Saturday, 15th February 2020
On paper, the special course for race 17 looked a good one. A run or reach from the start through SYC 3 and onto R3. From there it seemed like a short beat to R2 then cracked sheets back through SYC 3 with another short beat to the finish – 9.3 nautical mile course in a southerly wind of about 17 knots under blue skies. At around 1435 the yachts at the front of the 37 yacht fleet reported that R3 was nowhere to be seen and some yachts had already passed the point where the mark should have been (lat 35° 53.26´ and long 144° 55.36´). The fleet were advised to round the invisible mark as indicated on the GPS and continue the rest of the course. It became apparent that not all GPS had the mark in the same location with some over shooting and others undershooting the invisible mark. What started out as a race was became a hunt for the Phantom R3. Click here to read.