Indian Chief on a Roll
28th March 2010
Indian Chief took line honours, including overall for the regatta, first on OMR and first place Performance Handicap in the multihull division of todays Pittwater regatta which is an annual race that celebrates, this year, 104 years of yacht racing on Pittwater.
In light Southerlies the race started in near perfect conditions off the RMYC. The large fleet primarily from the Royal Motor Yacht Club and Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Clubs based in Pittwater, Sydney enjoyed a clean start in eight knots of wind with the multis starting 10 minutes before the monohull fleet. The race was well contested with a host of local yachts competing in this popular event.
Indian Chief, the Tony Grainger designed 9.5 meter cat owned by Sydney multihull skipper Darren Drew completed the 22 mile course in 2:23:15 and was well out in front at the finish beating its main competition, Robin Ottowa's 9.5 meter Trimaran, Lukim Yu by 14 minutes over the line.
The multihull fleet was bunched together for one third of the race as they ran downwind from the start in light winds.
As soon as Indian Chief got a sniff of more wind she took off from the fleet and was never troubled from that point. The afternoon sea breeze kicked in and built up to 10 - 15 knots as the fleet tacked their way down Broken Bay and back into Pittwater to the finish line just off the RMYC.