RSHYR: March of the 40 Footers

Noel Cornish's Sydney 47 St Jude, IRC Overall leader at 271209. Image copyright ROLEX/Kurt Arrigo.

by Di Pearson

A little known yacht named St Jude is leading the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race on handicap late this afternoon; the Sydney 47 owned by Noel Cornish contested the race for the first time last year and was not expected to be at the front end of the star studded fleet.

While last year’s overall winner Quest, a TP 52 owned and skippered by Bob Steel, who was recently awarded the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s Ocean Racer of the Year title, is struggling in 57th place and famous names such as Syd Fischer and his Ragamuffin (NSW) are in 53rd overall. The smaller and lesser known yachts are making the best of the light and fickle conditions the weather gods have dished up – and they are basking in the glory.

The two year-old Sydney 47, owned by CYCA member Noel Cornish, first contested the 628 nautical mile race last year finishing 60th overall from 69 boats in the IRC class. This evening Cornish and his yacht have found themselves in the limelight.

The Bureau of Meteorology told crews to expect mixed weather throughout the 65th edition of Australia’s summer ocean classic. Owners, tacticians and navigators agreed on Boxing Day it was one of the most confusing weather reports they had ever received. It was welcome news for many though, as it meant every yacht in the fleet would have the opportunity of shining, as is being witnessed tonight.

Kingsley Piesse, a 26 Rolex Sydney Hobart race veteran, is sailing aboard Bruce Taylor’s Melbourne entry Chutzpah, which is only seven miles behind St Jude. Both are east of Green Cape on the NSW south coast, Piesse describing the conditions they were in late this afternoon: “It’s light and fluky; we’ve got five knots from 080 (just north of east).

“We are a bit sticky in the light,” said Piesse, the newly crowned Ocean Racing Crew Person of the Year. “Hope tomorrow's expected reaching conditions will suit us more,” said Piesse from Chutzpah which is currently 13th overall on progressive IRC standings.

Tony Kirby’s Patrice Six is presently holding down second place overall. Kirby, who has sailed the race 27 times, knows the intricacies of the race well. The light and fluky conditions will be water off a duck’s back for the CYCA yachtsman, whose Jeppesen X41 was designed for all-round conditions.

A Rolex Sydney Hobart novice is in third place overall. Mike Welsh’s Wicked, a Beneteau First 40, was only launched this year, so her offshore form is unknown, but Welsh is an experienced ocean racer whose previous yacht Alien was well known in Victorian offshore events with divisional wins in various series.

The big 100 footers in the race were expected to flourish in the mixed conditions, but that has not been the case today. The BOM’s Rob Webb expected the 100 footers would get away from the rest of the fleet in moderate downwind conditions, but north-easterly winds have been too light for Alfa Romeo, ICAP Leopard and Wild Oats XI to take any real advantage of so far.

As is often the case in this race, all could change tomorrow and once again, the fleet will be in different conditions depending where they are on the course. While the leaders can expect fluky 5-15 knot winds, those still in Victorian waters can look forward to west to north-west winds at 15-25 knots which will mean fast downwind sailing.

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race

RSHYR: Alfa Romeo Still Leading Light Airs Drag-Race

LIMIT, Sail Number: 98888, Skipper: Alan Brierty, State: WA, Division: IRC, Design: Reichel Pugh , LOA (m): 19.21, Draft: 4.64. Image copyright ROLEX/Daniel Forster.

by Susan Maffei Plowden

Neville Crichton's Alfa Romeo remained in control of her nearest maxi opponents through a changing wind pattern overnight and into the second day of the 2009 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

Alfa's afterguard, including tactician Michael Coxon and navigator Tom Addis, kept the yacht perfectly positioned at the head of the fleet to be first into the anticipated shift in wind direction from south-southwest experienced from the start to southeast off the south coast of New South Wales.

Alfa Romeo tacked on the shift at about 2145 last night to converge back towards the coast on port after the long gaining starboard tack the fleet followed after clearing Sydney Harbour from the 1300 start.

At 0800, 19 hours into the race, the Reichel/Pugh 100 was 24 nautical miles northeast of Green Cape, 2 miles ahead of Mike Slade's Farr 100 ICAP Leopard, which was three or four miles to seaward, with another 2nm to Bob Oatley's Wild Oats XI, a near sister design R/P 100 to Alfa Romeo. Alfa had covered 193nm of the 628nm course and was doing 10.8 knots.

All three were close to the shortest-distance rhumb line between Sydney and Tasman Island and on course for the island, but were starting to slow as the wind dropped from its 25 knot peak of last evening to 10-12 knots and less this morning.

Critical for all boats will be traversing the light airs and calms expected today in the Bass Strait, between the Australian mainland and Tasmania, before a forecast 20-30 knot westerly change tonight.

Wild Oats XI navigator Ian Burns said this morning: "The wind is pretty light now, between 6-10 knots and quite variable. The seas are flatter - it was a little rough at times last night.

"We've had quite a few wind shifts and some big lulls. At one stage the guys behind us [Ran and Lahana] ran almost up to us. We exchanged some tacks as the southeast-southwester fought it out but it has been hanging in the southeast for some time now.

"Some forecasts are calling for no wind at all across half of Bass Strait. The fact that we will head butt into the light stuff gives us a bit of a chance. Leopard is doing a great job for a big boat in the lighter wind, but the race hasn't really started yet; that will be today."

The overall handicap leader on IRC corrected time is Michael Hiatt's Farr 55 Living Doll over the UK-based Judel/Vrolijk 72 Ran (Niklas Zennstrom), followed by the Jones-modified Volvo 70 Ichi Ban (Matt Allen).

One of the handicap favourites, Alan Brierty's Reichel/Pugh 62 Limit, was among the retirements overnight due to problems with the halyard locks.

That brings the number of retired yachts to four in the 100-boat fleet that started yesterday from Sydney. The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race fleet has crews representing the USA, UK, New Zealand, Spain, the Netherlands, and New Caledonia as well as every Australian state.

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race

RSHYR: Alfa Romeo in box seat rival skipper concedes, big test looms this evening

Neville Crichton's RP100 Alfa Romeo this afternoon, past Gabo Island. Image copyright ROLEX/Daniel Forster.

by Jim Gale

Mike Slade, the skipper of the British maxi ICAP Leopard concedes that Neville Crichton’s Alfa Romeo may have opened the winning lead in the dash for line honours in this year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

Speaking from his yacht this afternoon in the middle of Bass Strait, Slade said Alfa Romeo’s crucial break came around 9am this morning near Gabo Island after hours of frustratingly light winds.

“We were all just splashing about, there was no breeze whatsoever, and it’s always the case that someone will get that little extra puff,” Slade explained. “Alfa Romeo was in the right place to get it. We didn’t get it. Wild Oats XI didn’t get it, and Alfa put 10 miles on us both very quickly.”

Wild Oats XI skipper Mark Richards said that Alfa Romeo was just three miles away when she made her break. “We were unfortunate to get into a hole. We could see Alfa when she got her nose into the new breeze. These things happen. There is always an element of luck and things went his way. It’s one of those frustrating things - a role reversal of 2005.”

In that race it was Wild Oats XI that got first use of the new breeze, opening up a lead that Alfa Romeo was never able to bridge.

However, this year there are still variables ahead of the boats that were absent in 2005. Both Slade and Richards see a huge hole in the wind just above Flinders Island, and Alfa Romeo will be the first to sail into it.

“This patch will be deathly quiet,” Slade predicts. “We will all just have to sit and put up with it for three hours, going nowhere again.

“It’s a weather transition and there is no way round it. It might stop Alfa Romeo dead in the water. Usually though it is first boat in first boat out, though, and the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.”

Slade is keeping his fingers crossed that the transition will allow him to get back in the race, close enough to Alfa Romeo that he can strike when the boats get to Tasman Island, where he again expects lighter, tricky conditions.


ICAP Leopard's bowman in action. Image copyright Rolex/Daniel Forster.

Richards, too, is hoping he can make the most of the hole ahead of them. “We hope Neville (Crichton, Alfa Romeo’s skipper) runs into the hole, and then we do a better job getting out of it this time. There is still 350 miles of sailing and we will keep pressing hard.”

Richards believes he is still in with a good chance, but Mike Slade thinks that the crucial break this morning could have decided the race. “I would be surprised if Alfa Romeo does something that lets us back in the hunt. At the moment if your money is on Alfa you’re a happy bunny.”

Slade has been both delighted and surprised that his own heavier ICAP Leopard has been ahead of Wild Oats XI for so much of this race. While this afternoon the boat has been sailing at speeds of around 16 knots in a 12 knot east/nor-easterly, so much of the race has been in frustratingly light wind - exactly what a heavy boat does not want.

“I don’t quite understand why Wild Oats XI is behind us,” he said. “In all conscience she should be beating us easily in these conditions.

“This transition ahead of us is going to be very exciting.

“There’s a lot of golf left in this hole yet.”

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race

RSHYR: Investec LOYAL closing on Ichi Ban and RAN

by Greg Peart and Lisa Ratcliff

Sean Langman’s 100 footer Investec LOYAL, with its team of champion sportsmen aboard, is closing in on Matt Allen’s Ichi Ban and this year’s overall winner of the Rolex Fastnet Race, Niklas Zennstrom’s RÂN, halving the distance every hour according to navigator David Dickson.

Investec LOYAL is current sitting sixth in the Rolex Sydney Hobart fleet as they pass Gabo Island on the Victorian coast and enter eastern Bass Strait.

“We have a much more favourable land breeze off Green Cape and the yacht is relishing the 17 knot north easterly winds,” said Dickson this afternoon.

According to Dickson, this is in direct contrast to last night which involved many sail changes in strong winds and wet conditions. “We had a few gear failures and blew out our Code zero spinnaker, but all crew, including the celebrities, worked their butts off right through the night. Sick or not they have done extremely well.”

World boxing champion Danny Green found the first night surprisingly tough. “In the ring I know what I am getting myself in for; I can control what I do. But out here I’m at the mercy of Mother Nature,” Green said whilst enjoying a brief stint in the sunshine.

“The first part of the race was unbelievably exciting, but last night the strong winds and pouring rain were a little frightening. It was pitch black and I was thinking I was going into the drink! It was fairly confronting for me.”

After an early bout of sea sickness following the 1pm start yesterday afternoon, Green’s stomach has adjusted well to the motion of the boat and he’s in high spirits.

The experience is also in contrast to Green’s occupation, operating solo as a world boxing champion. “There has been such great camaraderie among all the crew and a feeling of teamwork that I am not used to … and I love it,” he added.

On race leader Alfa Romeo, Murray Spence reported mid afternoon, "Light and fluky this morning. In a light nor'easter 5-6 knots in the last 1/2 hour. There is a lot of road ahead and this is not a straight forward race. It's consistent now, early on it was quite fluky and we are now enjoying the sunshine - not the usual way to cross Bass Strait.

“We expected Bass Strait to be this way once the tropical cyclone moved out to sea. Crew keen to get rest but are driving the boat hard. We were reefing most of the night - intense work from all onboard."

At 1645hrs this afternoon Alfa Romeo had hooked into a nor’easter, suddenly picking up speed to now be 15 nautical miles ahead of Mike Slade’s UK 100 footer ICAP Leopard and well into eastern Bass Strait.

On the JV72 RAN, tactician Adrian Stead reported at 1440hrs, “Just past Green Cape and breeze filling back in. Have done OK with Nemo’s current (East Australian Current) but had a light morning. Nice to still see maxis but conscious of boats behind using the sea breeze this afternoon. Ichi Ban has done well to the east and our target in front, and Wild Oats XI in view.”

There has been a further retirement this afternoon, Ray Sweeney’s Queensland Sydney 38 Mondo. This brings the total number of retirements to five leaving a fleet of 95 still racing south.

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race

RSHYR: Downwind conditions on the way as Alfa Romeo turns up the heat

Mike Slade's ICAP Leopard in clear water. Image copyright ROLEX/Daniel Forster.

by Di Pearson

With winds swinging to the north-east in the vicinity of South Cape just after midday, the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is really on, as Alfa Romeo extends her lead over ICAP Leopard and Wild Oats XI in the race of the 100 footers to be first yacht to the finish line in Hobart.

Alfa Romeo, Neville Crichton’s Reichel Pugh design from New Zealand, has extended her lead to 11 miles over Mike Slade’s ICAP Leopard, a Farr design from Great Britain, with a further 4 nautical mile gap to Wild Oats XI (NSW), Bob Oatley’s Reichel/Pugh skippered by Mark Richards.

According to Alfa Romeo’s strategist, Tom Addis, the nor-east breeze is very light and the top three are sailing with cracked sheets, travelling at just over eight knots.

However, the Bureau of Meteorology says the front half of the fleet can expect an east/north-easterly at 10-15 knots on a slight swell for the rest of the day, which should allow those in the right place to set spinnakers and put some speed on.

It is still early in the race, but if Crichton can continue the trend of putting some distance between his yacht and the rest of the fleet, Alfa Romeo will break the stranglehold that Bob Oatley’s Wild Oats XI has had on the 628 nautical mile race for the last four years.

Crichton and his crew of luminaries such as Addis, Michael Coxon, Noel Drennan, Peter Merrington and Stu Bannatyne, are 18 nautical miles east of South Cape, almost ready to enter Bass Strait. They still have 396nm to make the finish line though, and anything could happen between now and then.

In other news, it was a understandably devastated Limit crew that arrived back at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) this morning. A halyard was the cause of Alan Brierty and his crew’s retirement from the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race late last evening approximately 35nm east of Jervis Bay.

Arriving back at the CYCA, which organises the race, this morning at 10.15am, Brierty was so upset he left the Reichel/Pugh 62 designed yacht and the talking to his project manager and strategist Rodney Keenan, a well-respected international yachtsman from New Zealand.
"When we broke the first one (halyard), it damaged the second one and we thought we'd get away with it for a while, but we didn't,” explained Keenan of the halyards that connect the headsail to the top of the forestay. The yacht only has two, and without them, the yacht is effectively out of action.

"The ropes go through a lock system inside the mast and it's pretty hard to repair at sea. We tried to push on, but we decided when the second one failed, and we were in a seaway where it wasn't safe to send someone up the rig, to pull the pin,” he said.

“After a big year is pretty unfortunate,” said Keenan of Limit’s exceptional performance during the year, including winning the Rolex Trophy Rating Series from near-sistership and main rival for this race, Loki, Stephen Ainsworth’s Reichel/Pugh 63, which is still in the race.

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race

RSHYR: Lead yachts sailing into lighter breeze as Alfa Romeo rains on Wild Oats XI's parade

by Jim Gale

As the front runners pass Montague Island they are sailing into a lighter southerly breeze and quite likely very soft winds in the top half of Bass Strait.

At 6:30am Neville’s Crichton Alfa Romeo was just leading the fleet with ICAP Leopard beside her a further three miles out to sea and Wild Oats XI five miles astern. “They actually look quite nice from this angle,” Alfa Romeo’s navigator Tom Addis said tongue in cheek early this morning. “Right now we are dribbling along under our upwind code zero (an oversize, lightweight furling headsail), in 6kts of breeze.”

The easing conditions are unlikely to please Mike Slade and his crew on the heavier UK 100 footer ICAP Leopard, which so far has sailed an exceptional race, while Ian ‘Fresh’ Burns, co-navigator on Wild Oats XI is hoping it will turn their race around. “Alfa was going really well upwind in the stronger stuff. The fact we will head back into the light stuff gives us a bit of a chance,” Burns said. “It's pretty light, between 6 and 10 knots and quite variable. The seas are flatter now - it was a little rough at times last night.

“We had quite a few wind shifts and some big lulls, and at one stage the guys behind, RÁN and Lahana, ran almost up to us.

“Leopard is doing a great job for a big boat in the lighter wind, but the race hasn't really started yet…the hard part….that will be today.”

Matt Allen’s Volvo 70 Ichi Ban has also had a very good night, keeping in touch with the highly fancied RÁN in conditions that have better suited the British boat. Ichi Ban is currently sitting behind RÁN both on line and on the current IRC handicap score sheet. “Ichi Ban had a good night, we managed to keep pace with RÁN and gain some height offshore,” said navigator Conrad Humphreys this morning. “We’re well placed in the current. Bass Strait looking very light ahead of us though.”
Addis summarised, “plenty of comments going around the crew to the effect of ‘it’s not normally like this."

For the crew of YuuZoo, everything is going to plan. “We knew that the heavy conditions we experienced yesterday suited the 100 footers better. Our plan was to stay in the top five so that when the lighter conditions come through today we can try to claw back some of the lead of the top three (Alfa Romeo, ICAP Leopard and Wild Oats XI),” said Ludde Ingvall, skipper of YuuZoo.

“It will be a very tactical day for us today in the lighter conditions. Our crew work needs to be perfect to ensure minimal mistakes. We will try to overtake Ichi Ban first and then we will work on catching the top three,” added Ingvall.

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race

RSHYR: Alfa Romeo leads the way - Limit out of Rolex Sydney Hobart

Alfa Romeo. Image copyright Rolex/Daniel Forster.

by Di Pearson

Neville Crichton’s Alfa Romeo is leading the hunt for line honours victory in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race early this morning, but it is a three-boat war on the race track, as only five nautical miles separate the New Zealand leader from ICAP Leopard, owned and skippered by Mike Slade from the UK and four-time line honours winner Wild Oats XI, skippered by Mark Richards (NSW).

The three 100ft yachts are travelling at just over 11 knots off Montague Island on the NSW south coast sailing in a 12-14 knot E/SE breeze as they push towards Eden just after 5.00am on day two of the 628 nautical mile ocean classic. Alfa Romeo is sailing the rhumbline route (most direct course to Hobart) and of the three, ICAP Leopard has chosen to sail furthest east of the rhumbline as they hurtle south.


Loyal and Ran. Image copyright Rolex/Daniel Forster.

There has been a further retirement overnight, making it four retirements from the original 100-yacht fleet. Alan Brierty’s Limit, representing the organising club, the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA), retired due to rigging issues late last evening, approximately 35nm east of Jervis Bay.

One of the main favourites for overall honours following her recent triumph in the Rolex Trophy Rating Series, Limit will arrive back at the CYCA this morning.

In the race for overall honours, Michael Hiatt’s Farr 55 Living Doll from Melbourne is the current leader, having hauled in the British JV 72 RÁN, owned by Niklas Zennstrom, which had been leading until this morning. However, there is very little in it and these are early days.

Ray Roberts’ Evolution Racing (CYCA) is currently third placed overall in the race for the Tattersall’s Cup, with Ichi Ban, the Jones 70 belonging to CYCA Commodore Matt Allen in fourth place. Ichi Ban has sailed inside the top eight or so since the race started, revelling in moderate upwind and off the breeze conditions the fleet has seen so far.


Lion New Zealand. Image copyright Rolex/Kurt Arrigo.

The entire fleet is sailing either on the rhumbline or anywhere between 30 to 80nm east of it, to take advantage of the stronger breeze offshore and the current.

Chris Dawe’s Polaris of Belmont is trailing at the back of the fleet, 20nm east of Kiama with 575nm miles to go – a long way from the Rolex Sydney Hobart finish line. The Gosford-based 39 year-old Cole 43 has amassed an incredible 24 Hobart races. Her last place on line means nothing in the scheme of things, the yacht having racked up a number of divisional wins and placings in this race in the past.

Currently, the Bureau of Meteorology predicts south-easterly winds at 10-15 knots tending east/north-east at 10-15 knots on a one metre south/south-easterly swell for the rest of the day. These conditions are good news for the big boats especially, as they will travel downwind fast under spinnaker.

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race