COOKSONS THRIVE IN TOP FIVE IN 2011 ANNAPOLIS TO NEWPORT YACHT RACE

Congratulations to Karl Kwok and the boys on board the IRC 80 "Beau Geste" for winning the 2011 Annapolis to Newport Yacht Race yesterday.

After coming in second on the water to "Rambler" (ex Speedboat), the positions were reversed on corrected time with the 80' maxi coming out on top .

Finishing in forth and fifth place were Mike Broughton's "Jazz" and Ron O Hanleys "Privateer", both Cookson 50'

A good day on the water for Cookson Boats!

Congratulations to Michael Hiatt and his crew on winning Div 1 of Audi IRC series onboard his recently launched Farr IRC55
‘Living Doll’.

Michael Hiatt and his Living Doll crew had nerves of steel today, making a comeback to steal the Audi IRC Division 1 series from under the nose of Graeme Wood and his Wot Now crew – the two finished second and third respectively in Race 6 to finish the series on tied points, Hiatt coming out on top with one more win in his score to settle the series.

The final windward leeward race was put to bed this afternoon after a delayed start due to lack of breeze, but a nice 10-12 knot sea breeze filled in on Corio Bay just before midday, allowing racing to get underway. Going up the first beat, tactician Ross Lloyd took Living Doll (Vic) hard right and Wot Now (NSW) rounded the first mark well ahead of Hiatt and crew. However, by the time the yachts came up the work the second time, Hiatt, a Melbourne businessman, had a big lead over Wot Now and her crew could only look on as the Farr 55 kept up the momentum to score second place overall, Wot Now finishing third to seal the deal.

 Hiatt was thrilled. Having had a couple of teething problems with his yacht, which forced him to cancel competing in the Rolex Sydney Hobart, everything came together in Geelong.“We over rode Lloydy (tactician Ross Lloyd) on that first beat and Wot Now rounded in front of us, but we gybed inside them and caught up a bit of time on them on that first downwind leg. After that we picked them up bit by bit. We picked the shifts right – someone up there was looking after us.

The cover page of Boat International for September 2008, a prestigious magazine in the superyacht marine sector will feature one of cookson boats most recent and high profile projects ... Speedboat.

This project was kept quiet during the build phase to protect client confidentiality. The magazine has an extensive article about the boat which we are sure you would enjoy if you manage to secure a copy.
The magazine is available worldwide.

For more information visit the Boat International website http://www.boatinternationalmedia.com or for more information and the latest messages from Speedboat visit http://www.mike-sanderson.com

IRC-Grand Prix Race 4 was a great one for the Cookson Boats stable with  3 Cookson 50’s Quantum, Living Doll & Pussy Galore finishing 1st, 2nd, and 3rd respectively.

 Overall race results see the TP52 Cougar, formerly Rush and now owned by Alan Whiteley is also having an outstanding regatta, currently sitting in 2nd overall behind Quantum Racing.

For more results, photos and information visit the official website.
http://www.hamiltonislandraceweek.com.au

Current Standings: 1st.) Quantum Racing 13.00, 2nd.) Cougar LL 16.00, 3rd.) Living Doll 19.00, 4th.) Quest 19.00, 5th.) Pussy Galore 19.00

As a result of winning the NZ MTC in Auckland earlier this year with a 4 man team comprising of Vaughan Roberts, Sam Israelson, Andrew Durie and Leighton Matthews, Cookson Boats were eligible to take part in the Australian Boat Building Competition hosted by the SBA (Shipwrights and Boatbuilders Assoc) of New South Wales and BIA of NSW Ltd which took place during the Sydney Boat Show on 4th August.

The challenge was for a 2 man team to build a boat, using your own design in 2 hours and paddle/sail it around a course in Cockle Bay in Darling Harbour.

This criteria meant we could have 2 teams entered but the challenge was on to build 2 boats in two hours instead of one boat paying special attention to a design based on max waterline length, innovation and fast without forfeiting their high standard of construction. Vaughan Roberts and

Sam Israelson made up CB Team 1 and Andrew Durie with Leighton Matthews made up CB Team 2.
Three categories were up for grabs, Quickest Boat around the course, Best built boat, and Best innovative design.

The Aussies were extremely generous in making sure both teams had some of the necessary equipment required for the build and Makita graciously sponsored the event by supplying each team with power tools. 3M Marine supplied the  build materials and Sika had an endless supply of sikaflex on hand.