Keeping track of Celestial is getting to be a bit like the search for the Scarlet Pimpernel. No sooner had the Sydney-Hobart winner returned to its berth at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia than it was gone again.
An eagle-eyed SA reader has now spotted the TP52 up in the slings at a nearby boatyard – without a rudder, and with the keel/bulb assembly detached (see above).
Meanwhile, the quest for answers about the boat’s December 16 IRC rating continues.
In response to the initial “no comment” from the Rating Officer at Australian Sailing, SA sent the same sequence of direct questions to the national body’s Head of Governance, Rules and Safety. This is what we asked:
* Who was the accredited measurer for the weight, inclination and overhangs of Celestial?
* When was that hull data measured?
* Who was the accredited measurer for the sails of Celestial?
* When was that sail data collected?
* When was the collated Celestial hull and sail data submitted to Australian Sailing?
* Who submitted that collated Celestial data to Australian Sailing?
* Who endorsed that data on behalf of Australian Sailing?
* When was that data forwarded from Australian Sailing to the RORC Rating
Office in the UK? The Head of Governance, Rules and Safety has now replied as follows:
“Thank you for your emails. We won’t be providing a response to your questions. The reason for this is because it’s ultimately the scoring of a race that appears to be your interest, and our roles and the processes through which we might present facts are defined and limited by the rules which govern the race.”
– anarchist David
