By Ian Grant.
Hamilton Island Yacht Club skipper Bruce Absolon remains significantly proud of the opportunity to now own and skipper one of the World’s best known yachts.
However the ocean racing career of Bruce Absolon has not been all smooth sailing on a calm sea in fact there is a personal meaning behind the name of his famed ocean racer Nikon Spirit of The Maid.
Bruce Absolon became a broken man when his previous yacht the two time Sydney Hobart Race winner Ausmaid was wrecked on Noosa north shore beach on April 2 2009.
Ausmaid was nearing the final stages of her delivery voyage to compete in the Brisbane to Gladstone race when her crew faced an intense and life threatening low depression system off Double Island Point.
The Hobart Race champion was basically wrecked at sea when a growling wave estimated at 11 metres sent Ausmaid into a barrel roll capsize, breaking the mast and leaving both crew and craft at the mercy of the sea.
Thankfully her crew were saved but the racing career of Ausmaid dramatically ended when she was smashed to pieces in the stormy shore dump on the remote Sunshine Coast beach.
As expected the respect and memory of sailing the champion Ausmaid will never fade which is the reason why Bruce Absolon has chosen to call his replacement ocean racer Nikon Spirit of The Maid.
The classic Volvo 60 which originally made her World sailing debut representing Norway in the tortuous race around the World to then become the first to smash the 2 day barrier in the gruelling 628 nautical mile Rolex Sydney Hobart Race reflects the true spirit of her now proud owner.
During the past week Nikon Spirit of The Maid added another milestone to her impressive log book when she represented Australia with the Victorian sloop