The 2012 Two Island Sail & Run attracted eleven entries and with one late withdrawal there were ten yachts that came to the start in gusty conditions and a strong swell.

Starting in two divisions split by their handicaps the five yachts in Division 2 set sail first at 11am eager to make up as much ground as possible before the 11:15 start for Division 1.

Indigo and Tau Ceti, both suited to the rough conditions of the stage 1 reach out to Low Isles, set the pace followed by Miriama, Port FM Mais Oui and T-Break.

The Division 1 boats had their work cut out to run down the early starters but by the time the fleet converged on Low Isles the two divisions had begun to mix.

Stage 2 was up to the athletes to make a difference with the swim to Low Isle, a lap sprint around the sandy cay and the swim back to their boat an opportunity to split the fleet and trade some positions with their rivals.

Pictured: Athletes in the 2012 Two Island Sail & Run gather at the Port Douglas Yacht Club.

From Division 2 Indigo, Tau Ceti and Miriama were first to embark on stage 3, the starboard rounding of Low Wooded Island and a reach back to Four Mile Beach, hotly pursued by Magic, Jimmie Blacksmith and Ice from Division 1.

As the gusting sou’easter hit 23 to 28 knots the fleet rounded the islands and began the fast sail back to a gate positioned off Four Mile Beach through which the athletes would swim to start stage 4, the sprint back to the yacht club via the lookout on Flagstaff Hill.

Closing in on Four Mile Beach Magic was first to drop their athlete having run down both Indigo and Tau Ceti coming in second and third followed by Ann Sea, Jimmie Blacksmith and Ice with Miriama, Port FM Mais Oui and T-Break not far behind. The fleet was cut to nine as Sinabada had retired to limit further damage sustained to her headsail.

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The final positions now rested in the hands of the athletes as they made their way back to the club.

Crossing the finish line first at the entrance to the club Alistair Spence claimed the line honours victory for Magic followed by Peter Montgomery for Indigo and AJ for Ann Sea.

The race was not without controversy as the protest committee delivered five minute penalties to Ice whose athlete failed to swim the proper course and Jimmie Blacksmith for crossing a restricted line at the gate. Adding to that Port FM Mais Oui failed to provide sufficient times and was disqualified.

The third annual staging of the event set a new course record for Magic with an elapsed time of 2:59:25 shaving 07:35 off their previous record set in 2010.

Each stage of the event provided points for the teams to accrue that converted to cash prizes based on their performance at each stage with the sailing legs subject to handicap corrections.

In addition to this, medals and trophies were awarded to the first three teams across the line and the first three placed boats in each division and Alistair Spence was declared the fastest athlete.

Magic (37 points) was declared the overall winner ahead of Tau Ceti (36) and Indigo (32).

For the full results visit www.portdouglasyachtclub.com.