Whitsunday property developer George Challoner naturally breathed a sigh of relief when he steered the Elan 37 class sloop Airlie Retreat to a narrow one point win in the Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week Performance Handicap class championship. Skipper Challoner and crew have enjoyed all of the glory associated with their ‘nail biting’ one point win over Whitsunday Sailing Club veteran Roger Down in True Love while Royal Motor Yacht Club helmsman Mike Roper in Roper Bull completed a log jam at the top order of an exciting series.
However the offer of a friendly title defence seems unlikely when the Airlie Retreat crew line up for the 2010 series over the testing Whitsunday Sailing Club courses. Some of their rival crews believe they ‘snuck under the radar’ in terms of their handicap rating but in reality it was a clever crew performance in a mixed bag of light winds which ultimately allowed Airlie Retreat to score her win in what proved to be a tight series after the top twelve were only separated by 14 points.
The Airlie Retreat crew basically won the series on the final leg of the last race after True Love looked set to protect her two point buffer but unfortunately True Love which needed to finish fifth fell short by two places while Airlie Retreat completed a consistent series with her title winning third.
George Challoner and the Airlie Retreat crew remain as the Performance Handicap class pace setters while a strong challenge gains momentum from their local rivals including True Love and the Craig Piccinelli skippered Wobbly Boot.
The current word drifting around the local ‘watering holes’ suggests that a much tougher tactical challenge against Airlie Retreat will be revealed when the sails are tensioned next August.
This is no idle threat with several owners reported to be saving their ‘drinking silver’ to lift their boat speed with either a total new suit of sails while others are searching the market for new spinnakers.
There is also a strong possibility that the competition now regarded among the best Performance Handicap racing standard on the Australian winter Race Week circuit will attract another high standard fleet including the 2009 regatta pacesetters.
Meanwhile several skippers including Craig Piccinelli who won the Boss Hog trophy as the top performer at the Hog’s Breath Race Week in 2004 remains tight lipped about his preparations for 2010 except to confirm that Wobbly Boot will be on the start line with the promise of finding the required all angle sailing speed to claim his second title in six years.
Similar determination will surround the out of town challenge from Bowen skipper Steve Wright in the former Brisbane to Gladstone Performance Handicap champion Air Apparent while the 2009 Sunferries Magnetic Island Race Week IRC title winner Quattro has been included as a possible challenger.
Owner skipper Graham Donnell has indicated that he is keen to return to racing at Airlie Beach after missing the 2009 series because of work commitments.
“I will be looking at the Notice of Race and make a decision then “. He Said.