Blake expects ‘horrible’ winds

Press, 10 August 1985, Page 80

Blake expects ‘horrible’ winds

NZPA staff correspondent Cowes Lion New Zealand’s captain, Peter Blake, is expecting “horrible” conditions in the Fastnet yacht race which will decide the Admiral’s Cup. Blake, who starts in a special Fastnet class for sponsored maxis shortly before the cup fleet today, said gale force winds were forecast, along with thick fog and rain. “It will be very uncomfortable. The winds may moderate but they are expected to be fresh.” The Fastnet — the last of five races in the series — was hit by tragedy in 1979. Nineteen yachtsmen died in a storm which devastated the fleet on the night of August 13, and 136 were rescued in a vast sea and air operation. Only 177 of the 306 boats completed the 605-mile race and 23 were abandoned or sunk. This year’s race to Ireland and back will again decide the Admiral’s Cup series, with big points riding on the result.

The points scored by each of the three-boat national teams will be multiplied by five instead of tripled as previously. Blake said that the team of Canterbury Export (captained by Roy Dickson), Epic Lass (Peter Walker), and Exador (Graeme Woodroffe) had a good chance of scoring a first Admiral’s Cup win for New Zealand. The defending champion, West Germany, leads with 1161 points over all, Britain is second on 1096, and New Zealand third with 1027 after four races by a fleet of 18 nations. “Any one of the top four or five have a chance and with New Zealand lying third and the points so advantageous in the Fastnet New Zealand could well win,” Blake said. The points awarded to each boat are decided by subtracting the boat’s placing from the number of starters (54). So there could be swings of hundreds of points in the over-all results when a factor of five is applied.