Georgia Express – Ready to BRING IT ON!

The 5th Annual Brisbane to Keppel Yacht Race is set to commence at 12 noon on Friday 5th August 2011. The fleet currently sits at 32 entries with race organisers expecting more entries as boats which are competing in the Sydney to Southport Race plan their trip north to Airlie Beach Race Week and Hamilton Island Race Week.

Within the fleet of yachts entered there are many seasoned racers who are presently dusting off their thermals and preparing for the chilly drag race north to Keppel Bay. The race history is typically for slow starts out of Moreton Bay under light wind conditions with stronger winds on the beam as yachts pass Caloundra and head north for Breaksea Spit.

At present yacht owners are completing their paperwork, auditing their safety gear and completing repairs and maintenance to have their boats in fine tuned condition for the ocean classic.

One of the yachts, skippered by the ever hardy Andrew Knights, Georgia Express, will be competing in their third Brisbane to Keppel Race. Georgia Express has been out of race mode for the last two months undergoing extensive refits to rigging and running gear to have the boat tuned in for racing. The crew will comprise the regular racing crew and their secret weapon of choice helmsman for ocean racing making his annual appearance on board.

The crew are presently making all important decisions on new wet weather gear, the menu for the journey and what crew shirts to be worn for this years race. The more technically minded crew members are charging their iPads and iPhones to compete in the race within the race – the Live Updates on the race homepage and Facebook updates to keep those on shore informed of the yacht’s progress. Photos will be loaded during the journey along with sailing stories to keep the shore crew and interested persons informed and hopefully entertained.

The yacht’s sail wardrobe is being checked over, dusted off and readied for the race. Which spinnakers to take is the all important decision which cannot be made until the day of departure when the weather forecast is better understood.

As part of the recent refit, the boat has been emptied and extensive auditing of the removed equipment conducted to ‘Spring Clean’ and lighten where possible the boats load. A rumour is circulating that one of the crew is on a weight loss program which is expected to be applied to the crew gear bags and essentials taken. This same crew person however is reported, when asked about weight, to state that ‘beer’ weight is good weight.

Last years race ended in a close finish with the Farr 30 Immigrant, with Georgia Express crossing the finish line only seconds ahead of her smaller competitor after and intense Gybing Duel for the last several miles of the race. What finish will occur this year, you may well ask. Hopefully, one which is as early as possible to permit maximum hospitality time at the festivities at Keppel Bay Marina.

So, get your gear bags packed, thermals warmed and prepare for another installment of Queensland Ocean Racing.

Georgia Express