Black Diamond debut
Newcomer Black Diamond makes an impression on the penultimate day of racing at the Whitsunday Sailing Club’s 2020 Airlie Beach Race Week.
Written by Di Pearson
Photography by Shirley Wodson / Andrea Francolini
12 August 2020
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In its first Airlie Beach Race Week (ABRW), Glenn Burrell’s Black Diamond finished second to Team Hollywood on Tuesday, with less than two minutes between the pair when the handicaps were put in place. A Botin 40, Team Hollywood has proved unbeatable to this point, with two days of racing remaining.
Black Diamond was formerly Peter Harburg’s Black Jack and, as such, is a well-oiled racing machine. However, when Burrell purchased the boat, she spent an intensive week at The Boat Works in Brisbane undergoing refit and repairs.
She scored third in Race 1 on the opening day so is holding her own against the likes of Team Hollywood and the TP52 Envy Scooters (Barry Cuneo), winner of the 2019 Sydney Gold Coast Race among others.
“I’ve had the boat for exactly one year and two days,” says owner Burrell from Southport Yacht Club in Queensland, which along with Sail Paradise is sponsoring Black Diamond at ABRW.
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“This is our first Airlie Beach Race Week. It’s very different with COVID-19 restrictions in place. You’re socialising more with your own crew than everyone else and we can only go to the club to collect our prizes. You have to sit down; you can’t move around.
“We’re enjoying the regatta on the water but we could do with some more breeze,” Burrell said, echoing the thoughts of others. So far, the breeze has maxed out at 15 knots, albeit briefly for one day alone.
Burrell explained, “Pioneer Bay can be a killer, not having the local knowledge to pick wind shifts and lulls. But it’s a beautiful race track and we’ve seen a few whales this week.
Still learning about his Reichel/Pugh 42, Burrell’s long-term plans include contesting a few east coast races – “The Pittwater Coffs, Sydney Gold Coast, Brisbane Gladstone and Brisbane to Keppel races, and we’ll do the northern regattas, like this one and Hamilton Island.”
Previous to this yacht, the Queenslander says he owned a Jeanneau 42 but concedes, “I got a headache trying to race it so decided it was time to take a step up and buy a real racing yacht.
“On this boat, we have a fairly regular crew from the Gold Coast and Brisbane that we rotate. We’re an all-amateur crew but Lee Randall from Deepwater Collective is my boat captain,” Burrell ended.
This is the penultimate day of competition at Airlie Beach Race Week and the weather gurus say to expect a mainly sunny, warm day. Another light on breeze day again, with 6–8 knots predicted.
At 9 am there was a little swirling breeze so Race Director Ross Chisholm raised the AP flag ashore at the Whitsunday Sailing Club and the Coral Sea Marina Resort where the bulk of competing yachts are moored.
Officials will continue to monitor the weather situation, but the plan is to start racing from 10.30 am on course 41 for the entire fleet. The 15-nautical-mile course is commonly known as The Bay Race. It is contained within Pioneer Bay and takes in landmarks such as Bluff and Abell Point with laid marks before the finish on Pioneer Bay. It is the ideal race for spectators to view a mass of boats and colour that can easily be seen from the water and ashore.
Airlie Beach Race Week Whitsundays Festival of Sailing is the region’s premier sporting and community event.
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