Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week - 40 seconds for Glory

6:00 AM Thu 20 Aug 2009 GMT

'Living Doll leads Evolution Racing. Day 6 Meridien Marinas Airlie Beach Race Week 2009' Sail-World.com /AUS &copy Click Here to view large photo

At his sixth attempt Melbourne sailor Michael Hiatt has today won the 20th annual Airlie Beach Race Week. He sailed his Farr 55 to a final race victory on Pioneer Bay, by just 40 seconds on handicap from Ray Robert's Evolution Racing.

The two boats were locked together on points; each with three wins, two seconds and a third place. The overall title win went to Hiatt on a count back as the last race winner. Robert Date's Reichel Pugh 52 Scarlet Runner was third.

This was Hiatt's sixth attempt to win at Airlie Beach, he sailed a Beneteau First 47.7 Elektra for two years, then the Cookson 50 Living Doll for three years.

Last year Hiatt and his Living Doll crew featured in another very tight series. He was leading the series into the very last race when he was forced inside the Grimston mark by Ray Roberts on Quantum Racing and Roberts went on to win.

Today as Hiatt approached the Grimston mark, he was sure that he had already lost the race, his Living Doll was behind the smaller boat which had an impressive handicap lead at that point.

As Hiatt explained 'On the run to Grimston we went offshore, we thought we did better with the wind shifts but when Evolution Racing came off the shore she had picked up boat lengths and rounded ahead of us.

'It took us another half a leg to get through her and then we put our heads down. We sailed our own race and just concentrated on boat speed.'

Ray Roberts said 'It was another exciting race in an already exciting series. We had our time on Living Doll at the last mark, but the breeze was fading and she sailed away from us.

'Michael deserve this win, he and his crew sailed very well, it was a great series and now we move on to Hamilton Island Race Week where we will continue our battle with these and other boats.'