Queensland Marine Services takes double in Whitsunday race

11:47 PM Sun 12 Jul 2009 GMT

'Idle Time' Sail-World.com /AUS &copy Click Here to view large photo

John Galloway expressed his tactical sailing skill on Pioneer Bay when he steered Queensland Marine Services to an impressive line and handicap double in Whitsunday Sail Loft /Doyle Sails trophy race last week.

Skipper Galloway has logged an enormous amount of miles with racing and cruising around the warm waters of the Whitsunday Passage and again proved why he is highly regarded on the list of local experts.

However while taking some personal satisfaction when Queensland Marine Services shows a clean wake to her rivals he is the first to acknowledge that the results stem from a dedicated team effort.

This was again evident when the more exposed waters of the Whitsunday Passage wore their traditional 'white caps' formed into shape by the 20-25 knot trade wind.

Whenever these conditions prevail it becomes a safe bet to predict that Queensland Marine Services and her major rivals Idle Time (Kevin Fogarty), Sandpiper (Colin Pruden) and the consistent Surefoot (Rod Sawyer) will become involved in a mate against mate battle for the important fastest corrected course time.

All four skippers have a preference to race in moderate to fresh breeze where the separation in boat speed is determined by the crew who are committed to making sure their sloops fit quickly into the grove of sailing above their handicap ratings.

This is never easy when the winds become gusty but the Queensland Marine Services crew again found a way to progressively convert centimetres into metres of clear sailing space which ultimately provided skipper John Galloway to simply concentrate on protecting their .792 time correction factor.

They were in command all the way finishing with a 1 minute 41 second line honours victory over Surefoot while Charles Wallis skippered the 2008 Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week Performance Handicap champion Reignition into third another 12 seconds astern.

However while skipper John Galloway was happy with the line honours win his handicap honours remained under threat from the lower handicapped Idle Time and Sandpiper.

Idle time had a chance to upset the handicap result when they entered the final leg of the course when skipper Kevin Fogarty who finished a disappointing sixth in race one showed he was keen to improve his point score.

They were in good shape and while the Idle Time crew sailed smart it was not fast enough with Queensland Marine Services remaining unchallenged to claim an important 17 second win with Idle Time and Sandpiper filling the minor places.

The Queensland Marine Services crew hope to repeat the result to consolidate their series lead when the important third race is decided over the Whitsunday Sailing Club course this week.

Based on their form and consistent 3-1 score they are expected to be a front runner however they will be forced to protect their sailing space against an expected challenge from Surefoot (1-4) and the Jeff Brown skippered 007 (2-5).

by Ian Grant