Make or break time...

14:01:2010 Despite the slow first day of the regatta the North Easterly tradewind has returned with strength and has since provided great sailing conditions. Fifteen to eighteen knots and one meter swells greeted the sailors as they lined up on the outside course for the penultimate day of racing. Most boats arrived at the start line early to match the sail selection with the wind speed. Some boats had reefed mainsails and others chose smaller headsails as they sailed up the first leg in testing mode. With two races scheduled for the racing classes, this would be the last opportunity to improve the overall standings and give themselves a chance at a podium place or alternatively go out the back door.

The clash of the titans in the racing class is reaching a crescendo. Neil Pryde's Welbourne 52 Hi Fi leads Ray Roberts TP52 Evolution Racing by one point at the start of the day and as they have chased each other around the course all week, today's results are expected to determine the overall winner. All eyes were on the racing class start and thankfully there was no untoward incidents as PRO Mark Pryke radioed "Clear start". Hi Fi skippered by Kevin Costin in Neil Pryde's absence were quick off the line at the pin end, which may just make all the difference at the end of the race. They held a 100 meter lead around the top mark and covered Evolution Racing's every move up and down wind. All alone at the front Frank Pong's 75ft Jelik III went through the paces but being the leader they do not have anyone to push them to the limits. The gap between Hi Fi and Evolution Racing is like an elastic band, forever expanding and contracting but on this occasion Evolution Racing could not muster the steam and find a passing lane. This paved the way for Hi Fi to win Race 6 and for Jelik to squeeze into second place and creating some separation between the two adversaries.

Ray Roberts gave his crew a stern talking to after the race and told them to lift their game. They responded by putting in a professional performance to lead Hi Fi around the course and win Race 7 by 20 seconds. Second place for Hi Fi and Jelik slotted into third. As the drop race comes into play this produces an interesting scenario. Evolution Racing's worse score is a fourth and Hi Fi is a second place which leaves them both tied for first place with 9 points. This leaves tomorrows final race as the crucial decider for the series and may the best sailed boat win.

The strong conditions seem to suit Peter Wintle's Kerr 11.3 Koull Baby as they racked up two more wins in the Premier Cruising Class. Second and third places for Ben Copley's Club Swan 42 Katsu has them dropping points but still hold onto the Overall lead by two points going into the final day. Not to be outdone Vincent Chan's Titan 36 Mata Hari scored third and second places which keeps the dueling leaders honest. To upset the present standings Koull Baby will have to win the race tomorrow and Katsu will have to finish third to turn the points table upside down.

Niels Degenkolw's IOR 3/4 Ton Xyacht Phoenix continued on their winning ways in the IRC 1 Class and extended their overall lead so that they cannot be beaten for the title. Jeremy Camps Cabaret 6 stayed on the pace to post two second places and hold onto second overall. Two third places for Mike Van Zyl's Jandi, sees the defending champion drop from grace but go down fighting. Fourth in line is Simon Piff's Lavranos 34 Rainbow Dream that has put in a good performance despite being down on experienced crew members.

Curtis Skinner's Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron has not scored worse than third place and as that becomes the drop race they have a four point lead in the overall Sports Boat Class standings and something untoward would have to happen for them to loose the title. Christopher Lim's SMU team have put up a good fight and presently hold onto second overall by the skin of their teeth. Mohd Razali's Royal Malaysian Navy 1 bounced back into podium contention by winning race seven to be tied on points with SMU and will have one last chance tomorrow to recover second overall if all things go their way.

No change in the Under 25 Class as Curtis Skinner's Royal Queensland Yacht Squadron has accumulated an unbeatable lead. Christopher Lim's SMU team trails by three points in second place of the three boat class. Shahril Abdul Razak's Malaysian Yachting Association has consistently scored third place and the crew are on a steep learning curve on their first outing in keelboat racing.

Grenville Fordham's Andaman Cabriolet Da Vinci Niña made it five wins in a row since their late arrival from Phuket. By dropping four points for the earlier no start has rocketed them to the top of the Multihull pointscore. Robert Prolux's Vertical Time has put on a brave face after posting a string of second places and being relegated to second overall. Although John Danks Blue Moon is a little out of class here they have persisted and take home third place for their efforts.

The Royal Malaysian Navy Marikh skippered by Norhafisam came good today by winning Race 5 in the Club Cruising Class. Overnight leader Jeff Harris Elan 40 Rapscapllion made a mistake on the course to end up in second place. As Marikh has closed in to within one point of Rapscapllion in the overall stakes the winner of tomorrows race will ultimately be crowned with the title. Morten Ringvold's Haffiman has consistently scored third place and although they don't figure in the winners calculations they will go home with third place.

Jeremy Paul's Astra has proven unbeatable in the Ocean Rover Class by posting five wins in a row. Gavin Welman's Hallberg Rassy 53 Rascal has scored all second places to ultimately end up with second overall. In past years Henning Lenz's 33ft My Toy has been considered the slowest boat in the fleet but this year Christian Doering's much bigger Ilya may claim the dubious title. They will finish third and fourth respectively.

The final day of racing tomorrow will consist of one race for all classes inside Bass Harbour.

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