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Well, the M2PF race is done and dusted for another year. At the presentation Saturday afternoon, race director Robin Hewitt thanked the Port Fairy Yacht Club for their typically warm hospitality in helping crews through the early hours of Saturday morning and beyond. |
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Congratulations to Ashley Trebilcock and all the crew on Bandit for doing a right royal job cleaning up on all the silverware, winning IRC, AMS, PHD and Line Honours! |
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Solid performances also from Dry White and Alien. Congratulations to the crew from Steetcar being first home doublehanded. |
| This was the scene from the finish line at Port Fairy Friday afernoon. Very peaceful compared to what we were seeing last year! Looking forward to the fleet arriving Saturday morning. |
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| Since yesterday, the forecast winds for the M2PF race have lightened slightly but still 15-20 knots from the SW initially, gradually shifting to the W and further N later on Saturday evening. Using the weather routing tool from our friends at Predict Wind, the boats at the pointy end of the fleet should arrive at Port Fairy very early Saturday morning with the rest of fleet following thoughout the rest of the morning. Both models are in fairly good agreement which is always reassuring. |
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| Happily, the rain that had been forecast for most of Friday seems to have largely passed. It looks like being a late and lonely night for the race officials hanging out in the OVCV van Saturday morning! See you all in Port Fairy |
Port Fairy leaders tightly bunched
The forty-footers were the fastest out past the heads in the wee hours of this morning, Dry White leading Running Wild with Bandit following close behind.
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Running Wild and Bandit are at the front of the fleet |
The two doublehanded crews sailing to Port Fairy this year - Aidan Geysen and Jeremy Walton on Streetcar, and Leanne and Tom Doherty on Ingenue - maintained a close distance from the leaders in the initial stage.
The fleet turned to the west around Cape Otway into westerly winds, which will tend slightly north west into the evening. As a result, most boats are now tacking furiously north and south to gain an advantage heading straight into the wind.
The line honour and handicap crowns are switching between Bandit, Dry White, Bacardi and Running Wild at each tracker update. But Alien and Streetcar could catch up to the frontrunners with a strategic tack and some favourable wind.
The head group has around 45 nautical miles left to race and it looks like it's going to be tight right until the end.
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Well, for the M2PF Race this year, there is good news and then not so good news! First the good news. The weather gods look like cooperating so that we don't have a repeat of last year's tough trek to Port Fairy. SW winds of 15-25 knots should greet the fleet around start time, gradually easing into the morning at 15-20 knots making for a tight beat down to Cape Otway.
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| Then, the not so good news! Just as you might have hoped life might get a little easier after the Cape, the winds are forecast to shift westerly and gradually more northerly into Friday. So the winds for the trip look like being on the nose in more ways than one! Maybe leave those bulky spinnkers at home? And just to add to the fun, maybe prepare for some rain along the way too. |
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