Shifting fortunes

DECKEYE VIEW: HAMILTON PENTECOST RACE

Scrambling along the rail of the Transpac 52 Quest at last year's Audi Hamilton Island Race Week was an interesting experience, reports Kevin Green.

After a reasonable start in the light southerly conditions, we chose to be one of the most windward boats on the beat to Pentecost Island, with only the Swan 60 Ginger with us. Down to windward, the main body of the IRC Racing fleet jockeyed for position. On board, the pit crew worked the pedestals hard and headsail trimmer Alby Pratt kept the big foresail full. A regular sailor in the Mediterranean TP52 fleet, Alby's experience at keeping the carbon rocketship on its target numbers was obviously invaluable. On the wheel Jamie McPhail was deep in concentration as we strained to keep our height. My first ride on a TP 52 and I was enjoying taking in my surrounds when not darting across the rails for tacks. An interesting thing about the Transpac is its steering position. The twin wheels are well forward on the TP52 with a lot of deck behind the steerer, so it gives the helmsman the impression that the boat is much smaller than its 52 feet.

Back on the water, our heading would take us much nearer to Pentecost than most of the fleet, so it was decision time on board. Afterguard guru Ron Jacobs climbed on to the ultra-thin boom of the TP 52 and checked out the wind shadow on the northeast corner of Pentecost. To leeward of us, our rival TP 52 Wot Yot had chosen to go wide along with Wild Oats X, Wild Joe and the rest of the fleet. Ron thought there was pressure in low so we ghosted in among the rocks, but we weren't alone. The Swan 60 Ginger had the same game plan and a brief tacking duel ensued, with Julian Plante in the afterguard of Ginger keeping a wary eye on us. We kept the fixed keel TP 52 well-heeled over to reduce its wetted area and breezed right up to the rocks, with our tactician calling the depth. With weight critical, the afterguard barked at us, perched on the rail to take the weight in, move it out on the lifts or keep it low in the lulls. The TP 52 roll-tacked like a dinghy as most of the 17 crew leaned over the stanchions. Being the lighter boat undoubtedly helped us through because we came out of the lee of Pentecost ahead of Ginger and that?s how it stayed. As Ron said later: "There was a breeze through inside and that was the boat race, there and then." With clean wind, we beat our way to the windward mark. The bow team readied the big spinnaker and everyone up front man-handled the hugely long carbon spinnaker pole. The pole had to be lifted by at least two crew and taken back down the deck before it was attached to the mast on the windward side. On many TP 52s, this is avoided with the use of asymmetric spinnakers and a bow sprit. But a clean hoist set us up well for the run down to Pine Island. Once the boat was settled, the roller-reefing inner forestay was set up and a staysail hoisted as well.

The big mast jumbos showed 9kts in 9.2kts of breeze and with crew weight centred, the 52 lifted her bottom up and we were in the groove and could enjoy the views. The green hummocks of the islands contrasted against the sparkling flat sea and the crew enjoyed a respite. Sandwiches and water all round and even the sewer team got a respite, with Neil joining me on the deck. Neil had obviously acquired a taste for the TP 52 after doing Hobart on sistership Graham Wood's Wot Yot. "They're pretty standard down below for doing sewer work," said Neil. Having done a fairly tough Hobart the previoius year, he rated the TP 52 pretty well. "But there's not much in the way of accommodation." Wot Yot had pushed the 55ft Yendys hard all the way to Hobart but it was pretty tough ride, said Neil. "The TP 52s are a lot of work to sail really well but they're good boats."

Looking around us, only Ginger was near, ahead of us were only the big boats - Wild Oats, Wild Joe, Yendys and the Davidson 60 You're Hired 2. As we approached the end of the Pine Island channel, we hoisted the carbon heady and prepared to douse the huge kite. It was easily managed in the light airs and shoved down the fore hatch as the bow team prepared the working staysail on a foil for the last leg into Dent Passage. But we weren?t alone. A splash to leeward caught our attention as the huge tail of a whale emerged and remained on the surface - an amazing sight and a great way to toast the finish of our race. We knew we had done well, with our Pentecost rock-hopping effort, so third place on handicap was well-deserved, with only about two minutes separating us from winner Yendys, Geoff Ross's Reichel Pugh 55. Ron summed things up: "It was an ideal day for us, with the breeze under 12kts, but when the breeze goes above 15kts, the canting keelers would have an edge," he said.