ICHI’S SUPREMACY
PASSAGE RACE DOMINANCE:
SYDNEY to Hobart handicap winner Ichi Ban showcased its dominance over the Festival of Sails field, winning the 175th annual passage race in just under 4½ hours.
The Australian keelboat champion crew was first into Corio Bay yesterday, docking just before 2pm after departing Melbourne at 9.30am.
Ichi Ban sailing master Gordon Maguire said his team faced difficult conditions in the passage race.
“The conditions were very testing,” he said.
“We had a big transition period in the middle of the race ... ideally we would have been here a bit faster had we not slowed up in that middle section of the race, but always great to get here to Geelong and we’re looking forward to a great weekend of racing.”
Maguire said he’d already had people keen to check out the 52-footer and was expect- ing more viewers today and tomorrow.
“We did have a few people meet us in the channel on the way here and I had to be re- minded that they wanted to see the boat because we won the Sydney to Hobart, so if people want to come and have a look at the boat, that’s no worries,” he said. “She is beautiful and we’re very proud of her.
“We’ve gone to every nth degree we can to make sure everything’s perfect on this boat, so if people can learn from it and it makes someone else faster, then it makes us faster.”