Sked 2 press release

by Lisa Ratcliffe on 16 Apr 2000 Wild Thing takes the lead in the Sunlover Holidays Sydney - Mooloolaba Yacht Race
Yesterday afternoon the crew of Melbourne maxi Wild Thing confidently predicted they would be leading the Sunlover Holidays Sydney - Mooloolaba
Race fleet by morning and they were right!

At this morning's position report, Wild Thing, owned and skippered by Melbourne businessman Grant Wharington were 3 miles ahead of the nearest competitor
Brindabella (George Snow), and sailing just south of Port Macquarie. John Biddlecombe's Open 60 RSLCOM is a further 9 miles behind Brindabella.

'Conditions were light during the night but we managed to hold out Brindabella,' said Wild Thing's navigator Genevieve White. 'When the sun came up, is was
great to look back and see them behind us.'

Wild Thing has completed 168 nautical miles of the 469 nautical mile race and based on their current speed, computer predictions have them finishing well into
Monday night.

In the IMS overall results the Lyons 43 Atara, skippered by three-time Bluewater Champion Roger Hickman, is narrowly leading Brindabella in the IMS Bluewater
Pointscore while Neill Whiston's Beneteau 40.7 Fruit Machine is the current IMS handicap leader.

In the IRC Division, the last Farr 40 One-Design to be built by McConaghy boat builders, Bon Giorno, skippered by Stephen Ellis, is leading from Zurich, a
Sydney 41 owned by Nigel Holman, closely followed by another Farr 40 Corinthian Doors (Richard Perini) and Infinity III (Martin James).

The best placed Queensland boat is Nortruss G-Wizz, an Inglis 50 skippered by Mooloolaba Yacht Club Sailing Administrator Phil Gray, currently in 6th place,
followed by Duncan Mackellar's Great Escape in 15th place. In the IRC handicap division, the best-placed QLD yacht is Wayne Kirkpatrick's Sydney 38 OD
Asylum.

'Conditions overnight were perfect,' said Wayne this morning. 'The sky was clear, the moon was full and we were travelling well in a stiff nor'easter until we
managed to sail into a hole early this morning, letting Fruit Machine sail over the top of us.'

The forecast for today is 10-knot NW/NE breezes with another weak change due Monday.