Peccadillo just arrived at Coles Bay; Gareth and Karl departed at 11.30.
At about the same time Whistler's Jacqui and Michael reached the summit, three hours after leaving. Deguello's runners also took about three hours to summit but Haphazard's took three and-a-half, reaching the top at 10.30.
It's a fair gap now until Community Carbon and Don't Panic are due in so I will sign out and try to get some sleep.

Okay so it's pretty obvious the team from VisitFlindersIsland.com.au is out to get some publicity, but really, jumping in the water at half past ten on a pitch black night, fully-clothed?? Yes well that's the entrance Flinders Island's deputy mayor Michael Grimshaw made to Coles Bay, before announcing that it was the best swim he'd had in ages, agreeing that he was crazy, and then offering his runners some of two dozen fresh oysters he'd been given by a local volunteer at race control. John and John politely declined and set out at about 10.10.
The team from Deguello reached the summit at 9.30 but no word yet on the Haphazard boys. The moon has finally risen, shedding a little light on the course, but of course in the bush and under the canopy it will be very dark.

visitflinders has emerged from the darkness - we have been able to see a red nav light and several head torches moving around for a while now and just heard someone call out "are you guys ready, have you got your packs on?" The boat is making very slow headway under oar power but the runners will be on the course very soon.

Things have certainly cooled down now at Coles Bay, action wise and temperature wise.
No news from the summit yet re the runners.
VisitFlindersIsland is nearly here, but still no breeze so it will be a while until we see Peccadillo, Don't Panic and then Community Carbon. Wildfire and Carey hire are now abeam of Friendly Beaches.

Jacqui and Michael from Team Whistler departed at 8.20pm. As I was watching Jacqui unpack and pack her backpack for the marshalls it occurred to me that it was the 35th time she has done that in the race ( not including practice and preparation and the compulsory pre-race check). That's a lot of packing and unpacking! I wonder if she knows that list off by heart...

Here is a picture of Team Whistler with some of their fantastic support crew.

The navigation lights of both Whistler and VisitFlindersIsland are visible in the bay but dont' seem to be moving - conditions are very calm and still now. It's also quite mild which will be nice for the runners.
I just drove over to the car park at the bottom of the walking tracks but managed to miss Charlie and Johnno by about five minutes - they must be flying round the first bit of the course! That's five or six kilometres in half an hour. Yet they tell me the legs take a few k's to get rid of yesterday's stiffness and warm up again...

Allan and Mal from Deguello set off at 6.36 with the boys from Haphazard in hot pursuit, 22 minutes behind. It's a tough ask but with a good run it's possible that they could catch them - they were 40 minutes faster over the 65km yesterday.

Deguello finally reached the wharf at 6.30pm and Haphazard is probably, although they're only a couple of k's away, about 15 minutes off.

An aerial spy supporting Carey Hire reports that it and Wildfire are beam to beam off Bicheno with Wildfire slightly inshore and sailing in a little more breeze.

Deguello sailing into Coles Bay this afternoon

Deguello is getting closer, but the breeze is dying. Haphazard is now also in view having pulled out quite a lot of distance from the cat since we saw them outside Schouten.
Whistler should be just about in Schouten now and is leading a group of boats including visitflinders and Peccadillo.
The mozzies are already on the attack here at Coles Bay - lucky the runners will be going so fast they won't get bitten.

Deguello will arrive at Coles Bay race control first, in about 20 minutes. She is now within sight of the jetty, tacking up the bay in a headwind of about seven knots.
Haphazard is now several miles behind at Weatherhead point.
Unfortunately the runners will now be looking forward to a four to five-hour run over the Hazards in the dark.
The 38km course leaves the jetty, runs around the the foreshore track and along Richardson's beach, takes the road to the carpark at the bottom of the walking track. It then follows the track to Cook's beach, crosses through the bush to Wineglass beach, runs along the beach then up over Mt Graham and Mt Freycinet, then over the saddle and back down the walking track to the carpark and return.
The descent from Mt Graham is extremely steep and rocky, and is really more of a climb than a run.

It was all hands on deck for a nice gybe on Haphazard, now on starboard gybe heading along the Freycinet coast not far from Schouten in a light north-easterly. All looking relaxed but I'm sure there's a lot of tactics and competition going on behind the laid-back look! Coming in second should fire Charlie and Johnno up for a good run as they'll be out to catch Deguello's Allan and Mal. They were aobut 40min faster around Strzelecki so we will see how both teams back up.
Deguello is a few miles ahead now, into Great Oyster Bay.

Team Whistler just received their on-board press conference from representatives of just about every major media outlet in Tassie, standing on Gigi's foredeck. Jory Linscott became team spokesman by default as skipper David Rees was obviously sleeping.
The boat is several nautical miles offshore of Schouten and sailing under full main and symmetric kite. Runner Michael McIntyre appeared to be helming with other runner Jacqui Guy on deck and Jory overseeing things.
Couldn't pick a better day for sitting on deck in shorts and shirts- not a cloud in the sky now and only five knots or so.
Bigger boats Haphazard and Deguello are each about 3nm ahead. We'll catch Haphazard next for a report. They have a big symmetric kite up on shy reach as they blew out assy on way to Flinders. Deguello flying their assy but having trouble keeping it filled in light breeze.

We are heading out through Schouten passage on Ken Padgett's beautiful craft GiGi, which he kindly makes available to media and the committee each year, hoping to catch up with the race leaders. Great Oyster Bay is now boasting some whitecaps so hopefully progress will pick up very soon and we should see some teams in Coles Bay before dark.

Although we now have quite a nice little breeze in Coles Bay there must be very little off Cape Tourville where the boats are still sitting. Deguello is probably rowing as she's making 3 knots or so and has opened up a four mile gap on Haphazard. Whistler is another 10 miles back. Clearly better weather for cats with VisitFlindersIsland.com.au and Peccadillo having moved up to push Don't Panic back to fifth.
Carey Hire has made up a lot of ground on Wildfire and both are now east of St Helens.

So what do the race committee and volunteers (which outnumber the competitors - 11 committee members and up to 80 volunteers, marshalls, media and other random hangers-on to about 55 competitors) do while waiting for the boats to come in?

Well they talk...

and talk...

and talk...

and talk...

In fact there is really only one way to get them to stop talking:

Deguello has hit the lead as both it and Haphazard flounder about in windless conditions off Cape Tourville. We figure the wind has dropped out at sea because it's making way for a sea-breeze, and a nice north-easter has just picked up here in Coles Bay.

Positions in the fleet had changed little at the 1pm sked: Whistler still in third, followed by Don't Panic, Peccadillo, Community Carbon, VisitFlindersIsland.com.au, Wildfire, and quite a way back to Carey Hire.

The Bureau of Meteorology website says there is currently no wind at all in Bicheno or Swansea and only six knots at Friendly Beaches.

This could be bad news for Haphazard if all the boats are becalmed and the racing crews are able to get out the oars. It wouldn't be the first time they have been stuck in that frustrating situation - they were overtaken by Deguello in the Derwent River last year when a calm patch struck and the catamaran rowed past.

When these conditions occurred here last year Team Whistler made some big gains by putting their super-fit team on the oars (mostly the runners - it's a good warm-up apparently) and rowing through Schouten passage. A nice southerly sprung up when they got into Greate Oyster Bay so it will be interesting to see if that happens again too. If it does there is a chance that the first few boats could end up in Coles Bay very close together.

Now in Coles Bay. MORE technical issues - my fault - had my head in the blog instead of concentrating and managed to get my laptop bag (including the all important charger) left on the plane... which went back to Flinders Island... great work. So after re-installing internet connection on another computer it's all systems go again.

Alastair has headed up to check out the fleet from Cape Tourville so will pass on a report as soon as possible. In the meantime the wind is very light so we are looking at a mid-afternoon arrival time.

Conditions a carbon copy of last year's!

Updated media release. We are now at Friendly beaches "airport" - sunny with light cool southerly.
4/04/2010 9:15 AM

The pre-race favourite in the Hydro Tasmania Three Peaks Race has retired with equipment damage and crew fatigue.
Westbury-Mersey Pharmacy, skippered by Devonport’s Terry Travers, anchored in Binalong Bay on Tasmania’s north-east coast overnight to assess a damaged halyard and broken steering compass. This morning the crew decided to retire from the race and head to St Helens.
Travers’ retirement has left two crews battling it out for top spot: 14m catamaran Deguello, skippered by John Brierley, and 14m monohull Haphazard, skippered by Nick Edmunds.
The pair is locked in almost match-race style competition as they go tack for tack in a light southerly and south-east swell. They are well within sight of each other and less than 10 nautical miles offshore of Friendly Beaches on the state’s central east coast.
Haphazard is offshore and ahead of Deguello and appears to have a little more breeze and be moving slightly faster than its opponent.
They have about 30 nautical miles to go to Coles Bay, but with the breeze fading, could be four hours or more away. The pressure will then be on their runners to get their respective boats away first, as tactics will then come into play on the final sailing leg to Hobart.
As a fully-crewed entrant Haphazard must sail around Tasman Island, while racing multihull Deguello may take the shortcut through Dunalley Canal. However, the canal will not be opened between midnight and 4am. If Deguello arrives close to or during those hours, it will face the tough decision of whether to wait for the bridge to be lifted after 4am or round Tasman Island as well.
The fleet’s trailing boats are east of Eddystone Point, so have a slow trip to Coles Bay ahead of them.

Sunday's first media release.
4/04/2010 8:33 AM

The pre-race favourite in the Hydro Tasmania Three Peaks Race has retired with equipment damage and crew fatigue.
Westbury-Mersey Pharmacy, skippered by Devonport’s Terry Travers, anchored in Binalong Bay on Tasmania’s north-east coast overnight to assess a damaged halyard and broken steering compass. This morning the crew decided to retire from the race and head to St Helens.
Travers’ retirement has left two crews battling it out for top spot: 14m catamaran Deguello, skippered by John Brierley, and 14m monohull Haphazard, skippered by Nick Edmunds.
The pair is locked in almost match-race style competition as they go tack for tack in a light southerly and south-east swell. They are well within sight of each other and less than 10 nautical miles offshore of Friendly Beaches on the state’s central east coast. They have about 30 nautical miles to go to Coles Bay, but with the wind beginning to drop, could be four hours or more away.

What a race! So exciting - we have just located Haphazard and Deguello off Friendly Beaches. They're well within sight distance of each other. When we first reached them they were heading in opposite directions with Haphazard on starboard tack, heading out to sea, and Deguello on port, heading toward the coast. Breeze was right on the nose at about eight knots. Deguello has now tacked and is probably 1km to windward of Haphazard. Haphazard seems to have more breeze though further out to sea and is moving quicker, possibly slightly further south already. Nick would never say but he must be rapt with the new mods to the boat - and the way they are sailing is just fantastic. Equally impressive performance from Deguello - they have improved out of sight on previous years! Slightly lumpy sea with SE swell here.

The smallest boat in the fleet still racing to Hobart is Team Wildfire, a Farr-designed 31' monohull. Team Wildfire is practically a United Nations on water, the team comprising two Canadians, an Australian, an Englishman, Irishman and a Welshman. How they understand each other is anyone's guess, but it seems to work!
The boat is jointly owned by Malcolm Robinson, Jon Ettershank and Julie Hunt (to whom I owe an apology as I have previously mentioned Jacqui Guy as the only female competitor - she is the only female runner) and their fourth sailor is Nic Jansen, a Canadian geology student at the University of Tasmania. Runners Gerry and Karl are both from NSW. They struggled early in yesterday's run prompting the sailors to enter serious discussions as to who would take their place if they were unable to continue.
"We're very glad they recovered otherwise it would have been more a walk than a run," Jon said yesterday.
The team has done quite a lot of offshore sailing together including two Launceston to Hobarts and also regularly races on the Derwent.

A beautiful sunny Flinders Island morning is quickly turning into an overcast day on Tasmania's East Coast. Fantastic scenic flight down the coast that I would thoroughly recommend if you ever get the opportunity.
From above conditions appear to be moderating under the cloud cover - saw some whitecaps and maybe 12 knots from the SE in Bass Strait but now we are flying over Mt William national park and out to sea it looks very light with a small rolling swell in from the east. Much the same as we experienced last year. This will favour the cats and the racing crews who can use their oars/bikes, so fully-crewed Haphazard will be crossing fingers that we don't see a repeat of last year where conditions were glassy by the time the fleet reached Schouten Passage, which passes to the south of Freycinet National Park. Boats have to sail/row through the passage to enter Great Oyster Bay, and from there Coles Bay.

This was my Day Two wrap which was intended for last press yesterday. Pic is Don't Panic's Aubrey Henricks and Doug Grubert who posted yesterday's fastest run time.

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The leading boats in the Hydro Tasmania Three Peaks Race are off Tasmania’s north-east coast and making quick progress toward Coles Bay.
Conditions are providing a fast but tough windward leg, but are predicted to lighten as the fleet nears its destination.
There is a furious battle for race leadership on between Terry Travers’ Westbury-Mersey Pharmacy and John Brierley’s Deguello. The two catamarans are being closely pursued by Nick Edmunds’ 14m monohull, Haphazard.
The fleet’s tail-enders are close to departing Lady Barron, the boats delayed by runners suffering from dehydration and lethargy brought about by sea sickness on the trip to Flinders Island. The sailors from Team Wildfire and Carey Hire are putting contingency plans in place for the second and possibly third running legs of the race.
The leading boats are expected to complete the 140 nautical mile sail to Coles Bay at about midday tomorrow, where the runners will attempt to back up today’s ultra-marathon with a tough 38km run over the Hazards.Well-known Launceston runner Aubrey Henricks and his partner Doug Grubert, of Kayena, posted today’s fastest run time on the 65km course: six hours and 29 minutes. Henricks tore his calf muscle at last weekend’s Tasmanian Athletics Championships, but defied the injury to fly around the course and book the pair a spot as King of the Mountain favourites.

Westbury-Mersey Pharmacy has decided to retire from the race and head to St Helens. A disappointing finish for the crew but no doubt a decision made in the best interests of their health and safety.
This leaves Deguello and Haphazard as our front-runners and as they're within a nautical mile of each other, should be sight distance apart. According to yacht tracker Haphazard is moving slightly faster than Deguello.
Whistler is in third, about eight nm behind. Will be able to report more accurately as we fly over the fleet.

Sent this out at about 2pm yesterday. Pic of Haphazard's John Claridge and Charles Gunn under Mt Strzelecki.

***********************************************************

The race to Coles Bay is now on in the 22nd Hydro Tasmania Three Peaks Race.
The fleet’s four leading boats have started the second sailing leg of the race after their runners conquered the 65km Mt Strzelecki run.
Race favourite Westbury-Mersey Pharmacy, skippered by four-time previous winner Terry Travers, got away first at 12.11pm. The team’s runners, Launceston triathletes Tim Piper and Jim Finlay, posted a quick time of six hours, 48 minutes to overtake Deguello’s Mal Grimmett and Allan Hood.
Deguello lost its lead, but departed Lady Barron for Coles Bay just 12 minutes after Westbury-Mersey Pharmacy. Grimmett and Hood spent seven hours, 24 minutes on the course.
The first monohull to arrive at Flinders Island, Haphazard, was also the first to depart, its runners Charles Gunn and John Claridge doing a power of work to close the gap to the leading catamarans. The pair posted the fastest run to date of six hours, 42 minutes.
The remainder of the fleet has reached Lady Barron – despite two being delayed by running aground. They were re-floated by the rising tide.
Team Whistler, the first of the racing division monohulls, left the island at 1.35pm.

Sorry if the newspapers' reports today are less than up-to-the-minute, my email went on the blink yesterday leaving two media releases sitting in my outbox. On the plus side no phone coverage on the island so no narky phone calls!

Our race favourite, Terry and Phil on Westbury-Mersey, will have a power of work to do if they're to catch up to the leading boats, after anchoring overnight at Binalong Bay due to a broken halyard and broken rudder compass. They decided to take a break and reassess the situation this morning.
Haphazard and Deguello are still battling for the lead north-east of Bicheno.