Hydro Tasmania Three Peaks Race Blog

2010-04-09T15:40:00.001+10:00

22nd Annual Hydro Tasmania Three Peaks Race
Final Wrap-Up

The Hydro Tasmania Three Peaks Race’s smallest-ever fleet provided some of the best quality racing seen in its 22-year history this Easter, with close competition from the front of the fleet to the back.
Ten teams took on the challenging sailing-running endurance race, which starts at Beauty Point in northern Tasmania on Good Friday and stops at Flinders Island in Bass Strait and Coles Bay on Tasmania’s east coast before finishing in the State’s capital, Hobart.
The absence of the catamaran Slingshot, which had won every race since 2005, left the race for line honours wide open. Slingshot skipper Phil Marshall still started as race favourite as crew on board four-time previous winner Westbury-Mersey Pharmacy, the 11m Chamberlin catamaran of Devonport pharmacist Terry Travers, but the boat became the race’s only retirement, ensuring the race would have a new winner in 2010.
Adding another new element to the race was a rule-change that saw every team entered in the Tilman Trophy. Named in honour of the race’s founder, British mountaineer Bill Tilman, the trophy 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.
Following the race was easier than ever before with satellite trackers fixed to each yacht regularly plotting their position online.
The Dovell 36 Team Whistler, skippered by Hobart barrister David Rees, wrote itself into the record books as the first overall winner to have had all crew-members complete a running leg. The boat came from behind to record an emphatic win, beating home multihull division winner Deguello by almost six hours to complete the 335-mile, 136-km course in three days, eight hours and 41 minutes.
The team’s third Three Peaks Race together started on Good Friday, April 2, in an unusual southerly that made for a spectacular spinnaker start. It was one of three boats to anticipate the start gun and have to turn around and re-start but it wasn’t long before it was again battling it out at the front of the fleet with Haphazard, the Radford 46 of race veteran Nick Edmunds. Charles Meredith’s catamaran Peccadillo joined the fray and the three boats put on an exciting tactical display in one of the closest races out of the Tamar River in years.
Haphazard made a break just before reaching the farewell beacons at the river mouth, but it was Travers’ catamaran Westbury-Mersey Pharmacy that snuck around the fleet to snatch the First Out of the Heads trophy.
Once in Bass Strait the fleet was becalmed for several hours until the forecast south-easterly hit, providing a one-tack upwind sail to Flinders Island. Wind and tide clashed creating a short, steep chop that made for an uncomfortable sail and struck down members of each team with sea-sickness.
Fifteen hours later, John Brierley’s Deguello was the surprise first arrival at Lady Barron. It completed the 98 nautical mile leg just before 5am on Saturday. Runners Allan Hood, of Hobart, and Victorian Mal Grimmett chose to run anti-clockwise around the 65 kilometre circuit, which takes in the 742m-high peak of Mt Strzelecki, making the most of the southerly breeze on the open road early before returning through the coastal bush track.
Westbury-Mersey Pharmacy overtook Haphazard in Flinders Island’s harbour, Franklin Sound, to arrive just half an hour after Deguello and offload its runners, Launceston triathletes Tim Piper and Jim Finlay. Haphazard was the first monohull to arrive at 6am, team-members John Claridge and Charles Gunn following Hood and Grimmett clockwise around the island.
Piper and Finlay ran the opposite way and were the first to appear back at Lady Barron race control six hours and 42 minutes later. Hood and Grimmett were just 11 minutes behind but had lost ground on the gruelling run, which took them seven hours and 24 minutes to complete. Both boats took off into a 15-knot southerly and short, steep swell, followed 18 minutes later by Haphazard, a fast run of six hours 48 minutes pulling some distance back for the fully-crewed division leader.
The next three running teams were all on the course before 7am but things then reached a standstill with two boats aground within sight of Lady Barron and two more becalmed further out in the channel.
For Northern Tasmanians Jamie Cooper and Rob McLelland it was a frustrating repeat of last year when their Beneteau First 12 Don’t Panic was left grounded on a sandbar. However runners Aubrey Henricks and Doug Grubert lifted the team’s morale by posting the fastest time on the Mt Strzelecki course: six hours and 29 minutes.
By 8.30pm on Saturday the entire fleet was bashing down the east coast on its way to Coles Bay, the unpleasant chop causing more sickness and eventually forcing the retirement of race leader Westbury-Mersey Pharmacy.
A tack-for-tack battle for the lead then ensued between Haphazard and Deguello, but as the wind began to fade in the early hours of Sunday morning, the catamaran pulled ahead by several nautical miles. With about 30 miles to their destination, the fleet was becalmed again off Cape Tourville and spent several frustrating hours wallowing about. In the late afternoon a north-east sea-breeze arrived, giving the boats a good spinnaker run down to the Schouten Passage, through which they pass between Freycinet National Park and Schouten Island to enter Great Oyster Bay. It was then another beat to windward to Coles Bay in a dying breeze. Shifty conditions allowed Haphazard to make up ground on Deguello and the pair docked at the jetty at 6.31pm and 6.53pm respectively. Haphazard’s Gunn and Claridge, who had taken 40 minutes from Deguello’s Hood and Grimmett on Saturday’s 65km run, were expected to launch the monohull into first place by the end of the 38km run, but a knee injury less than 5km into the run put paid to that goal and left Hood and Grimmett free to get Deguello away in first place.
In windless conditions it was more than an hour later that Team Whistler rowed its way into Coles Bay, making good use of the human-powered propulsion allowed for racing yachts. Veteran of 12 races Jacqui Guy and her partner Michael McIntyre looked keen for the run as they headed off on the race’s second course, which takes in three beaches, including the famous Wineglass, bush track and a scramble up the rocky peaks of Mt Graham and Mt Freycinet.
Team Whistler had a break of almost two hours on the 14m Chamberlin-designed cruising catamaran VisitFlindersIsland.com.au, skippered by Hobart’s Steve Laird, which made a dramatic arrival in Coles Bay at 10pm. After rowing nearly two nautical miles, exhausted crew-member, Flinders Island deputy mayor Michael Grimshaw jumped fully-clothed off the jetty.
Soon after the arrival of two more yachts at 12.30am, the first runners returned to kick off the race’s third and final sailing leg. Deguello’s Hood and Grimmett took six hours and 16 minutes to conquer the peaks in the pitch dark, giving them a lead of more than an hour. But with drifting conditions prevailing, Deguello’s lights were still visible when Haphazard departed at 2am and Team Whistler got at 3am.
New South Welshmen Gareth Parker and Karl Miller finished the Freycinet run at 5.46am to find their boat Peccadillo, a 46’ catamaran, still moored out in Coles Bay. After yelling and flashing their head-torches to attract the crew’s attention, the boat made its way over to the jetty to collect its runners. Parker said: “we’re going to have something to eat and a sleep, but first we’re going to shout at our sailors”.
Don’t Panic’s Henricks and Grubert overtook Parker and Miller on the course on their way to setting the fastest time of four hours 46 minutes – just 36 minutes outside the record – in the pitch black dark.
The fleet’s tail-enders were finally docked at Coles Bay by 6.45am and with the help of daylight, posted the second and third-fastest run-times to get Team Wildfire and Carey Hire away by midday.
Tactical racing was the feature of the 100 nautical mile journey to Hobart with several major decisions to make and opportunities for big gains or losses.
Hoping for a forecast south-westerly to eventuate, Deguello chose a course around the outside of Maria Island and then Tasman Island, instead of opting for the racing division short-cut through Dunalley Canal. The race has not been won by rounding Tasman Island since 2003.
Team Whistler chose the Dunalley Canal, prepared to kayak or row the boat through should they be faced with a headwind or becalmed.
The move paid off as the breeze held in from the south-east, giving Team Whistler a perfect reach across Frederick Henry Bay and into the Derwent, sailing the leg in just 17 hours, more than five hours faster than any other racing crew.
Skipper Rees then had another major decision to make: send his whole crew running up the mountain in their quest to win the Tilman Trophy, risking the overall win if another team’s runners overtook them, or send just runners McIntyre and Guy to secure the win but sacrifice the sailors’ fitness training.
But a 20 nautical mile lead on Deguello gave the team the confidence to tackle the 33km run together. At 1270m, Mt Wellington is the highest of the three peaks competitors scale during the four-day race and covers terrain varying from central city streets to steep, rocky bush tracks.
Visibility was down to nil when Team Whistler arrived at the summit just after 10pm due to a thick, cold fog. But the five pushed on to break the four-hour barrier by two minutes, finishing just before midnight on Monday and claiming first place before the second boat had even arrived at Constitution Dock.
Team Whistler was the first monohull since 2000 to win the event outright.
Crew-member Jory Linscott put the win down to teamwork, training and thorough preparation.
“We’ve finally proved that teams can win it; it took a lot of effort, a lot of training... it means a fair bit and now we’ll go and do it in England,” he said.
Team Whistler will continue its 2010 campaign Two Countries Six Peaks by competing in the British Three Peaks Race in June.
It was not until 1.40am on Tuesday that multihull winner Deguello reached Hobart, slightly ahead of cruising division entrant Community Carbon. The Beneteau 50 skippered by Victorian Jeff Dusting had used its motoring allowance to combat the windless conditions. It too decided to go for Tilman Trophy points by sending all five team-members up the mountain, a decision which dropped it to fourth overall.
Haphazard’s Gunn and Claridge battled through injury to defeat the Victorians and claim third finisher.
Brierley’s Deguello won the racing multihull division comfortably, finishing the run at 5.40am, just before its main competitor, VisitFlindersIsland.com.au, sailed into the dock.
Despite being beaten over the final run by 44 seconds, Don’t Panic runners Henricks and Grubert won themselves the King of the Mountains title for the fastest combined running time.
Second-placed racing monohull Carey Hire’s runners Adrian Young and Ian Franzke wrapped up the 22nd Hydro Tasmania Three Peaks Race with their return to the Hobart docks at 1.30pm on Tuesday.
The winner of the Tilman Trophy, handicap awards and other special awards will be announced at tomorrow’s official presentation dinner in Hobart.

2010-04-06T14:05:00.001+10:00

The final set of runners on the Mt Wellington run, Adrian Young and Ian Franzke from Carey Hire, completed the run at 1.35pm today after taking 3hrs 8mins 49sec. This brings to end the competitive side to the race although some would argue that the Post Race Brag retains the competitive aspect.

Final wrap up to come!

2010-04-06T13:20:00.003+10:00

WHAT: Post-race brag.
WHEN: Tonight, from 6pm.
WHERE: Customs House Hotel, on the waterfront.
COST: Only whatever you're drinking/eating.
WHY: Tell stories (true or otherwise) catch up, drink, enjoy ourselves, relax... finally.
BE THERE!!

2010-04-06T13:04:00.001+10:00

The runners from Wildfire, Carl Barker and Gerry Grimes, just completed the run up Mt Wellington and back in the fastest time to date. 2hrs 49mins and 16 secs. Just 44secs faster than Doug Grubert and Aub Hendricks from Dont Panic Racing. A great effort on both accounts!

2010-04-06T11:18:00.003+10:00

Peccadillo's runners Gareth Parker and Karl Miller returned at 11.11am after a run of 3 hours 20 minutes.

2010-04-06T10:40:00.000+10:00

King of the Mountains Aubrey Henricks and Doug Grubert

2010-04-06T10:16:00.003+10:00

John Cannell (right) and John Wilson from VisitFlindersIsland.com.au stopped the clock at exactly 9am to record a very strong run of 3 hours 11 minutes.
King of the Mountains Aubrey Henricks and Doug Grubert of Don't Panic Racing collapsed exhausted over the finish line at 10.07am after pushing hard to record the day's fastest run of 2 hours 50 minutes. The pair were fastest on each of the three runs.
Wildfire's runners Karl Barker and Gerry Grimes went onto the course at three minutes to 10am, and Carey Hire's Adrian Young (with an injured knee) and Ian Franzke at about 10.20am.
Peccadillo's runners are on their way down after hitting the mountain summit at 9.48am.

2010-04-06T07:15:00.002+10:00

John Claridge and Charles Gunn ran under the official Three Peaks Race finish banner at 7.30am to end Haphazard's 2010 race with a 3 hour 26 minute effort.
Peccadillo's Gareth Parker and Karl Miller are checking in now, wobbling on their sea legs! They will enjoy a beautiful sunny, clear run, a bit different from the thick fog and coldness of the night.
Just Wildfire and Carey Hire left on the Derwent River now and both have passed the Iron Pot and are moving reasonably quickly so we can expect them in an hour or so.

2010-04-06T07:09:00.004+10:00

Well after an eventful night/morning of chasing runners up and down the mountain I can report that Deguello finished at 5.39am with an elapsed run time of 3 hours 53 minutes to win the multihull racing division.
Haphazard runners John Claridge and Charles Gunn have moved into third position after over taking Community Carbon's entire crew three minutes before reaching the summing of Mt Wellington. Summit time for John and Charles was 6.05 and for Stu Jacobsen, Travis Tremayne, Jeff Dusting, Graham Smith and Ric Pacey 6.08. The Haphazard boys were making good time down the mountain despite Johnno's obviously painful knee injury and they're on track for a three-hour run.
VisitFlindersIsland.com.au's John Cannell and John Wilson departed race control in Hobart at 5.44am and Don't Panic Racing's team of Aubrey Henricks and Doug Grubert are currently at check in.

2010-04-06T02:29:00.003+10:00

Haphazard has passed John Garrow Light and is now moving at 2 knots, might be here in an hour. Don't Panic is abeam of the Iron Pot Light.

2010-04-06T02:03:00.002+10:00

Light wind conditions have faded to dead calm leaving our next three competitors stopped dead in the Derwent and giving Deguello's runners a handy head-start.

2010-04-06T01:46:00.002+10:00

Deguello eventually ended the battle for second boat in, runners Allan Hood and Mal Grimmett departing Hobart race control at 1.45am. What a lovely time for a run up a foggy mountain!
Community Carbon is about to dock, while Haphazard and VisitFlindersIsland.com are parked three miles downriver making very little, if any, headway. After this group it is a long way back - nearly 20 miles - to Don't Panic and Peccadillo, which are within a mile of each other south-east of Betsey Island making slow progress.

2010-04-06T00:49:00.002+10:00

Community Carbon has made a surprise dash for second place and should be at Constitution Dock at any minute. As a cruising entrant she has a certain motoring allowance and may have used this advantage to cruise past VisitFlindersIsland.com and Haphazard but on the tracker appear to be just about on top of Deguello; both have radioed in to report passing John Garrow Light.
So even though we have seen the conclusion of the main event there is still more exciting racing to look forward to, to see where these four closely-placed teams end up after the run leg.

2010-04-06T00:17:00.003+10:00

They did it! Team Whistler finished their run at 11.56pm, managing to break four hours by two minutes despite the horrendous conditions on the mountain. They have won the race in a total time of three days eight hours 41 minutes and seven seconds with daylight second as the next boats are not yet at Constitution Dock.
Pies and beer, the recovery foods of choice, are now being consumed while the race highlights are re-lived, probably not for the first time.
Tomorrow marks eight weeks until they head to Britain.

2010-04-05T23:26:00.003+10:00

Some souvenirs from up the mountain. Above, Jacqui Guy and Tim Jones, below, video footage of Team Whistler running through the fog.

2010-04-05T23:17:00.002+10:00

Deguello is expected next but not until 12.45am, so I'd say Team Whistler has this one in the bag... touch wood.

2010-04-05T22:18:00.002+10:00

They're all mad. The fog was so thick it was like a cold wet towel wrapping itself around you as soon as you stepped out of the car. Even with a thermal singlet, t-shirt, fleecy jumper, musto snug and a beanie on, it was still cold, and these crazy runners are out there in shorts and thin tops, maybe a waterproof jacket if they're lucky. But apparently hamburgers after will make it all okay...
They're now on their slippery way down...

2010-04-05T21:42:00.002+10:00

Now at summit of Mt Wellington. Team Whistler reached the Springs 20 mins ago. it's so foggy you can't see your hand in front of your face and it's freezing cold too. On the way up we saw half a dozen police cars, lights flashing, launching a seach and rescue party for some lost walkers.
Deguello has been round the Iron Pot and says ETA midnight.

2010-04-05T20:58:00.001+10:00

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.

2010-04-05T20:29:00.004+10:00

Team Whistler leaves Constitution Dock for the Mt Wellington run

2010-04-05T20:07:00.003+10:00

They sent all five!
David Rees, Jory Linscott, Tim Jones, Jacqui Guy and Michael McIntyre are now running up Davey St in central Hobart, attempting to be the first monohull sailors in a decade to win the Hydro Tasmania Three Peaks.
They have a break of about an hour and decided it was enough time to attempt to take out the Tilman Trophy as well.
Good on them... Their official departure from Hobart race control two minutes before 8pm so we'll be hoping to see them back about midnight.
According to the yacht tracker, which calculates ETAs based on the speed the yachts are travelling, VisitFlindersIsland is now in second and expected just after 9. But they'll have a battle on their hands with Deguello and Community Carbon, which is within sight behind them.

2010-04-05T19:20:00.002+10:00

Everyone should get ready and get down to the dock ASAP - Team Whistler is ahead of its own ETA and could be here at 8pm or even earlier. They're off Taroona doing seven knots. Go guys! what a great end to the race. They've got 20 miles on Deguello and 30 on Haphazard.
But don't discount those two boats coming down from Frederick Henry Bay (VisitFlinders and Community Carbon) - a bit of an unexpected puff there and they could well be in contention for the minor placings.

2010-04-05T18:26:00.002+10:00

Team Whistler has rounded the Iron Pot at 6.26 and has given their ETA as 8.15. Could have an earlier finish than expected!
VisitFlindersIsland.com has been through the canal (losing one oar on the way) and has an ETA of 12.30am. Community Carbon followed them through and is only a couple of miles behind.

2010-04-05T16:57:00.002+10:00

For anyone who didn't see, an anonymous blogger raises an interesting point: If Whistler arrives in Hobart first - which it may well do - will it be prepared to sacrifice its chances of winning the race overall by sending the whole crew up the mountain in order to win the Tilman Trophy? Or will they sacrifice the sailors' fitness training and just send Jacqui and Michael in order to post the fastest possible time and perhaps claim an overall win?
A very interesting debate.
However, Team Whistler would still win racing monohull division even if they sent the entire crew up the mountain... and really first in doesn't count that much any more now there are two separate divisions.
Sending everyone up would probably only add an hour to the total run time and they are about 30 nautical miles ahead of Haphazard, which is carrying injured runners...

2010-04-05T15:51:00.002+10:00

Views at Coles Bay, kit checks and early morning in one of the world's great places.

2010-04-05T15:15:00.003+10:00

Have arrived in Hobart! Can't think of anything to blog so ask me questions - what do you want to know about the race/competitors/locations/boats?? If I don't know I'll attempt to find out!

2010-04-05T14:11:00.002+10:00

Not only do we have close and interesting competition at the front and back of the fleet, we’ve got a mini-fleet stuck in the middle that will make interesting watching. VisitFlindersIsland.com.au is going west of Maria while Peccadillo and Don’t Panic have gone east... Community Carbon looks to be following VisitFlindersIsland. There'd be less than 10 miles between the whole group which can be not much in changeable conditions.
It’s great not to be able to predict the outcome of the race – it’s been a few years since we didn’t know who would be in the first two or three positions. But guys seriously you're never going to get the publicity you deserve if you turn up in the middle of the night?

2010-04-05T14:10:00.001+10:00

Interesting tactical decision by Deguello - they've gone outside Tasman Island even though as a racing crew they're allowed to go through the Dunalley Canal. They're currently 16.7 nm (30.9 km) east of Eaglehawk Neck with 63 miles left to race and current prediction is that they'll arrive in Hobart just after 11pm. They're travelling at 6.5 knots... closest weather observation is Tasman Island where the BOM is recording seven to nine knots from the SSE. So it would be a fair bet they're reaching and decided they would take the boatspeed and favourable wind direction instead of the shortcut.
Haphazard would be in similar conditions as they're setting pretty much the same course but are about 5 miles behind. It will be hard to catch a cat on a reach... can they do it??
Whistler meanwhile is in the canal. I wonder if they had to get out their kayak - yes that's right they have a kayak below deck - to help them get through...

2010-04-05T12:18:00.002+10:00

Report from the deck of Haphazard has them making about seven knots in a 15-knot SE'ly which puts them on a single tack to Tasman Island - bit of a relief no doubt.
Whistler appears to be abeam but inshore of Haphazard while Deguello's made a bit of a break on the fleet by heading further out to sea. The gap's about three miles but the tracker has them moving slightly faster than the two monohulls as well.

2010-04-05T12:09:00.003+10:00

It's official, the fleet has left Coles Bay, and all are now en route to Hobart. Wildfire's Karl and Gerry returned at 11.47am posting a run of 5 hours 16 minutes and Ian and Adrian from Carey Hire just got back at 12.11pm looking absolutely exhausted and soaked in sweat. They took 5 hours 26 minutes. So two good runs there, quite a bit faster than most of the guys who did it in the dark, their times were almost all between 6 hrs 10 and 7 hours. This also gives you an indication of how mad Aub and Doug are - running 4.46 in the pitch black dark when two strong teams manage five and-a-bit in the daylight!

2010-04-05T10:20:00.004+10:00

Summit times for our two teams still on the Freycinet run course as follows:

Team Wildfire's Karl and Gerry (pictured checking in this morning) 9.14am - that's a run up of two hours 38 minutes- very quick! Of course they have the benefit of the daylight but that's our second fastest summit time this year.

The Carey Hire boys Adrian and Ian made the top at 9.26am, that's two hours 41 minutes to the top - what a close race! if they hold this pace we can expect them back at race control at about 12.30pm, and it will be interesting to see which team is in front and by how much - and can they hold that lead until Hobart?

2010-04-05T10:04:00.002+10:00

Latest press release just sent out, plus a photo of Carey Hire's Adrian and Ian heading off from the jetty.

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

5/04/2010 10:04 AM

The race to Hobart is well and truly on after a shake-up of the leading boats overnight. Southern Tasmanian catamaran Deguello has maintained a narrow lead but racing monohull and Tilman trophy entrant Team Whistler has used its oars to move into second place during the night’s windless conditions.
The order of their arrival in Hobart will depend on the outcome of a major tactical decision that has seen Deguello opt to sail outside Maria Island and Team Whistler choose to navigate the channel between Maria Island and Orford.
The western side of the island is considered the rhumb line, or most direct route, but is more sheltered from the current south-westerly breeze other leading boats are heading into and has seen Team Whistler’s speed drop to five and-a-half knots (10kmh).
Meanwhile Deguello is moving at nine knots (16.5kmh) and holding a three-mile lead over third-placed Haphazard, also sailing outside Maria Island.
Haphazard arrived in Coles Bay in a close second place, but its runners battled injury throughout the Freycinet run, setting the team back about an hour.
As a fully-crewed entrant it will have to round Tasman Island while its two main competitors are eligible to use the Dunalley Canal as a short-cut to Hobart.
Recent forecasts show that the fleet can expect light south-westerlies for the rest of the day, but current observations at Maria Island show a stronger 10 to 15 knot breeze from that direction. These headwind conditions should favour the monohulls, which often perform better upwind than their multi-hulled counterparts.
With 90 nautical miles still to sail, the top boats are not expected to arrive in Hobart until late this afternoon. Their runners will then wrap up the 22nd annual Hydro Tasmania Three Peaks Race with a 33-kilometre run up and down Mt Wellington, the race’s tallest peak at 1270m.

2010-04-05T08:38:00.002+10:00

Stuart and Travis just returned (see left) at 8.41am to record today's longest run of 8 hours. They said they didn't particularly enjoy the tough run, and spent a lot of time consulting the map to make sure they didn't get lost.

2010-04-05T08:34:00.003+10:00

Can see Travis and Stuart jogging back along Richardson's beach - they'll be here in minutes. Then it's just Wildfire and Carey Hire to go on the East Coast and then race operations will move on to Hobart to prepare for the end of the race.

Pix of this morning's sunrise, and Wildfire's arrival.

They have dropped off one sailor, Jon, who injured his back on the sail down the coast. Although they now only have the crew numbers of a racing monohull, they'll still have to round Tasman.

2010-04-05T07:06:00.002+10:00

The "wooden spoon" race is on between Wildfire's Gerry and Karl, who left race control at 6.36, and Carey Hire's Adrian and Ian, who left at 6.45.
Adrian has suffered quite a bit with sea sickness and hasn't taken in much energy since the start of the race, but said he was feeling much better. Piers, Tristan and James are having a well-deserved smoko after using pedal power to get the boat through the windless bay.
The only runners on the return journey are Community Carbon's Stuart and Travis and they must be getting close.
Pictures to follow soon!

According to the tracker Team Whistler has overtaken Haphazard with Deguello still out in front, all three still west of Schouten Island. I'm sure Team Whistler are making the best use of the four oars they've installed on the boat.

2010-04-05T06:19:00.003+10:00

Good morning with a beautiful pink sunrise from Coles Bay.
We just had a long conversation with Gareth and Karl from Peccadillo who unfortunately got back to find their boat still moored out in the bay. "we're going to have some food and a sleep but first we're going to shout at our sailors," they said, after attracting the big cat by yelling and flashing their head torches.
They were extremely happy to find they had posted the second-fastest run of the day, six hours 12 minutes, to finish at 5.46am. Gareth said he wanted to come back and run it again in the daylight to see how beautiful it was.
Aub and Doug from Don't Panic ran 4hrs 46 (race record is 4.10) so another fantastic run guys - looks like they'll be a shoe-in for king of the mountain.
Gareth said: "they passed us on a bit that we thought was un-runnable, it was so steep, but they were just flying down."
VisitFlinders' John and John got back at 4.37am, a good run of 6 hours 22 minutes.
Community Carbon's Stuart and Travis reached the top at 4.57am.
Wildfire is almost here with a little puff of new breeze and Carey Hire is not far behind. Maybe another half an hour? Five yacht are visible from race control, either coming or going.

2010-04-05T02:48:00.003+10:00

Our tail-enders are creeping up on us, Wildfire about 8nm off and Carey Hire about two miles behind them.
Whistler just returned after six hours 26 mins on the course, just 10 min slower than Deguello's runners. The boat left Coles Bay at 2.50am, at roughly the same time Don't Panic's Aubrey and Doug reached the top of Mt Graham. That's just 2 hours 20 mins to the top, a journey that has taken all the other teams three to 3 1/2 hours to complete.

2010-04-05T02:32:00.002+10:00

The forecast looks to be improving marginally as the day progresses, by 1pm should have very light easterlies and by 4pm slightly more from the north-east.
Just spoke to Johnno: his IT Band (for those of you non running-inclined, that's the tendon-y thing that runs down the outside of your leg from your hip to your knee) has seized up on him making it almost impossible to run downhill, painful to run uphill and okay to jog on the flat. So they spent a fair bit of time walking considering he said it played up from halfway across the first beach, Richardson's beach. Thinks he'll be alright for Wellington though!

2010-04-05T02:28:00.002+10:00

BOM windmap showing that our teams can expect 0-5 knots from the SW when they leave Coles Bay. That's okay for Haphazard because they think they can drift faster than Deguello. At this stage they're separated by about half a mile, just judging by the distance of their nav lights.
Team Whistler won't be far from finishing the run so we can't discount them as possibilities for line honours. In fact Pete Sluce has his money on this team and in the light and variable conditions, with their extra special secret human-powered devices and the amount of reconnaissance they've been doing on the tricky canal, he could be right!

2010-04-05T02:02:00.003+10:00

Time update:
Deguello left Coles Bay at 12.52 after a 6hr 16 run by Allan and Mal but they haven't got far as there's not much wind. Haphazard just got away after just over seven hours by the boys. Johnno has hurt his knee and was limping, must be bad as they were aiming for well under that time, even in the dark.
Don't Panic 's runners Aubrey and Doug started the run just before 12.30am and Community Carbon was only just behind at 2.41am.

2010-04-04T23:36:00.002+10:00

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.

2010-04-04T22:24:00.004+10:00

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.

2010-04-04T22:06:00.003+10:00

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.

2010-04-04T21:06:00.003+10:00

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.

2010-04-04T20:54:00.002+10:00

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.

2010-04-04T20:04:00.002+10:00

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...

2010-04-04T18:52:00.002+10:00

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.

2010-04-04T18:23:00.001+10:00

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.

2010-04-04T18:21:00.001+10:00

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.

2010-04-04T18:14:00.000+10:00

Deguello sailing into Coles Bay this afternoon

2010-04-04T18:06:00.002+10:00

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.

2010-04-04T17:38:00.000+10:00

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.

2010-04-04T16:16:00.001+10:00

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.

2010-04-04T15:33:00.002+10:00

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.

2010-04-04T14:27:00.002+10:00

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.

2010-04-04T13:21:00.002+10:00

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.

2010-04-04T12:26:00.003+10:00

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...

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

2010-04-04T12:22:00.002+10:00

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.

2010-04-04T11:32:00.003+10:00

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.

2010-04-04T11:09:00.002+10:00

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!

2010-04-04T09:17:00.000+10:00

2010-04-04T09:14:00.000+10:00

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.

2010-04-04T08:46:00.000+10:00

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.

2010-04-04T08:28:00.002+10:00

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.

2010-04-04T08:01:00.003+10:00

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.

2010-04-04T07:56:00.002+10:00

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.

2010-04-04T07:33:00.003+10:00

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.

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

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.

2010-04-04T07:29:00.002+10:00

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.

2010-04-04T07:27:00.003+10:00

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.

2010-04-04T06:39:00.001+10:00

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!

2010-04-04T06:30:00.004+10:00

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.

2010-04-03T21:17:00.002+11:00

Wilfire got away at 7.42 and Alastair and I are pondering their time - 6 hours 35, the second quickest of the day. Amazing considering the trouble they reported having!
Carey Hire wrapped up the day at Lady dBarron, leaving at 8.25pm coincidentally having run a time of 8hrs 25mins.
Longest run of the day went to Community Carbon, a truly marathon effort of 9hrs 48.

2010-04-03T20:56:00.001+11:00

This blooger update comes to you from Coles Bay. The committee has split in 2 and half have return to “mainland” Tasmania and made their way to Coles Bay to await the arrival of the competitors. However, upon finding out from the Marshalls camped out on top of Mt Freycinet that there was NO wind on top of the mountain. This does not bode well for a speedy trip to Coles Bay! There is plenty of wind for the leading boat at this time off Eddystone Point but the further south they travel the less wind that they will get. Thats this race for you!!!

2010-04-03T19:05:00.002+11:00

Tristan and James from Carey Hire are just about lacing up the runners for Freycinet, as by the sounds of it their runners Ian and Adrian have suffered from sea sickness and are dehydrated and lacking in energy.
Their tracker also appears to have a battery problem and may be swapped before they set off for Coles Bay.
They are anticipating a couple of hours wait yet.

2010-04-03T18:38:00.002+11:00

Wildfire's runners have actually passed Carey Hire's and both are being well looked after by local ground crews.
I have also found out more about the Wildfire team, which I will pass on soon. Have another date with the Furneaux Tavern for now.

2010-04-03T18:30:00.001+11:00

It sounds like Gerry from Wildfire has made a great recovery and the pair are running back strongly - about 15km out of Lady Barron now. Excellent news.

2010-04-03T16:43:00.004+11:00

The volunteers here do a fantastic job of timekeeping, organising, providing fuel and water for the runners and keeping us all fed and watered. Michael Sherriff and his sister Maree have been summit marshalls on Strzelecki for the last two years.

The distance between base camp and the summit is only 2.5km, so runners like we're dealing with here are taking between an hour and a half and two hours to run 5km, that gives you some idea of how tough that track actually is.

Wildfire runner Karl has radioed in to skipper Malcolm Robinson. They have hit the summit but Karl says Gerry is dizzy and disorientated and is not sure if they should continue.
Malcolm has suggested they come down together and use the radio at base camp to let him know whether or not they can continue. If not Karl said he could re-start with another member of the crew - that would be a fair run - nearly 100km in one day!

Community Carbon has radioed in to report that they had run aground but are now free.

2010-04-03T16:28:00.002+11:00

Peccadillo's runners really took the marshalls here by surprise, timekeeper Robyn wasn't even outside and Gareth and Karl had to run into race control to let her know they'd arrived.
They spent eight hours and seven minutes on the course.
So now just Carey Hire and Wildfire's runners are still on the course.

2010-04-03T16:14:00.002+11:00

Stuart and Travis made it and Community Carbon has left!
Wildfire's runners have reached the base at 3.30 and are on their way up the mountain.
Carey Hire's runners also reached the base at 3pm.

2010-04-03T15:42:00.002+11:00

John and John from VisitFlindersIsland got back to Lady Barron at 3.24 after a run of 8hrs14. The cat departed at a rate of knots with at least 15 knots now blowing from the SE.
Slucey has flown over the fleet and reports that Terry is ahead and inshore of the fleet, followed by Deguello which was further offshore on port tack and Nick, inshore and slightly behind Deguello, on starboard tack. Whistler took on the pot boil while Don't Panic chose the Vansittart channel. He said there is a good 15-20 knots on the nose and it will be a hard slog south.
Alastair and I went to see where the runners from Community Carbon were and found them about 10km away. I was right with my guess earlier - Travis was sick last night and Stuart today. But both are now in good spirits - see below.

2010-04-03T14:48:00.002+11:00

The boats that have left seem to be making good headway.
Terry's tracker went on the blink so he'll be a silent assassin on this leg, but Deguello and Haphazard look to be having a good duel from what I can tell on the yacht tracker. The cat seems to be a couple of miles ahead but due to the time lapse on the trackers it really could be anyone's game! They must have a bit of breeze out there though as it says Deguello is making over 11 knots.
Forecast is for SE to southerly winds 10 to 20 knots and 1-2m seas for the rest of the day, and about the same tomorrow although easing later.
It will be on the nose but at least they'll have some wind.

As promised yesterday I did find out some more about one of our visiting Victorian teams, Community Carbon. Skipper Jeff Dusting bought the boat from Northern Tassie where he saw a Three Peaks sign and decided he'd like to have a go at it. Luckily one of his former employees at his own business, Community Carbon, was a runner, and so the team started to take shape.

Jeff has sailed in everything from dinghies to offshore yachts since the age of four and said "when you're out sailing in it so much, the environment becomes something that's pretty important to you".

So he started the business that helps local communities reduce their carbon footprint by installing carbon emmission-reducing systems such as solar power to buildings like surf clubs and schools. Community Carbon raises the money so the communities don't have to pay for the renewable energy infrastructure.

"I was frustrated that the government was not doing enough about climate change and people were feeling disempowered. We help people get involved and see that something real can happen even if the government isn't doing anything." They have a facebook page for the cause if you would like to learn more.

The crew has had bad luck with illness today - I believe Travis was sick on the trip over and Stuart during the run - but hopefully they still find the trip worthwhile and return in future years.

2010-04-03T14:27:00.004+11:00

Michael McIntyre takes his camera everywhere so he can record the runs.

Yes, another photo of Johnno and Charlie.

And an updated time table, showing that Aub and Doug managed to knock of Johnno and Charlie's fastest time of the day by 15 minutes, posting a super quick 6.29 to send Don't Panic away at 2.30. Let's hope they make it out of Lady Barron unscathed - I don't think their patience could take much more.

What an amazing job for a guy with a torn calf muscle! If it holds up these guys could really look the goods for King of the Mountains.

2010-04-03T14:03:00.002+11:00

John Cannell from visitflindersisland checks in with his support crew at base camp. Allan Hood and Mal Grimmett make it back to Lady Barron in second place.

Johnno Claridge and Charles Gunn post the day's fastest time.

2010-04-03T13:40:00.002+11:00

Fantastic effort by our sole female competitor Jacqui Guy and her partner Michael McIntyre, of Team Whistler, who just left Lady Barron at 1.35pm, that's a run of 7.15 - even quicker than Allan and Mal from Deguello. It's not hard to see just how many miles they have been putting in in training. Great to see the smaller boat getting ahead of the two much bigger competitors in its division too.

2010-04-03T13:11:00.001+11:00

There is still an issue with the automatic tracker unit on Westbury Mersey Pharmacy and as a result her position on the tracking page is not always correct. At this point in time she is leading the fleet out of Lady Barron heading for Coles Bay in fresh easterly winds.

2010-04-03T12:54:00.001+11:00

Another updated table! Wildfire, our final boat, has just arrived at the jetty.

2010-04-03T12:47:00.002+11:00

With a flap of sails and a grind of winches Haphazard is away, after Johnno and Charlie happily posted the quickest time of the day so far - six hours 42 minutes. Just six minutes quicker than Tim and Jim but a fantastic run! That's a PB of one hour for Johnno in his seventh race and obviously a PB for first-timer Charlie, who said he was a bit sore, but was still smiling :)
Next runners should be Whistler but they're probably a couple of hours away.

2010-04-03T12:26:00.002+11:00

Deguello's runners took us by surprise, finishing at 12.23 after 7 hours 23 minutes on the course.

2010-04-03T12:15:00.002+11:00

Thanks Tricia, who is obviously more on the ball than I am, if you click on the above graph you can read it! This is the updated version after the first runners - WMP's Tim and Jim - arrived back at Lady Barron. Good run of 6.48 guys. They're off and away already and we are anticipating Haphazard's runners any minute.

2010-04-03T11:58:00.003+11:00

Don't Panic has made it to the jetty to stop their sailing time; meanwhile their runners, who were taken to shore in a runabout early this morning, set a blistering time up and down the mountain of 1hr29 - equal fastest with Haphazard's runners. Aub's torn calf must be holding up well.

2010-04-03T11:36:00.002+11:00

Carey Hire is in... Adrian Young and Ian Frankze are checking in now. They are going clockwise because they want to do the bush in the daylight.

2010-04-03T11:22:00.002+11:00

Community Carbon's runners made the summit at 11.15am. The mountain marshall repeated by radio that "one of the runners was a bit fatigued" - I'm sorry I still don't know which one though.

2010-04-03T11:02:00.003+11:00

Peccadillo has made it to Lady Barron by refloating itself using a kedge.

I have made the above table to help keep people up to date on the runners times/locations but can anyone help me - I don't know how to upload it big enough to read!

2010-04-03T10:57:00.002+11:00

Peccadillo's runners Gareth Parker and Karl Miller, both from NSW, were brought ashore and started their run at 8.33am, going clockwise.
Summit times for Whistler 10.10am and visitflinders 10.53am. They reported that the runners from Community Carbon were not far away.
Still waiting on the two boats aground and Wildfire and Carey Hire still sailing.
Forecast for sail down to Coles Bay looking better: still on the nose but about 15 knots. Should suit Haphazard, the boys did blow out their big asymmetric last night but were happy with their run across.

2010-04-03T10:23:00.002+11:00

My first attempt at videoeing using a point and shoot digi camera. It's the Johns from visitflindersisland.com

2010-04-03T10:21:00.001+11:00

In response to blogger ST - Community Carbon went clockwise and they were looking strong and fresh at the base. I'm not sure which was sick because I don't know which is which! It was the taller of the two I think - is that Travis?

2010-04-03T10:16:00.002+11:00

Base times for Whistler 9.08am Community Carbon 9.24am and VisitFlindersIsland 9.39am. Return times for Deguello 9am (1hr43) Haphazard 9.33 (1hr29) and WMP 9.36 (1hr42). WMP took the coastal route first so although it does look like they have been caught, they have run slightly further.
Sun has disappeared so a nice cool day for our runners. Locals doing a fantastic job as support crew!

2010-04-03T09:22:00.001+11:00

Travis and Stuart from Community Carbon reached base camp at a walking pace at 9.25. Said they are loving their first Three Peaks... kind of. But they haven't had to use the map yet.

2010-04-03T09:13:00.000+11:00

At base camp there is a cool southerly blowing... Deguello's Alan and Mal have made it to the top and back down, setting out on the return trek at 9am. Haphazard's Johnno and Charlie pulled out 35 minutes on Tim and Jim from Westbury-Mersey, following them up the mountain five minutes behind and reaching the summit just one minute behind at 8.55am.
Very patchy coverage out here. Jacqui and Michael on their way up now and 2 other teams en route to the mountain via the road. Road is long straight stretches of white gravel, "mind numbing" according to Jacqui. Coastal route is undulating with lots of roots.

2010-04-03T08:06:00.001+11:00

Peccadillo has just radioed in to report that it has run aground off Adelaide Bay and is requesting a runabout to collect its runners.
Aub and Doug from Don't Panic have left race control and their sailors have hoisted the spinnaker in an attempt to float off the bottom. Tide is going out.