HELSAL II SHOWS HER PACE IN BASS STRAIT RACE

by Peter Campbell on 6 Nov 2000 Stanley, 1700/5 November: The veteran pocket maxi Sorbet Helsal II, a
one-time record-breaker in many Australian ocean races, has taken line
honours in the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria's 180 nautical mile Melbourne
to Stanley race across Bass Strait.

Sorbent Helsal II, an Adams 66 that still holds the record for the Gosford
to Lord Howe Island ocean race, is now back in Victoria under the ownership
Bill Rawson, and later this year will make a comeback in the Telstra Sydney
to Hobart race.

She finished at Stanley, the history port on the north-west coast of
Tasmania, just before 10pm last night (Saturday) to take line honours, but
some six hours outside the race record.

However, owner Rawson became a casualty ashore when he slipped in a hole on
the Stanley jetty, tearing ligaments and forcing him to celebrate the win on
crutches.

The Melbourne to Stanley race, apart from being an important event on the
ORCV offshore calendar, is a qualifier to Victorian yachts entering the
Telstra Sydney to Hobart and the Indec Consulting Melbourne to Hobart races.

The 35 boat fleet set sail from Queenscliff, just inside The Rip at Port
Phillip at 2.30am yesterday at slack tide but late this afternoon several
smaller boats were still at sea after experiencing south to south-westerly
headwinds for most of the race, varying from 25 knots to virtually nothing.

Because of IMS computer program problems, ORCV officials today could only
announce provisional results for the PHD, AMS and IRC divisions.

First place in PHD went to the well sailed Copyguard Simply Red, a Farr 40
skippered by Chris Bradbury, second to Summit Bacardi, skippered by John
Williams and third to Helsal II.

Bacardi also won the AMS handicap category, beating Kaos (Peter Blake) and
Sagacious 5 (Ian William) while in the IRC category, Copyguard Simply Red
placed ahead of Lou Abrahams' newly launched Sydney 38, Another Challenge.

Copyright Simply Red, Sorbent Helsal II, Summit Bacardi, Kaos and Sagacious
5 are among 15 Victorian yachts that have nominated for the Telstra Sydney
to Hobart.