Black Jack set cracking pace.

Peter Harburg’s super fast pocket maxi Black Jack was set on a fast course to defend her Brisbane to Gladstone race line honours trophy.

Shortly after 5pm Black Jack was sighted tracking a course for Double Island Point and holding a 15n/ml lead over the Bruce Absolon helmed Spirit of The Maid while the smaller high performance Brisbane yacht Wedgetail (Bill Wild) held third.

Black Jack’s skipper Mark Bradford remained on track to skipper the speed sailing sloop to another impressive course time when she entered the final 240 nautical miles of the 308 n/ml blue water classic while the coastal winds freshened to 25 knots.
A constant breeze overnight will lift the chance for Black Jack to produce the required boat speed to challenge the 20 hour 24 minute 40 second record.

But meanwhile her crew who are expected to remain on deck all night coping with an expected high rate of sail changing were playing catch up as they tracked a course for a fast spinnaker run along the ocean beach of Fraser Island later tonight.

Based on the 5-30pm position report Black Jack held a commanding 15 nautical mile lead over Nikon Spirit Of The Maid with a further 4 n/mls to Wedgetail while the race for the fastest corrected time turned into a spinnaker sailing drag race between Black Jack, Wedgetail, Night Nurse, and the small Brisbane yacht Saltash II.