Wild Thing: strong grip on Abel Point Trophy

10:01 PM Sun 16 Nov 2008 GMT
Keith Roberts has sailed fast and smart to steer the trimaran Wild Thing into a commanding Multihull class lead in the Abel Point Yacht Sales Trophy.

Roberts and crew understand that it is difficult to match the speed of the power sailing catamaran Cynophobe for line honours however they have proved their tactical understanding to register the more important faster corrected handicap course times to hold a convincing four point lead after two races.
Wild Thing opened the series with a comfortable win over the smaller Graham Matthews helmed Brandy Creek Ferry then showed they were on the pace to record a similar impressive victory over Robert Mohle's Skate last week.

Two wins from as many races has given Wild Thing a very strong grip on the important November series trophy however both skipper and crew will need to remain tactically alert as Brandy Creek Ferry (6 points) and the Peter Millar skippered Cynophobe (6 points) are capable of spoiling the celebrations.

Both crews will tighten their tactical attention hoping to force the Wild Thing crew into an error when the sails are tensioned for the third race over the Whitsunday Sailing Club's Pioneer Bay course this week.
However Brandy Creek Ferry will need to sail more consistent to improve on her fourth last week while Cynophobe's chances to improve on her 3-3 score will depend on the wind velocity.

Skipper Peter Millar and sailing master David Chittleborough are rarely happy with a sprint race time that extends beyond sixty minutes and they will be hoping for winds that will be loaded with pressure allowing them to set the required pace to outsail their high 1.085 time correction factor.

Veteran skipper Harold Menelaus sailed Treasure Vlll into contention to win the Division 2 Abel Points Yacht Sales trophy when he claimed a 1 minute 13 second win over arch rival Kevin Fogarty's Idle Time.

Treasure Vlll sailed consistently fast in the moderate breeze however there was no chance to rest as they needed to build time on the lower handicapped rivals particularly the well sailed Idle Time.Idle time certainly had the Treasure Vlll crew under the pump when times were provisionally calculated at the half way mark but the higher handicapped Treasure Vlll finished faster over the final leg of the course to claim victory and a four point lead after two races.

Only time will tell if the Treasure Vlll crew can repeat the performance as the pressure mounts with Idle Time sharing second place with the John Galloway skippered Queensland Marine Services while Wobbly Boot, Africa, Crescendo, Sunrise, Merit and Surefoot have the pace and points capable of causing an upset.

Harold Menelaus has been the tactical target before and has weathered the fray in the past but this is no guarantee that Treasure Vlll will continue to control the lead after this week's critical third race.

by Ian Grant

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