Lahana takes line honours in Brisbane to Gladstone Yacht Race
Peter Millard and his crew overcame a slow start to crew the Sydney registered maxi sloop Lahana to a comfortable line honours win in the QantasLink Brisbane to Gladstone Race earlier this afternoon.
Skipper Peter Millard said “The race was a test of patience for the first 42 n/mls however that struggle was soon replaced with a pleasant sail overnight”. “We elected to tack offshore and sailed into good pressure which I feel became the separation point between Lahana and Black Jack”.
Navigator Carl Crafoord supported his skippers comments “When the race because of the conditions favoured our longer waterline we knew Lahana would have the edge over Black Jack.Sure interest naturally hinged on the battle for the first to finish trophy and the drag race between the defending line honours champion Black Jack.
But that was put to rest when the Lahana crew elected the tactical option to sail their own race offshore while the smaller Black Jack sailed a more inshore course. Lahana held a race winning line honours lead when her crew reached a peak speed of 18.2 knots on the run from Breaksea Spit to Lady Elliot Island.
‘Taking the line honours was a special result and we will be back in 2012’ Skipper Peter Millard added when he stepped ashore to accept the Race Line Honours pennant from Race Director Herb Prendergast. The smaller Black Jack while finishing another 1 hour 20 minutes later produced an outstanding performance against the more powerful Lahana while the Marcus Blackmore skippered Hooligan remains poised to finish third later tonight.
