SPORT - Wild Oats X leading, Shogun retires

SPORT - A photo finish after 50 hours of racing?

11:00hrs, July 27, 2007 - As the leading boats in the Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race have rounded Cape Byron, it’s a tacking duel between

Wild Oats X

and
Loki.
After 50 hours of racing, could it all come down to a photo finish?

Tom Addis, tactician on
Wild Oats X
said: “This morning we’ve had our hands full with
Loki,
who came up inshore of us this morning in ‘full stealth mode’. They put some miles on, but then got parked lee of Ballina, and we were able to catch them again.”

“This race was always going to be difficult through this stage with the trailing boats in better breeze, but we will try to hang on for the next 40nm. After a bumpy night, everything is much flatter now with the offshore breeze,” said Addis.

Andrew Short’s Pricewaterhouse Coopers is currently sitting in third position with
Black Jack
having gone back offshore. “Overnight, we had some pretty rough conditions, but it has calmed down a little now since we have rounded Cape Byron. We are not far behind the leaders and are trying catch them in our current conditions.”

Keen enthusiasts can track the fleet as they sail up the coast. Each yacht is fitted with the CYCA’s unique yacht tracking device which sends regular updates to the race website — visit http://goldcoast.cyca.com.au

Details of all yachts participating in the event can be found under The Yachts tab.
Line honours positions and handicap results will be updated regularly until the last boat crosses the finish line.