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2010
Milne’s comeback trail to Audi IRC Australian Championship contender

Milne’s comeback trail to Audi IRC Australian Championship contender

NEWS
05 Aug, 2010 02:18:00 PM

Milne’s comeback trail to Audi IRC Australian Championship contender

With the Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht race completed, Aroona placed seventh overall and first in division 4. They now sit on 14.74 points on the 2010 Audi IRC Australian Championship leader board, with Michael Hiatt’s Victorian Farr 55 Living Doll second on 41.07 points and Stephen Ainsworth’s Sydney based Reichel Pugh 63 Loki third on 60.87 points

After a 20 year break from competitive sailing Harvey Milne decided to make a comeback, prompted by the fact he could buy a competitive IRC production boat and enter the 2010 Audi IRC Australian Championship.

That decision has so far proved a fruitful one with his Archambault 31 Aroona from the Royal Motor Yacht Club in Sydney consolidating their lead with a divisional win in round 3 of the IRC Australian Championship, the Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race. This win will see them start from pole position in the fourth and final round, commencing 21 August at Hamilton Island.

Going into the silver jubilee Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race, which began last Saturday from Sydney Harbour and finished Tuesday afternoon with the arrival of Mister Christian, Aroona was leading Peter Horn’s Canute. Horn’s King 40 was sat out for this third event, leaving the 31 footer to battle with the chasing group of much bigger boats, including Living Doll and Loki.

Hoping to win the luxury Audi prize car at the end of the 2010 IRC Australian Championship, Milne was taking no chances. He needed small boat offshore specialist sailors for the 384 nautical mile Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race and they don’t come any better than former Tow Truck owner Anthony Paterson and his entourage of respected Lake Macquarie sailors who have an enviable track record in this event.

“I heard Anthony had sold his boat and I was looking for a top performing ocean racing crew. I made the phone call and he agreed he’d skipper the boat and bring the crew,” said Milne Tuesday afternoon at Southport Yacht Club just prior to the trophy presentation for the 25th anniversary of the coastal classic.

“They are fantastic sailors and a great bunch of guys,” he added.

Aroona began their campaign to win the 2010 IRC Australian Championship in January at Audi Victoria Week. Finishing this opening round regatta with a second place in division 3, Aroona maintained their momentum in March when they took to the water for the Audi Sydney Harbour Regatta. They completed this second round of the Audi IRC Australian Championship with a first in division 3.

With the Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht race completed, Aroona placed seventh overall and first in division 4. They now sit on 14.74 points on the 2010 Audi IRC Australian Championship leader board, with Michael Hiatt’s Victorian Farr 55 Living Doll second on 41.07 points and Stephen Ainsworth’s Sydney based Reichel Pugh 63 Loki third on 60.87 points

In just over a fortnight Milne and his band of merry Novocastrians will campaign Aroona at Audi Hamilton Island Race Week, the culminating event in the four-part series.

The best three of the four event scores count in each yacht’s final tally.

“I consider the IRC Championship a serious national title and I’ve love to win it,” Milne said. “Audi is a wonderful sponsor and there is a lot of prestige attached to sailing in the events they sponsor.”

As well as having his name engraved on the Audi IRC Australian Championship perpetual trophy designed by John Woulfe, should he win, Milne will be handed the keys to a brand new Audi A5 Cabriolet 2.0 TFSI.

“If we win I’m looking forward to trading in my other car. It’s an exciting opportunity to win such a fantastic prize and it’s spurring people on” said Milne, the founder and CEO of Aroona Spring Waters, the boat sponsor.

He’s not the only one with his eye on the prize. With the dropped race counted, Loki is the best placed on the pointscore with owner/skipper Stephen Ainsworth declaring “it will be a great result if we can win the Championship and the Audi”.

Commenting on the 2010 Audi IRC Australian Championship Phil Jones, CEO of Yachting Australia said “The success of the series so far indicates that IRC racing in Australia is extremely healthy and being enjoyed by a terrific range of boats and competitors.

“The top five places are occupied by boats ranging from 35 to 60 foot, crewed by obviously talented sailors so we’re looking forward to Audi Hamilton Island Race Week to see how this group handle themselves and try to hold on to their spots,” Jones added.

The Championship decider, Audi Hamilton Island Race Week, will commence Saturday 21 August and conclude on 28 August.

Audi Australia together with ONE HD, Australia’s only dedicated free-to-air digital sports channel, will show highlights from the Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race on Monday 23 August at 8.30pm on ONE HD, as part of the four episode wrap of the Audi IRC Australian Championship

To see the Audi IRC Australian Championship pointscore go to http://www.yachting.org.au