Michael Hiatt’s Living Doll grabs overall victory in 2011 Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race
At the conclusion of Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s (CYCA) 384-nautical mile 2011 Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race, Michael Hiatt-skippered Victorian yacht, Living Doll, has been declared the overall winner of the event. Though Living Doll is fourth
in the race standings, its consistency has brought it on top of the overall event’s results.
Last year’s winner, Stephen Ainsworth’s Loki is second followed by Syd Fischer’s Ragamuffin on third. Loki was stuck at the Coffs Harbour on Monday, August 1 when the weather conditions were unfavourable. The breeze stopped blowing and there weren’t enough
gusts to sail. The circumstances did test the sailing skills of all the participants but Loki managed to slip out of the tough situation to finish second overall.
Melbourne’s Hiatt celebrated his 59th birthday on August 1 but this victory seemed a lot more than that. Living Doll finished the line honours in 2 days 2 hours 52 minutes and 36 seconds, with 7.5 race speed.
While speaking to the local media after the victory, Hiatt said, “There are still some small boats out there that could knock us off. I don’t know if they’ll get enough breeze, so we’ll stay low key until we know for sure. The boat excels in the conditions
we got; the weather suited us. Everyone had a part to play, they were all very good at their jobs”
Ragamuffin skipper Syd Fischer commented, “I had a mix of old and young crew and everyone worked very well together. Vanessa Dudley and our young 49er sailor, Clinton Wade-Lehman, did a great job on the helm, along with our two other drivers and Steve McConaghy
did a good job with the tactics.”
The overall result is given below.
1. Wild Oats XI, Mark Richards NSW – Race Time: 01:18:11:27, Speed: 9.1
2. Investec Loyal, Anthony Bell NSW - Race Time: 01:18:20:49, Speed: 9.1
3. Loki, Stephen Ainsworth NSW - Race Time: 02:00:34:06, Speed: 7.9
4. Living Doll, Michael Hiatt VIC - Race Time: 02:02:52:36, Speed: 7.5
5. Lahana, Peter Millard NSW - Race Time: 02:03:29:26, Speed: 7.5
6. Brindabella, Bradshaw Kellett NSW - Race Time: 02:05:35:27, Speed: 7.2
7. Ragamuffin, Syd Fischer NSW - Race Time: 02:10:08:08, Speed: 6.6
8. Hooligan, Marcus Blackmore NSW - Race Time: 02:10:30:23, Speed: 6.6
9. Shogun, Rob Hanna VIC - Race Time: 02:11:34:20, Speed: 6.4
10. Pretty Fly III, Colin Woods NSW - Race Time: 02:11:58:25, Speed: 6.4
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