for the Fremantle to Geraldton leg last week, but as pressure softened during the mid-stages of the race it became clear that Optimus Prime’s 2008 record was safe for another year.
King Canute captured everyone’s imagination coming home. Setting a kite at Fairway Geraldton and carrying it through to Hall Bank at Fremantle the Yellowbrick tracker had her as the overall leader on both IRC and PHS. She was still looking good as she passed Moore River, but when the breeze shut down after the larger boats finished, King Canute’s position was looking shaky, and a collective groan was heard when her time expired for the IRC crown while she was still north of Fairway Buoy and crawling south at less than 5 knots in a whisper of breeze.
Despite the challenges, King Canute finished strong, convincingly taking out first place on PHS handicap and a very creditable third on IRC.
Showing all the benefits of an Eldrid-inspired campaign, Anthony Kirke’s Enterprise Next Generation set the standard, shadowing Dave Davenport’s TP52 Crush all the way to Geraldton to win both PHS and IRC handicaps, while on the way home she managed to close the gap to the bigger boat when the breeze softened in the mid stages. Enterprise finished first on IRC to complete a handsome and hard-fought double.
In the overall combined races, it was clear that Enterprise, with wins in both directions, would be a winner. In the PHS division, however, Bill Henson’s steady and consistent Sirene was rewarded with the best combined corrected time, some 25 minutes ahead of King Canute in second.
This year’s Lobster Pot Series attracted a disappointing four boats, so the Batavia Coast Trophy, a combination of the two long-distance races and the Lobster Pot series, was an easy victory for King Canute, which managed to stay a step ahead of the handicapper and score wins in all three Lobster Pot races in Champion Bay.
All results are still provisional, pending the outcome of several requests for redress.
