Terra Firma Wins Handicap Honours

Sydney Morning Herald

Monday January 1, 1996

BOB ROSS

Terra Firma, owned by Scott Carlile and Dean Wilson of the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, was yesterday named overall handicap winner of the Sydney to Hobart race and one of four Australian-designed boats to fill the first seven placings.

Sydney-based Iain Murray and Associates designed Terra Firma and third-placed Stewart Toyota, a production Bashford/Howison 41 owned by Ray Roberts and Ian Bashford.

Second overall was the imported Nelson/Marek 43 Quest, owned and skippered by Bob Steel of Sydney.

Fourth was Maglieri Wines, a 43-footer designed by Scott Jutson of Sydney, owned by Geoffrey Vercoe from Adelaide and sailed by a Tasmanian crew headed by Graham Freeman.

Robin Crawford's Assassin, a 40-footer from US-based designer Bruce Farr, was fifth; the new Farr 50 Ragamuffin, owned and skippered by Syd Fischer of Sydney, was sixth.

Terra Firma's chance came in the last 12 hours after early handicap leaders Ragamuffin and Quest hit trouble. Ragamuffin stalled for eight hours off Maria Island and Quest also ran into light winds.

"At one stage we were 15th (on corrected time)," said Wilson. "It was amazing for us to come back from that."

Terra Firma, in the Victorian Red team, also top-scored in the seven-race Southern Cross Cup which ended with the Sydney-Hobart.

The Australian team of Ragamuffin, Sycorax (Michael Quinn) and Wild Oats (Bruce Foye/Roger Hickman/Lance Peckman) won the Cup with 381 points from NSW on 278 and Victoria Red on 266.

Divisional winners in the Sydney-Hobart race were:

A, Sayonara (Larry Ellison, USA); B, Stewart/Toyota; C, Terra Firma; D, Margaret Rintoul II (Richard Purcell, NSW); E, Polaris (John Quinn, NSW); F, Southerly (Don Mickelborough, NSW).