exhausting adventure. Closer is Adelaide at 2,700, Melbourne 2,500, Sydney 2,000. Down here nowhere is really close. This scribe knows from first-hand experience how tough the drive can be, on one occasion driving a 60ft vehicle and trailer rig, driving in three-hour shifts around the clock. Then on a dead straight outback Queensland road driving north in early morning fog, I hit the brakes hard and brought the whole rig to a shuddering halt. I sheepishly explained to my equally exhausted crew, now awake… ‘the roadside fence had ridden up into the fog and was about to engulf us’. Just a routine hallucination.
Sydney Hobart winner Geoff Boettcher from south Australia used to sail his boats north but has switched to road haulage. ‘One year we had sailed my Secret Men’s Business (SMB), a 46-footer, up 1,000nm to Sydney then raced the Sydney-Southport and on to Hamo.
‘Come the first race we were T-boned hard at the five-minute gun. That was the end of the regatta for us. We put the yacht on a truck to Melbourne for repairs and there was an accident at a roundabout and our mast was cut in two.
‘Then we shifted to lighter boats that you just don’t sail 4,000nm if you can avoid it, especially for a race series, but we’ve had our share of 3,000km road problems. ‘With SMB 5, a Farr 400, on the way back from Hamo to Adelaide the truckie had a micro-sleep and careered off into the scrub for 300m, wrote the truck off and wrote the boat off as well. ‘But we are going OK with SMB 6, the former TP52 Beau Geste. We are having a good run with her, twice by truck to Hamo and so far no incidents, just expensive to move it around.’ Expensive indeed, agrees Rob Hanna, another TP52 campaigner: ‘The co-ordination of getting to Hamo from Melbourne is monstrous. You have 12-15 race crew to fly up as well as getting the boat there – the delivery sail takes care of at least four more guys. ‘Then the van with all your spare sails, gear and so on must be driven 2,500km north. You’ve also got to think months in advance to get your van onto the ferry, and months in advance too if you’re going to have anywhere for that many guys to sleep when you get there. We still usually have guys sleeping on the couch, sometimes on the floor.
‘But if your crew are ready to get stuck in then you don’t actually have to spend stupid money… unless you are aiming for the grand prix prizes. When I look at the trophies now they bring back great memories so, yes, the experience was fantastic, but you need to forget that you spent $100k landing each one.’ And so to Hamo 2017, a few months ago it seemed as if the 33rd edition might not even take place. At the height of Cyclone Debbie in March a gust of 263kph (142kt) was recorded on Hamilton Island. And the gusts remained above 180kph (95kt) for more than 12 hours…
Hamilton Island CEO, multiple Laser world champion Glenn Bourke said, ‘The impact of the cyclone certainly resulted in damage to vegetation and the island’s “facade”, plus some damage to the marina, but fortunately there was no real structural damage to the hotels, which are all built to the highest cyclone code. ‘We’re now back to 98 per cent accommodation availability and
Race Week will proceed in August as scheduled… as will Airlie Beach Race Week and Magnetic Island Race Week.’ So once again the whales will enjoy boat-watching at the Northern series. And at the events themselves the whales will be everywhere as usual.
Denis Thompson sums up: ‘I certainly see more whales at all three regattas, every year. Several times we have stopped a start sequence because whales are right on the line. ‘They do seem to know what time the races start. Several other times we’ve had to delay the day’s programme to allow them to slide through the fleet. There is some conjecture about whether they just want to watch or race, although I don’t think they would rate very well. ‘This is their area and we just happen to be in it, that’s all
– and we are more aware of them as their numbers continue to grow with each summer. ‘Everyone who comes here is very conscious that they were here first and that we all need to look after these big guys.’ Rob Kothe
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