International Entry for Gladstone race

by Ian Grant on 12 Apr 2000 Chris Walmsley the highly respected Royal Papua Yacht Club ocean racing skipper has entered his speed sailing Bull 9000 Tower Matador for the 308 nautical mile Carlton Brisbane-Gladstone Race starting on Moreton Bay at 11am on Good Friday.

Walmsley noted for his aggressive approach to sail hard while respecting the power of the wind and associated torment from the sea will contest the Performance Handicap class with the sloop which has already impressed with her fast course time in the 480 n/ml Shell Coral Sea race from Cairns to Port Moresby last May.

Tower Matador despite her relatively short 9 metre waterline has the potential to outpace much larger yachts when spinnaker sailing before strong winds.

The ride on deck is always wet but skipper Walmsley and crew including his sailing master and previous race winner Richard Byerley of Brisbane claim the faster they sail limits the pain drain and the time between having a welcome warm fresh water shower in Gladstone.

Crew comfort below deck is spartan on this racing machine, there are bunks, a navigators nook, a galley plus room to stow spare racing sails.

But primarily Tower Matador has been fitted out to race recording impressive course times since her launching just over 12 months ago including averaging 9.6knots over the Cairns to Port Moresby rhumbline.

Naturally her crew will be happy with moderate to fresh South East winds to create a fast sailing angle when they test their proven speed against some of the equally impressive Australian yachts particularly the Sydney Farr 40 Leroy Brown which has set class records in the Sydney-Southport and recent Sydney-Hobart race.

The Tower Matador crew will be racing against some impressive yachts, but at the end of the day the results come down to which crew sail their own yacht the best.

Skipper and crew have a tremendous understanding and have already proved they have the endurance,skill and tactics to be a strong contender to win another major Australian yacht race trophy for the Royal Papua Yacht Club.