News Around the World
AUSTRALIA Irish Sea on steroids… For most of December the southeast of Australia saw predominately southerly wind – much of it gale force, cooling the cities, bringing snow to the high ground in our mid-summer, and kicking up ocean swells that prompted dangerous surf warnings to beachgoers and unease to those contemplating the race to Hobart. Five days out from the great race south the weather models were
still unsure, but by 23 December it was clear that the 77th Sydney to Hobart Race would be a cracker. Clear blue skies for the start, with moderate northeasterly breezes to kick off proceedings, which were forecast to build throughout the 628-mile race and, most importantly, continue through the dark hours. Massive relief for every crewmember onboard the 109 boats starting on Boxing Day, all keen to push south as quickly as they could before the inevitable blunt southerly change which was lurking down the track. Off the Maxi line Andoo Comanche, Black Jack and LawConnect
took the western side of the harbour, with Wild Oats ducking the Mini Maxis and heading to the eastern shore. It was always going to be tight, and with three 100-footers bunched into a corner it was close racing, with plenty of ducking and weaving but no contact or issues – or was there… Protest flags were fluttering then Comanche brushed the turning mark, and she duly slowed to execute her turns to cover any infringement. It was then Murray Jones on Wild Oats who raised the subject of doing the same, and after the agony of their 2017 race skipper Mark Richards span the wheel to avoid risking a repeat scenario. Then off they all romped! With the breeze building to over 30kt on day two, the big boats
sailed well east of the rhumbline and were humming south at 25kt+ with Comanche leading and the other Maxis close behind. For the rest of the fleet it was all about managing the conditions, particularly for the 20 entrants in the double-handed fleet, as sustained running at over 20kt demanded focus over fatigue, particularly at night. And still the breeze stayed in the north, making the straightline
sailing furiously fast but limiting the options for the challenging 100-footers to reel in John Winning Jnr and his team. Reaching the
16 SEAHORSE
Derwent in breeze, Andoo Comanche took the gun for its fourth line honours victory, in a time of just under 1d 12h. LawConnect was second, with a thrilled owner Christian Beck happy to get second in conditions that didn’t suit their boat. ‘We thought we were going to come fourth in these conditions,
so to get second was way beyond our expectations. I am very proud – the boat is not that good but the crew is awesome! For us to be half an hour behind Comanche and ahead of Wild Oats and Black Jack is incredibly good for us.’ With the big boats in and filling the Customs House bar, all eyes
turned to the Tattersall Cup contenders. Indeed, once again since the race start the TP52s dominated the top places, with Sam Haynes’ Celestial charging hard in the strong northerlies looking to take the win. It was a brutal contest, though, big loads on the boats and crew, short hard stints on the helm and the pedestals with continuous risk management ticking away in everyone’s brains. Ten fully crewed TPs completed the race, nine of them making
the top 20 in IRC overall. As usual the TP52s had plenty of out- standing sailors onboard, keeping the racing tight and the pace furious. With 280 miles to the finish, half the TP52s were within a four-mile radius, with Caro and Warrior Won a couple of lengths from each other as they roared south. Conditions were changing, though, and gone were the moderate
to stiff northeasters, replaced by storm jibs and reefed mains as the Mini Maxis and TPs battled the final miles around Tasman Light- house to hit Storm Bay, then beat up the Derwent battered by gusts well into the mid-40s. The water-ballast-equipped Caro and her smaller crew of 11 worked through the slammers to make it first into Hobart but after a nervous wait it was Sam Haynes’ Judel/Vrolijk design Celestial that claimed the overall prize. This was a hugely popular win for the McConaghy-built Celestial,
12 months on from missing out on the big prize in last year’s race – after being DSQ’d for failing to keep a continuous radio watch – which almost saw Sam Haynes depart from the sport. He stayed – as in his own words he wanted to ‘stand up, do it again and see just how good we can be’, and with key crewmember Jack Macartney
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