Frantically finding a new boat for the Pittwater to Southport race
The yacht Frantic’s demise on the rocks
at Grassy Island during the last race of
Airlie Beach Race Week in August could
easily have meant the withdrawal of
the first Queensland entry for the Club
Marine Pittwater to Southport Yacht Race
starting in less than four months’ time.
Instead, skipper Graham Furtado is
scouting for a new 40-footer and though
the timeframe is tight, he’s planning to
secure a replacement by the end of October and still be part of the Royal Prince
Alfred Yacht Club’s first offshore race to
Queensland setting off on January 2,
2017 from the mouth of the Hawkesbury
River.
Frantic was competing at the Airlie Beach
regatta when its spinnaker became
wrapped around the forestay. Winds
gusting up to 30 knots kept knocking the
Sayer 40 over and dragging it towards
the shore, while the tide sucked the
stricken vessel in the same direction.
Eight crew members were rescued by
fellow competitors and the boat was left,
only to wash out to sea and sink. Frantic
was eventually located by a diver, who
saw the mast tip sticking out at low tide
off Olden Island, and refloated, then
towed ashore where Furtado’s insurance
company classed it a write-off.
Whitsunday Times report on August 19
http://www.whitsundaytimes.com.au/
news/airlie-beach-race-week-strickenboat-frantic-missi/3079341/
“It’s a shame, we were sailing it pretty
well,” Furtado said. “We’d bought new
sails for the Pittwater to Coffs this year,
which aren’t so good anymore. They are
all with the boat, which is probably going
underground.”
The Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron member had entered Frantic in the
RPAYC’s New Year race and was planning
another 12 month campaign before
looking around for a cruiser/racer style
replacement. “This was thrust upon us; it
would have been nice to hand one boat
over and jump onto the next one. Now
I’m boat-less, though I’m looking at a few
options in the 40-foot range and hope to
be back on the water soon,” Furtado said
positively.
Eligible monohulls and multihulls are
invited to enter the 370 nautical mile
Category 2 ocean race, which starts off
Barrenjoey Headland on Sydney’s northern beaches at 1pm on Monday January
2, 2017. It will be a key event during the
RPAYC’s calendar of Sesquicentenary
celebrations marking 150 years of operation.
The bluewater race feeds tidily into
Southport Yacht Club’s (SYC) Bartercard
Sail Paradise Series starting on Sunday
January 8. SYC’s high-summer offshore
regatta involves four days of magnificent
racing on the beautiful waters off the
Gold Coast.
SYC is delighted to offer free berthing
from the finish of the Pittwater to Southport race to the end of Sail Paradise,
on Thursday 12, to owners entered in
both events. The club has also arranged
accommodation discounts, at Hilton
Surfers Paradise (20% discount) and
Mantra (10% discount). Email Marketing.
[email protected]
for the booking codes.
Summer school holidays are a peak
booking time for the Gold Coast’s many
accommodation options and owners and
crew planning to stay on with their families are encouraged to make plans early.
Usually the RPAYC’s longstanding New
Year offshore race finishes at Coffs Harbour however storms earlier this year
destroyed some of the marina infrastructure necessary for berthing the fleet.
Race website
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By Lisa Ratcliff /RPAYC media
Further information:
For media information please contact:
Lisa Ratcliff m. 0418 428 511 e. lisa@occ.
net.au
For race enquiries please contact:
RPAYC sailing office ph. (02) 9998 3771 e.
[email protected]
Early Bird Entry Promotion! If you enter your boat by October 21st you will be entered into
the draw to win free entry and berthing to the SYC Sail Paradise Race Week