Victorian yacht PP1, skippered by Damian Thomas, has taken full advantage of perfect conditions to smash the race record in the annual Cock of the Bay event.
The Melges 40 powered down the Port Phillip coastline to Mornington on Thursday, reaching a top speed of 27 knots in the 21-nautical mile race.
PP1 led the 86-fleet from the start and clocked a winning time of one hour, 37 minutes and 13 seconds, bettering the old mark set by Sportscar back in 2000.
The Cock of the Bay is the traditional precursor to the Melbourne to Hobart race which begins off Portsea Pier on the morning of December 27.
Melges owner Jeremy O’Connell was thrilled with the race victory achieved with the aid of a strong northerly breeze.
“We had a fantastic race filled with many tough moments - a broken jib, a canting keel failure and a boat full of water,” said O’Connell.
O’Connell dedicated the race win to former crew member Cameron Dale, who died three years ago after suffering a catastrophic stroke.
Dale was the long-time partner of round-the-world sailor Jessica Watson.
“Undoubtedly this is a race for our great mate Cameron Dale," said O'Connell.
“Cameron dreamt of a race like this for many years and we’re stoked to have broken the record."
Race director Simon Dryden flew the Y flag enforcing compulsory life jackets for all competitors.
Veloce 4 (Phil Simpfendorfer) was just over two minutes behind fellow Melges 40 PP1 in second place.
The next two yachts across the finish line, Scarlet Runner (Rob Date) and Fargo (Ari Abrahams), also bettered the previous race record.
