Photo by Andrea Francolini

This week I am in gorgeous Hamilton Island for Audi Hamilton Island Race Week. Yesterday I was lucky enough to get to sail on Black Jack for the two windward/leeward races. Both races we beat Wild Oats over the line!

The racing was extremely close and there we times where I though bow sprits would take us out!

Oats Rolled by Black Jack
By Lisa Ratclife

Today the formula one component of the 25th anniversary Audi Hamilton Island Race Week split from the bulk of the 225 strong fleet for some thrilling round the cans action in Fitzalan Passage, to the east of Hamilton Island.

The line honours battle continued at the front end of the fleet with Peter Harburg’s Black Jack gaining the upper hand, scoring two crucial wins over the Mark Richards skippered Wild Oats X.

The 2006 built Black Jack, named after the three time formula one world champion Sir Jack Brabham in honour of his sporting achievements and launched in Brisbane last month, is a slight development of the previous Wild Oats X model.

In race 1 the two got away side by side, Black Jack finally edging out Wild Oats to finish comfortably ahead of Wild Oats X, but in the second race just a boat length separated the two at the finish, PRO Denis Thompson reporting 'in the end it came down to the best gybe'.

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