PRESCOTT TO GIVE ALIVE BIT OF SCARE
THE world’s fastest 40-footer will go up against a multiple offshore racing champion in what is almost certain to be race record-breaking conditions for the 94th Bruny Island Yacht Race on Saturday.
Greg Prescott’s new rocket 2Unlimited will take on 2018 SydneyHobart handicap winner and reigning Launceston-Hobart champion Alive as part of a fleet of 24 in the 89-nautical-mile race around Tasmania’s fourth-biggest island.
While Prescott said his new boat, called 2Unlimited just like his previous yacht, would give Alive a run for its money, the bigger boat would win and challenge the record of Konica Minolta’s 2005 line honours time of 8hr 2min 59sec.
“Alive is 26ft longer than us and she’s a very fast boat, so she will have some distance on us, but we won’t be that far behind,” Prescott said.
“It [2Unlimited] is a great, fun
boat because it is so fast — it’s the world’s fastest 40-footer.”
It will be 2Unlimited’s second serious run over distance, having raced a 40nm event to Variety Bay, at Bruny Island, last weekend.
“We finished 10 minutes behind Alive, so that wasn’t bad,” Prescott said. “There was about 10 knots of breeze down there, but it got quite fresh on the way home and we
came up the river never doing less than 20 knots and we hit a top of 25. It was a lot of fun.”
The Bruny forecast is promising to get the leaders home in time for dinner.
“It should be a fresh northerly to get us to the bottom of Bruny,” Prescott said.
“I believe we are going down around The Friars first and then
back up the channel [D’Entrecasteaux Channel].
“A southerly is forecast for about 4pm, so there might be a ‘parking lot’ until that kicks in.”
The Bruny Island race starts at 9.30am off the Royal Hobart Regatta Grounds. Entries are still open for the Lipton Cup race at the regatta on Sunday.