Fiery Flinders finish
After what could almost be described as a typical Sydney Harbour start (minus the grey sky), the 2019 Flinders Islet Race unfolded to be anything but.
Photography by Hamish Hardy, CYCA Media
23 September 2019
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Close, choppy swells averaging nearly two metres in height, combined with the building northerly breeze, created testing conditions.
David Griffith and Rupert Henry’s JV62 Chinese Whisper has reigned supreme in a fiery Flinders Islet Race line honours battle with rival David Gotze’s RP63 No Limit, crossing the finish line a mere 37 seconds apart after 9 hours 47 minute and 33 seconds of racing.
“It was a fantastic run down to Flinders Islet, we were sitting on 18-21 knots most of the way, which for these bigger boats, suits them perfectly. It was just great, the TP52s are a bit of a challenge for us downwind, but once we get upwind again we grind away from them,” said Chinese Whisper owner/skipper David Griffith.
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“Chinese Whisper is an amazing boat upwind; it’s just a perfectly balanced boat and we had a great crew on board with no mistakes. They just did everything solidly which helped a lot.”
The line honours battle however was not won or lost in the water off the coast with both No Limit and Chinese Whisper entering Sydney Harbour within touching distance of each other. This set up one final sprint to the finish line in Rushcutters Bay under the cover of darkness.
“It was a great finish for us. I feel a bit sorry for the boys on No Limit who sailed extremely well but you know, that was the challenge. We were biting their heels all the way up the coast back from Flinders Islet. It wasn’t until we were coming down the harbour that we were able to nail them in different sailing conditions,” said Griffith.
“They were trying to block us but we were in a controlling position, able to break gybes and separate from them. They went over to the eastern side and we stuck more on the western shore which proved to be the winning move.
“The race for the two of us started again at south head with the finish in Rushcutters Bay. We had great fun sailing against them with only 37 seconds between them as we crossed the line.”
Five TP52s, led by Matt Allen AM’s Ichi Ban, were next to finish, all crossing the line within 25 minutes of each other and also just 11 minutes off Chinese Whisper’s line-honours-winning time.
ORCi saw Gordon Ketelby’s TP52 Zen placed first in both overall and Division 1 ahead of a string of fellow grand-prix TP52s. Zen was the first of the 52-foot yachts to exit the harbour after the start but was unable to keep the lead as they made their way down the coast and around Flinders Islet.
PHS saw the TP52 dominance continue with first in both overall and Division 1 claimed by Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s Rear Commodore, Dr Sam Haynes’ Celestial, with the following three positions also TP52s.
Division two across all three of the rating categories (IRC, ORCi and PHS) was a clean sweep for first, second and third placings. First was Mark Griffith’s Showtime, followed in second place by Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s Vice Commodore, Noel Cornish AM’s St Jude, with newcomers Marus Grimes’ Insomnia in third.
From the quality of the competition among the faster-end of the fleet, as well as the battles that unfold for the overall win, it’s easy to see why the Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore Series is described as the pinnacle series of offshore racing in Australia.
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