Albany Ocean Race Report

Two identical yachts shared the limelight in last weekend’s Fremantle to Albany ocean race – Todd Giraudo’s well-travelled Kraken and David Cameron’s sparkling, new Crush. Identical right down to the placement of deck fittings, the difference between them was simply the crew. Kraken built her reputation (including races to Osaka and Bali) on the abilities of Giraudo and his sailing buddy David “Dubbo” White. Crush on the other hand, was fully crewed with a compliment of eight.

Well behind race leader Alan Stein’s Dirty Deeds, Crush led Kraken for much of the journey but paid the price just east of Windy Harbour by allowing Kraken to break away on the opposite gybe, and never recovered. In the overall standings however, the quality of these Jeanneau 3600’s and the talent of their vastly different crews, led to a one-two result in Kraken’s favour on IRC handicaps, with Ian Clyne’s Joss filling third place.

Dirty Deeds sailed well to claim line honours in a little over 40 hours despite being becalmed for some time on Saturday afternoon.

Nearing Albany, conditions freshened considerably. Simon Torvaldsen blew out two spinnakers but still managed to finish in fourth place overall on IRC, crossing the line a mere 18 minutes behind Paul Arns’ Obsession.

Owners are now anxiously watching the weather for a suitable window to return their craft to Fremantle. Presentations will be held at the Royal Perth Annex at 1600 on Sunday 28th April.

Visit www.rpyc.com.au/events/albany-race/ for the full results list

Words: Bernie Kaaks