Sorry, forgot to upload the last media release I sent out again.
This was done just before Team Whistler arrived.
*************************************************
Hobart’s David Rees and his crew on Team Whistler have sailed a tactical leg from Coles Bay on Tasmania’s east coast today to be the first crew expected to arrive in their home city. They must then complete a 33km running leg up and down Mt Wellington to decide the winner of the 22nd annual event.
The Dovell 36 is currently running with a light southerly breeze up the Derwent River and has given its estimated time of arrival as 8.15pm.
Rees will then have to make a tough decision for his crew, who have been hard in training all year for their attempt to win the Tilman Trophy. The trophy, named in honour of the race’s founder, British mountaineer Bill Tilman, is awarded on a points system based on the number of team-members who complete running legs, the crew’s average age, and for cruising division entrants the amount of motoring allowance used.
To send all five team-members running up the mountain may secure Team Whistler the Tilman Trophy yet sacrifice their chance at an overall win, with 14m catamaran Deguello just 20 nautical miles behind and boasting a strong pair of runners.
However, Team Whistler would be almost certain to retain the title of winning racing division monohull, with its short-handed competitors Don’t Panic (Jamie Cooper) and Carey Hire (Tristan Gourlay) well back in the fleet.
The race will also be on for the minor podium position between fully-crewed monohull Haphazard (Nick Edmunds) and racing Chamberlain catamaran VisitFlindersIsland.com (Steve Laird). Fully-crewed division rules forced Haphazard to sail around Tasman Island while Laird’s yacht was able to take the short-cut of the Dunalley Canal.
The first five boats are closely-placed and should all arrive in Hobart before midnight.