Suitably refreshed the fleet move out of Sydney to begin the final leg in the southern hemisphere.
Pool A
All goes well on tack 1 but tack 2 brings early propblems for overall race leader Ardley Athletic as he crashes into the coast on Comerong Island while crewman Figueroa is at the wheel. The leaders of the pool all move southwards hugging the coast with No-Eye Deer temporarily out in front.
Tack 3 and the first boats, SuperSlaves and Kelly’s Heroes, reach waypoint 1. They are followed on tack 4 by Crazy Canucks, No-Eye Deer and Zuluwarriors. Ajax Hamster Jam has a very close call but manages to change direction just in time to avoid a trip to the repair yards.
The same could not be said for Crazy Canucks on tack 5 as he attempted a short cut between Australia and Tazmania and came a cropper on Flinders Island.
Zuluwarriors takes the lead and is approaching waypoint 2 but poor sailing by crewmen Lampard and Geovanni see him lose ground and be overtaken by No-Eye Deer who is first to reach the second marker on tack 7. Zuluwarriors gets there on tack 8 and retakes the lead on tack 9.
Tack 10 and Kelly’s Heroes and SuperSlaves pass the second marker and a strong tack by crewman Cole takes Kelly’s Heroes into second on tack 11.
The wind dies off for the final few tacks and the week ends with Zuluwarriors out in front - followed by Kelly’s Heroes and No-Eye Deer. Bringing up the rear is Hoops! who has just reached waypoint 1 and is struggling with his rigging.
Pool B
A similar start in pool B and as the fleet move down the coast on tack 2. Too close unfortunately for Tramp Attack as he is beached just south of Narooma. Too close also for Lythgoe’s Disciples as he is another boat to find Comerong Island.
Tack 3 and it’s Self Cleaning Ovens‘ turn to make repairs as he runs aground at Depot Beach.
Tack 4 and Cow Tipping Frogs, Presti Spudgunners and Atlético Tcf are first to reach waypoint 1 - followed by Honeyballs on tack 5.
Honeyballs then makes a strategic move towards Tazmania - and it pays off as she, with crewman Berbatov at the wheel, moves ahead of Cow Tipping Frogs on tack 9 and is the first to reach waypoint 2.
Green Peace cuts the corner south of Tazmania and is second to the marker on the next tack and then takes to the front on tack 11. Cow Tipping Frogs is next and he moves up to share the lead on tack 12.
With little movement in the last few tacks it’s Green Peace who starts next week with a slight lead - ahead of Honeyballs and Cow Tipping Frogs. Despite a heathly gameweek score Lythgoe’s Disciples finds homself at the back and still 131Nm short of waypoint 1.
Pool C
By tack 2 Robots in Disguise and Time for Trumpton had moved down the coast and ahead of the remainder of the pool. On the same tack Mid Table Struggler hit the rocks at Crookhaven Head - if only the lighthouse there was still in service things may have been different.
Tack 3 and crewman Vidic takes LUFC 1963 to the front - a lead he then shared with Time for Trumpton and A Team of Johnsons as they all reached the first waypoint on tack 4.
A 380Nm tack by LUFC 1963 moved him back clear and by tack 7 he was still in front and past waypoint 2. A Team of Johnsons was staying with him and nearly reached the marker on the next tack - however some bad navigation and lack of wind meant A Team of Johnsons didn’t finally cross the second wayline until tack 14.
By this time LUFC 1963 had consolidated his lead and Roman Villa had moved into 2nd. However the final tack of week saw The Drogs take that place as he set about trying to catch LUFC 1963. And this was the position at the end of the week - with Mid Table Struggler tailing the fleet some 55Nm short of waypoint 1.
Pool D
By the end of tack 3 Sultan of Barnet FC has a slight lead over the bunch who are moving down the coast that includes atx1303, LANESRA, LukesGiants and Diminutive Midgets.
It’s looked like the fleet had avoided any early landfall but this was not to be the case as on tack 4 The Cooler King, who was at the back of pool, ran aground on Tollgate Island in Batemans Bay.
On the same tack 4 boats reached waypoint 1 - Sultan of Barnet FC and atx1303, the early leaders, had been joined by Vellus Arsefield and FC Boscoppa. At this point atx1303 was the second boat to try and thread his way between Tazmania and the mainland … and the second to run-aground on Flinders Island. Vellus Arsefield and FC Boscoppa overhaul Sultan of Barnet FC.
Tack 6 and Lukes Giants makes a giant 387Nm leap to the front and is the first to reach waypoint 2 on tack 7 and by doing so to the north of it successfully cuts the corner to head west earlier than the rest of the pool.
FC Boscoppa passes the marker on tack 8 and Family Bereavements, Galatasarky and Sultan of Barnet FC make it on tack 10.
Yet again the wind deserts the fleet in the closing tacks of the week and by the end Lukes Giants is clear in first, having sailed an almost perfect line, followed by FC Boscoppa and then Diminutive Midgets.
Bringing up the rear is The Cooler King and Naked Pirates along with LANESRA whose crew dropped their compass overboard.
Next week the leaders should enter the Southern Oceans for the final time before heading towards warmer waters and Africa.