Ichi Ban on course for clean sweep of series

THREE supermaxis and record-setting award-winning handicap star Ichi Ban will contest the last major Sydney Hobart lead-up ocean race today.

In-form Comanche will be challenged by fellow supermaxis and Sydney Hobart line honours hopefuls Black Jack and InfoTrack in the 41-boat fleet for the 85-nautical-mile Bird Island Race. InfoTrack returns after months of modification and preparation works.

“It’s always good to see how we are going against the other 100-footers,” said Jim Cooney skipper and co-owner of Comanche, which has taken line honours in most of the races she’s contested over the last year. “More importantly, it’s about adjusting our mindset to focus on race performance and tactics to make sure we are maximising our trim and making the best sail selection.”

Heading the race for overall honours today is the red hot TP52 Ichi Ban, which in mid-November became the first Australian boat to win Britain’s Royal Ocean Racing Club’s Yacht of the year award. The boat, owned by Australian Sailing president Matt Allen, has set records and won overall honours in several races over the past year, including the 2017 Sydney Hobart.

“The boat just keeps getting better and better and we’re going infinitely better than this time last year,” Allen said. “It’s been an amazing season and it would be very hard for anyone to ever have a season like that in Australia.” The Bird Island event is the fifth and penultimate race in the Sydney Blue Water Pointscore series.

Ichi Ban has won division one in each of the first four and no boat has ever won all six in that division of the series, which concludes with the Sydney Hobart.

“We’ve got two races to go, so no point looking at the record books until we’ve done the next two races,” Allen said.

“I think Saturday’s race to Bird Island is going to be pretty problematic with the wind and the way it’s going, but time will tell.”