Defending champion Ichi Ban gets the gun but an old Admiral’s Cupper gets the money during the second race of Sailing South Race Week

David Calvert’s Intrigue, the only Tasmanian yacht to represent Australia at the Admiral’s Cup, back in 1985, showed today she is still a force to be reckoned with in yacht racing during 2004 Boags Sailing South Race Week .

The Tony Castro-designed 40-footer defeated two modern ocean racers from Sydney, Matt Allen’s Farr 52, Ichi Ban, and David Kellett’s Sydney 38, Pitch Black in the IRC handicap division of race one of the Boags Sailing South Race Week in Hobart.

Ichi Ban, which won IRC Division A of the recent Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, took line honours after a day of frustrating sailing going out of the Derwent River, but made up for by a fast return up the river under spinnaker before a freshening seabreeze.

Ichi Ban, launched only two years ago, sailed the 50 nautical mile course to Isle of Caves in Fredrick Henry Bay, south-east of Hobart, in 5 hours 47 minutes 58 seconds, while the 19-year-old Intrigue took 7 hours 06 minutes and 16 seconds.

On corrected time, Intrigue won by 1 minute 22 seconds from Ichi Ban. Don Calvert races Intrigue regularly in Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania pennant races, but this is the first time he has entered the boat in Sailing South Race Week.

Ichi Ban led the fleet from soon after the spinnaker start from off Hobart’s Castray Esplanade, but like most of the fleet came to a sudden halt a few miles down the river as the northerly died away and the early seabreeze struggled to move up river.

However, she eventually picked up a light seabreeze to clear the river and set a spinnaker again for the reach up Fredrick Henry Bay to the turn mark, the Isle of Caves.

Matt Allen – owner/skipper said: “It was a good course, although we did not have much windward work, but we had a great spinnaker run back up the river in the freshening seabreeze. Unfortunately, some of the competition fell by the wayside in the windless holes, we had achieved some good numbers on a tight reach back to the river and then a great spinnaker run to the finish.”

The Mumm 36, Tequila Slamma, skippered by John Radonic, won the IMS handicap division from Craig King’s Lyons 40, Interum, third placing going to Wayne Banks-Smith in the Lyons 38, Breakaway.

Among the yachts that suffered badly in the changing wind direction and strength were Skandia Cyclone (Stephen Keal), B52 (Hughie Lewis) and Invincible (Harold Clark).

PHS Division 1 saw a win by Graeme Jones’ Farr 1220, Coquette, from the Beneteau 40.7, Blue Chip (Colin Denny) and Josh Ey’s Jones 40, Quetzalcoatl, designed by Don Jones who skippered the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race line honours winner, the super maxi Skandia.

First place on corrected time in Cruising Yachts Division 1 went to Binalong, a Beneteau 40 skippered by Ernest Targett, from the Ross 780, Rager, skippered by David Macfarlane.

Cruising Yachts Division 2 produced a corrected time win for Spindrift, a locally designed Knoop 27, skippered by Donald Cushion, second place going to Wavelength, Dave Williams’ Farr 727.