All of the Hydro Tasmania Three Peaks Race fleet is at sea on the second sailing leg, after Lorna and John Wilson finished their run and rejoined the team on Chance to sail for Coles Bay.
At the 4pm sked, Westbury-Mersey Pharmacy reported to be at a latitude of 40°37', south-east of Clarke Island and about two minutes further south than Neil Buckby Motors Subaru.
Sullivans Cove Whisky appears to be in third with a position of 40°32', followed by Team Whistler and Pisces, both at 40°31' but with Whistler slightly further east. Haphazard is at 40°29'.

The Bureau of Meteorology's coastal waters forecast for the Northern Tip of Flinders Island to St Helens Pt for Saturday until midnight:
Southeast to southwest winds 5 to 15 knots, becoming variable during the morning at similar speeds. Seas near 1 metre. Easterly swell below 1 metre.
Sunday: Variable winds 5 to 15 knots, tending westerly at similar speeds during the morning, then increasing to 10 to 20 knots during the evening. Seas near 1 metre rising to 1 to 2 metres. East to southeast swell below 1 metre.
Eddystone Point currently recording five to seven knots from the south; St Helens has similar speeds from the east-north-east.

Elphinstone's Dean Radford and David Sweetnam walked part of the 65km and were happy to finish in less than 9 hours.

Chance's Lorna and John Wilson stopped for refreshment on the long way home.

They would have smiled for the camera, but Dean Radford and David Sweetnam "didn't have the energy" not far from the finish of their ultra-marathon today.

"We're pretty worn out," they said on the way back to Lady Barron. Nonetheless they were happy with the time it took them to get back to the crew of Elphinstone Weigh To Go.

About 10km from race control, the Wilsons are running well, with Lorna using an mp3 player for inspiration.

Success!

Brendan Davies and John Cannell show their elation at finishing the Strzelecki run. They completed the 65km in less than eight hours, an excellent time for first-time competitors. The pair were stoked to have Kevin Haines support them throughout the run, especially because he let them eat all his day's supply of cake.
They have sailed away aboard Apollonius leaving only the Wilsons from Chance (expected to finish in 45 minutes) and Dean Radford and David Sweetman from Elphinstone on the course.

Some of our intrepid volunteers: vice-chairman Don Napier, PRO Bob Silberberg, Flinders Island head marshal Robyn Dilger, Raoul (not sure what he does, something though) and race director Peter Sluce

Apollonius' runners have reached race control, leaving just two boats - Chance and Elphinstone Weigh To Go - at Lady Barron.

All of the race committee except Alastair, as well as the sponsors and other hangers-on have departed for Launceston. Many of the hard-working volunteers, who have been cooking, recording times and generally organising things all night and day, are getting the chance to sit down, relax and have something to eat.

It is these volunteers who have ensured the race has been held every year for 21 years and they deserve all the recognition they can get!

Aubrey Hendricks and Doug Grubert, runners from Premium Constructions, slipped through race control almost undetected at 12.36pm, posting a time of less than 6 1/2 hours - up with the top runners in the race.
It has been a long time since so many quality teams have been "in the running" for The King of the Mountain trophy, but it is set to be hotly contested this year between Piper and Guy, Kromar and Blake, Houniet and Winsbury and Hendricks and Grubert.

Apollonius runners John Cannell, 38, of Launceston and Brendan Davies, 32, of Sydney.

Apollonius should be the next team of runners back to Lady Barron.

This interesting team is made up of Brendan Davies, a distance runner and triathlete from Sydney, and Launceston's John Cannell, who was called to the team just two days before the start as an emergency runner.

Both are first-time Three Peaks competitors and Cannell, while a last minute addition to the team, said he felt honoured to compete.
Davies said he had been putting in about 100km a week in training in the lead-up to the race, while recovering from his major attempt at the NSW Six Foot Track Race. He is a strong runner, with a half marathon PB of 1hour 18min and marathon PB of two hours 47 minutes.
"I had a good sleep on boat, there was only about five knots so it was very calm," the inexperienced sailor said.
"I'm doing this race for the adventure - I love running off road but am better on road.

"This is a very beautiful part of Australia."

Pisces' runners Tony Fattorini and Phillip Whitten, both from NSW.

Sullivans Cove Whisky's Kiwi running team finished the run at 10.54am, seven minutes ahead of Team Whistler, and both headed out of Lady Barron in a zephyr.

A five-knot breeze had kicked in by the time the Pisces runners arrived at 11.25am.

The New South Welshman enjoyed their trip to the summit of Mt Strzelecki and said they still had plenty of energy when they returned to base camp.

"We saved ourselves a bit," Whitten said.

Fattorini added: "We took it pretty easy up there after last year, when it was incredibly hot and so tough.’’ They even stopped to take photos of the "magic" view from the top.
"Homer enjoyed it, it was only peak he hadn’t been up - he's done all the others,'' Whitten said of the mascot attached to his pack.
"We had a really nice sail over; it was calm but there was wind so didn’t have to work the whole way like in other years, we just put sails up and went.''

Haphazard's runners returned to Lady Barron not far behind Pisces, and then Tas Marine Constructions' Donovan Jacka and Chris Stevens, both from Victoria, appeared. The pair spent more than nine hours on the run, walking more than 20km, struggling with sickness and the resulting dehydration. Skipper Rob Gourlay re-considered leaving Lady Barron due to his runner's condition but they have decided to press on and are hoisting sails to be the fourth last boat to leave the wharf.

Chance's runners John and Lorna Wilson reached the summit at 12.10pm, so all the runners - and marshals - are on the way down from the mountain.

Dedicated volunteer Kevin Haines, above, with the time board at Mt Strzelecki base camp.

"I've done this for 21 years," he said.
"I just love it, I love meeting all the runners and talking to them. They all want to know about the island so I tell them a bit about the history and geography and things.''

Although he has supported plenty of teams in the 21 years, Kevin has followed David Sweetnam’s team for nine years. "I went to school with David in Yolla,” he said.
Over the years Kevin has collected plenty of interesting tales about the race, including the time volunteers made a stretcher out of wool, a pack and two pieces of pipe when runner Lloyd Febey collapsed at the mountain’s summit.

Photos from the run around Flinders

The grounded boats have finally arrived at Lady Barron! Rob McLelland reported that Premium Constructions had been on the rocks for "hours" (since about 5am) and they had tried flying a kite from the back of the boat and throwing anchors over the side to get off. Elphinstone also appears to have come unstuck while a swimmer has been down to inspect Pisces' keel after its encounter with Shag Rock yesterday. Crew-member Jim Nixon blamed the tangle on a "brain explosion'". Luckily the keel has only suffered some minor cosmetic damage, but the race committee is deciding on a suitable time penalty for the outside help the monohull received. The two others may also receive a time penalty for having their runners assisted to land on Flinders Island.

Update on running order

Queensland’s big purple cat, BWR Multihulls, left Flinders Island in third place this morning. They were about two hours behind second-placed Westbury-Mersey Pharmacy, after runners Ian Frankze and John Kent lost about half an hour on the road to their quicker rivals. However, they are still well ahead of the following crews.
A very quick run by the team from Peccadillo has pushed the cruising catamaran into fourth place, passing the runners from Thompson 920 Tas Marine Construction.
Peccadillo’s Grant Houniet, a bushwalking guide from Tasmania’s central highlands, and John Winsbury, from Canberra, completed the mountainous section of the run in one hour 23 minutes. The section was completed by leading team and this year’s fastest runners Mark Guy and Tim Piper in exactly the same time.
Sullivans Cove Whisky will be the next boat to depart after Peccadillo, but the battle is on between the next two crews. Jacqui Guy and Michael McIntyre from Team Whistler and John Claridge and Tristan Gourlay from Haphazard have been playing cat and mouse for the length of the run.
Running conditions are good, with cool and overcast weather making the athlete’s jobs slightly easier.

Long Weigh To Go

John Hall's Elphinstone Weigh To Go is stuck in the same situation as Premium Constructions, with their runners on the track and their boat still stuck in the channel!

Chance has arrived and sent their runners John and Lorna Wilson (unrelated) onto the course.

Phil Marshall’s Neil Buckby Motors Subaru has departed Lady Barron in first place as a beautiful morning dawns on Flinders Island.
Mark Guy and Tim Piper took the lead for the defending champion’s team with about 12km to go in the first run leg.
They should be happy with a very quick run, stopping the clock in five hours 47 minutes, just 40 outside the record.
Another team on track for a quick run is BWR Multihulls, which departed at 1.54am and reached the summit at 5.20am. They are now off the mountain and on the way back to Lady Barron.
The team from Rob Gourlay's Thompson 920 Tas Marine Construction summited at 6.11am; there are now seven teams on the mountain.
Cruising entry Chance is the only yacht yet to arrive in Lady Barron; all other teams are on the mountain, including the runners from Premium Constructions, which has not yet arrived at the wharf.
The racing monohull ran aground off Big Dog Island this morning but, under a new rule provision, yachts that are in sight of Lady Barron may call for assistance to get their runners onto the course. Skipper Jamie Cooper, whose "local knowledge" has obviously failed him, reported minimal damage and said the crew would be able to free the boat.
Westbury-Mersey Pharmacy’s runners arrived back at race control 10 minutes after the leaders, allowing the Chamberlin 11.6m catamaran to take off in hot pursuit of its rival.
There is very little wind heading out of Lady Barron - the cats are going nowhere fast and there is no more wind on the radar.

Teams checking in at Lady Barron race control

Excitement at race control as three teams arrived at the same time. Team 8, Sullivans Cove Whisky, dropped its runners Andrew Howse and Adrian Young at the wharf just seconds before Jacqui Guy and Michael McIntyre departed Team Whistler. Whistler is competing for the Tilman trophy, which will see all five crew tackle the last run leg.
Haphazard's John Claridge and Tristan Gourlay arrived two minutes later, packing race control with teams checking in. The three teams departed between 3.31am and 3.34pm.
Howse and Young are so far the only team to elect to run anti-clockwise.
Robyn said it was unusual to see so many teams start the run at the same time, and that three teams was the maximum she had seen check in at one time.
``It's good when they're out on the road because it gives them someone to pace,'' she said.
Fellow volunteer Michael Sullivan reported from the top of Mt Strzelecki that leaders Blake and Kromar made it to the top at 3.18am while second-placed Guy and Piper had made up some time to summit at 3.39am. With only 21 minutes separating the top two teams, it will be a close race to the finish.
Next boat expected in is Peccadillo, which has reported its position as abeam of Big Dog Island - about 15 minutes away. With a dying breeze and outgoing tide, the sailing will slow from now.

Out of the darkness Rob Gourlay's Tas Marine Constructions slipped into Lady Barron ahead of the expected Haphazard.  A result more than likely bourne from the need of Haphazard having to sail a longer route due to her entry into the Fully Crewed Racing division.  A class with a set course to be followed and where "shortcuts", for which the race is reknown for, are not allowed.  Tas Marine Constructions runners Donovan Jacka and Chris Stevens completed their pre run checklist and set off for Mt Strezlecki at 2:21am. 

BWR Multihulls' runners Ian Frankze and John Kent have set off, going clockwise around Mt Strzelecki. When asked by Robyn if there was anything they wanted a supporter to take around the course for them, John said "yes - you can take my pack!"
No action at the mountain base yet but Westbury-Mersey Pharmacy's runners can't be far away.
Haphazard is the next boat expected at Lady Barron.