RSHYR: Southerly Slow-Up

YENDYS, Geoff Ross. Image copyright ROLEX/Daniel Forster.

by Susan Maffei Plowden

A strong southerly to southwesterly change sweeping up the Tasmanian coast this afternoon slowed the 87 yachts still at sea in the 2009 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race.

At 1600, the Bureau of Meteorology issued a strong wind warning for the lower east coast, from Wineglass Bay to Tasman Island for southwest to southerly winds of 30 knots in open waters at first, easing to 5 to 15 kn by late evening, with two to three metre seas and a southwest swell of 2.5 to 3.5 metres.

The winds would then tend northeast to northerly at 10 - 20kn during tomorrow morning before increasing during the afternoon to 20 - 30kn by evening.

For the yachts covering the remaining miles of the 628 nautical mile race, the forecast meant a bumpy, wet night of tacking upwind before the strong northerly picks up the fleet still at sea and propels them towards Tasman Island at a very fast pace on a wild spinnaker ride.

That scenario removes any certainty about the computer calculations of the likely winner of the Tattersall's Cup for the overall IRC handicap winner.

But it is comforting for a leading contender for the Tattersall's Cup, already tied up at the Kings Pier Marina in Hobart. At 1800, Niklas Zennstrom's Judel/Vrolijk 72 Ran (UK), was showing up in 15th position on corrected time calculations.

Ran's tactician, Adrian Stead, said: "We're in good shape; we got Neville (Alfa Romeo) by 50 minutes or so, which is good and we sailed really well. All we can do now is wait and see how we shape up."

Also at 1800, Tony Kirby's X41 Patrice 6 was calculated to be leading IRC overall handicap from an eclectic mix of designs and sizes. She was 12nm east of Cape Sonnerat, between the coastal villages of Swansea and Triabunna, making seven knots with 96nm to sail.

Second was Andrew Saies' Beneteau First 40 Two True, followed by Wicked (Mike Welsh), another Beneteau First 40. Then came the Spanish entry Charisma (Alejandro Perez Calzada), a 1970 Sparkman & Stephens IOR rule design that should revel in the strong upwind conditions.


Tasman Island. Image copyright ROLEX/Daniel Forster.

One IRC handicap result that is certain is the win of Neville Crichton's 100ft super-maxi Alfa Romeo, the line honours winner, in IRC division 0 for canting keel-powered boats and the second place in that division for Matt Allen's modified Jones-design Volvo 70, unbeatable in second place on current position reports.

Allen said the Volvo 70 was a very good boat for upwind and in high-wind pressure sailing. In the sou'-wester of up to 25 knots on the first night, she worked up to within a half mile behind Wild Oats XI.

"We were not overly surprised to see that, but we knew the next night in the lighter airs and with the bigger sails the maxis carry, giving away rating, they would get through that first light-air gate. Only the three boats got through and the next morning we were there with all our fellow-sized boats stuck for five or six hours."

Allen said that every night there were challenges. "You'd sail through the day, with quite a few wind shifts, but generally the night-time sailing was tricky. Every night we parked up. Tactically it was a very interesting race, because you had to work out where you were going to get through in the next transition.

"Last night we'd had a 30-knot nor'-westerly and we were doing 25 knots, white water coming over the boat. It lasted for an hour and-a-half and within minutes it went down really quickly: to ten knots, to five and then zero. So we went from having 30 knots to being in no wind with leftover swell and you could only go in one direction, with the waves.

"The big transition zones had the navigators really on their toes, playing the angles and trying to work out how to handle the next transition."

With eight yachts finished, and five yachts retired, there are 87 yachts still racing to the finish in Hobart.

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race

RSHYR: Line Honours Podium Fills

Volvo 70 ICHI BAN, Matt Allen. Image copyright ROLEX/Kurt Arrigo.

by Susan Maffei Plowden

The 2009 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race line honours podium filled this morning when Bob Oatley's Wild Oats XI and Mike Slade's ICAP Leopard finished in second and third positions.

Wild Oats XI finished at five minutes after midnight, two hours and three minutes behind her Reichel/Pugh 100 near-sister yacht Neville Crichton's Alfa Romeo. Leopard, a Farr 100, finished at 0545, five hours and 40 minutes behind Wild Oats XI.

Next to finish, at 0734, was another 100ft maxi, the Greg Elliott-designed Investec Loyal (Sean Langman), which previously raced for New Zealand owners as Maximus.

Fifth home, at 0927, was Niklas Zennstrom's Ran from the UK, a Judel/Volijk-designed 72-footer that was overall handicap winner in the 2009 Rolex Fastnet Race.

Ran has a chance of winning the race's major trophy, the Tattersall's Cup, for the first yacht on IRC corrected time. She has certainly beaten Alfa Romeo, which led the IRC overall standings for a time yesterday, denying Crichton the rare handicap/line honours double.

Wild Oats' Mark Richards was gracious in defeat. "It was a tactical race and we never got a look in really," Richards said. "They had a little edge on us on the first night and the next morning we were in a big parking lot together. They got out first and put 30 miles on us before we knew what had happened."

Mike Slade had an historical perspective of the close three-way battle of the maxis: "When Napoleon turned up at Waterloo he knew he was in for a bad day, he had a bad day at the office didn't he? I've been a bit like that. It was a fantastic race and well done Alfa, bloody marvellous."

Slade said that Leopard had gambled by sailing farther offshore than Alfa and Oats down the east coast of Australia rather than sailing in Alfa's wake. "We went offshore because there was no point in covering Alfa's tracks; she had about 20 miles on us and we just got locked out. We had about four shut-downs and it was as frustrating as hell. We sat there for hours, watching them go away. That cost us. We got punished."

Rounding Tasman Island was the worst Slade had experienced. "There was no wind and appalling seas; really nasty because it's a lee shore, you've got no steerage because there's no wind, but the seas were huge and that took us a couple of hours.

"Alfa and Oats had already gone round. The rich get rich and the poor get poorer, that's what the game's all about. So it was a shocker but we loved every minute of it. We will be back to do another one I think - the boat's a glutton for punishment."

Ran, after performing well in the fresh upwind work on the first night, parked in calms before zooming back into handicap contention with a blistering run on the new nor'-west breeze off Flinders Island.

Ran's owner/skipper Niklas Zennstrom said: "The race at times was frustrating, we got parked up. Yesterday afternoon we had a fantastic run, we were reaching at up to 24 knots of boat speed, averaging 18 and 19 knots. It was excellent sailing.

"This morning was also very good; last night we had a few stops and goes. But we are happy with how the boat performed on corrected time and we will have to wait and see how the other boats are going on handicap.

"At times it looked really, really bad for us and really good for the small boats, but that's how it is. All you can do is sail as good as you can and avoid making as many mistakes as possible. I don't think we made too many mistakes."

Ran's tactician Adrian Stead said that after riding the nor'-wester fast, Ran hit a light spot last evening, 20 miles northeast of Maria Island. "We got through that and sailed the last bit up here pretty well, very conscious that 10:20 was our deadline to beat Alfa," he said.

With six yachts finished, and five yachts retired, there are 89 yachts still racing.

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.

Audio of Ran owner/skipper Niklas Zennstrom, tactician Ado Stead, and navigator Steve Hayles talk about the race and their prospects for a handicap win.

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race

RSHYR: Weather holds the key to race win

Niklas Zennstrom's RÁN in Storm Bay - possibly this year's Rolex Sydney Hobart overall winner, however conditions overnight (29 Dec) will determine this. Image copyright ROLEX/Daniel Forster.

by Bruce Montgomery

An unfavourable weather forecast for the rest of today and tomorrow for yachts still at sea and in contention for corrected time honours in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race holds the key to the overall race win this year.

In sailing terms, the forecast for the lower part of the Tasmanian east coast and for Storm Bay to the Derwent is for the wind on the nose for those approaching Tasman Island and once they get round tomorrow, the wind will swing to the north, again putting it on the nose as they beat across Storm Bay and into the Derwent.

And since the wind will be on the nose, they will have to tack back and forth into the wind, forcing the yachts to travel further to get to Hobart; a fact of life that the race computer does not take into account when it estimates times of arrival at the finish line.

To the computer, if you are 100 nautical miles from Hobart, as the crow flies, and you are travelling at 10 knots, it must mean you reach Hobart in 10 hours. It does not allow for wind direction and sea state.

This news means that with the promise of heavy windward work under reduced sail, those that are contenders for overall honours in the race must now prove their mettle. If not, the leader in the clubhouse, the British yacht RÁN, will add the Rolex Sydney Hobart win to the Rolex Fastnet that she won in August.

For those at sea, the interesting scenario is developing that it becomes a race within a race between relatively new, lightweight 40-foot boats of the ilk of Tony Kirby’s Patrice Six from Sydney, Mark Welsh’s Victorian sloop Wicked and Andrew Saies’ new South Australian Far-design Two True, and the old timers that were built just for these conditions.

The old-timers include Simon Kurts’ three-time winner Love and War, Mike Freebairn’s Ray White Spirit of Koomooloo, which is a former Ragamuffin and Margaret Rintoul ll, and Seahold Perie Banou ll, a solid Sparkman & Stephens design like Love & War and skippered by WA yachtsman Jon Sanders who completed a triple circumnavigation of the world in 1988.

The forecast for the race area between Wineglass Bay, Tasman Island and the Tasmanian south coast for the rest of the day is for strong southerlies, 15-25 knots and 30 knots offshore, but easing to 5-15 knots as night falls, but tending more south-easterly. Seas of two to three metres should abate.

Tomorrow for this lower part of the east coast, the forecast is for strengthening north-east to northerly winds, reaching 20-30 knots by evening. The forecast is similar for seas west of Tasman Island for tomorrow but not quite as strong.

The northerly weather in Storm Bay is expected to continue until a westerly change on Thursday.

Who will win? Who knows?

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race

RSHYR: Scallop pies first stop for Lahana crew

Peter Millard and John Honan's 98ft maxi Lahana. Image copyright ROLEX/Daniel Forster.

by Di Pearson

The Queensland super maxi Lahana, owned by Peter Millard and John Honan arrived in Hobart this afternoon, docking just before 5.00pm after finishing the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, the eighth yacht to cross the line of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s 628 nautical mile race.

One of the first things principal helmsman Bob Fraser said on stepping ashore was: “We were supposed to have lunch at the Shipwright’s Arms today, but I had to ring and change it to dinner instead.”

Fraser next asked his wife Sue where the scallop pies were. Like the bulk of the fleet, Lahana’s crew thought they would be in Hobart long before they were and accordingly packed enough food for two days for the 27 guys on board – it wasn’t enough and they ran out - reduced to slim pickings in the last 12 hours.

Hobart’s famous scallop pies safely aboard, along with the obligatory few drinks, Fraser, a veteran of 27 Hobart races said it was “an easy but frustrating race.”

It was awful, he said “looking at the Rolex tracker and watching Ludde (Ingvall on YuuZoo) go from 10 nautical miles behind us to 20 in front and beat us over the line by just over three hours.

“They ought to get rid of that tracker,” Fraser said laughing.

Prior to the race start, the Bureau of Meteorology’s Rob Webb told the crews participating in the race that mixed weather conditions would beset the fleet for four days.

“It was very stop-start,” Fraser said. “Coming into Bass Strait we fell into a big hole. Some of the guys in front of us hardened up and went west. We were sort of in between and were pretty much forced to go east. We got through that pretty well,” he added.

“In the last bit near Freycinet (around 111 nautical miles from the finish line in Hobart), we had a jibtop and staysail up and the breeze dropped out, so we put a drifter up and flopped over to port and within 20 minutes we had a really good breeze.

“The breeze dropped off then and we made a mistake and went west and ran out of breeze. It was hard to have a strategy because of the very mixed weather,” said the former sailmaker from Sydney.

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race

RSHYR: Ingvall and Witt’s new plans after Rolex Sydney Hobart

YuuZoo making good time across Storm Bay towards the Derwent River on her way to the finish line. Image copyright ROLEX/Kurt Arrigo.

by Bruce Montgomery and Di Pearson

Having returned to ocean racing after a four-year break with a seventh across the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race finish line today on his super maxi YuuZoo, Finnish-born champion sailor Ludde Ingvall is on a mission.

On his arrival in Hobart, Ingvall, now an Australian resident, announced he would be teaming up with his YuuZoo co-skipper David Witt, one of Australia’s most experienced skiff sailors and ocean racers.

The pair plans to put Australia back on the world sailing charts, including an assault on the America’s Cup.

Ingvall’s accomplishments include line honours in the Rolex Sydney Hobart in 2000 and 2004, on two different versions of Nicorette, the Rolex Fastnet Race in 1995, world championships in 1997 and 1998 and the transatlantic monohull record in 1997.

The Swedish Sailing Association named go-getting Ingvall Yachtsman of the Year in 1995 and 2000.

He took a break from sailing in 2005 to devote more time to his family and to establish an equestrian centre on the NSW central coast.

Satisfied with what he has done, Ingvall is back to sailing and to inject his obvious passion for the sport into young Australians who do not enjoy the access to sailing that he has.
Ingvall and Witt, a former 18ft skiff champion and skipper of Volvo-class yachts in previous Rolex Sydney Hobart races, tied up in Hobart this afternoon, ecstatic about their race this time, and enthused about their new venture.

“It was more fun this time than in 2004. I just enjoyed it. Having been away, I found that I enjoy it still. It’s hard to do things like this if you don’t have a passion for it,” Ingvall stated.

“David and I have decided that we would like to work together. David is a great yachtsman.”

The twosome’s aim is to increase the scope of Ingvall’s Australian Boat Racing Team; to campaign this and other boats at major regattas, including next years’ Rolex Sydney Hobart, but the Holy Grail is Australia’s re-emergence as a challenger for the Americas Cup.

“Our plans are to do a lot of things for Australian yachting over the next three to five years. This boat is just of the boats we intend to use in that planning,” he said.

“The lack of presence of Australia at the America’s Cup is one of the things that has concerned me for the last four years. I can’t understand why a country that changed the history of yachting in the America’s Cup can’t put together a team,” said Ingvall.

“I went to Valencia and realised that there were about 27 of my crew on various boats and I realised there were Australians everywhere. I just think Australia needs to be represented and maybe I can bring something to the table.

“I have done this for a long time, and even though I may not do all the races myself, I just want to pass on all the knowledge I have. We have the passion. It is about fulfilling the dreams of Australian yachtsmen and women.

Witt welcomed the prospects: “Ludde and I go back a while. We sailed together in 1997 in Europe on the original Nicorette.

“In this new relationship, I’m the one that does a lot more of the mechanics and putting the people together.

“I’m not as old as Ludde, so I think the age difference and the experience helps to put a really good boat team together.”

Back to the Rolex Sydney Hobart, organised by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, a 26 year-old Tasmanian girl, Danielle McKay, was chosen as the best performer on YuuZoo, so was given the honour of steering the yacht over the finish line, assisted by gun helmsman Witt.

“She is an excellent sailor; very committed and helpful; they breed them well down here,” Ingvall said.

“It was a real pleasure to have her onboard,” said the Finnish skipper, confessing: “We are three miles from the finish line and I have just got out of my Gore-Tex pyjamas, turned off my computer games and I’m now ready to come on deck!”

On stepping ashore in Hobart after finishing, Ingvall said, “Gee it is great to be back, thanks to the entire team for welcoming me back with open arms.

Ingvall told of his best moment at the helm: “Surfing Bass Strait was amazing. We reached a top speed of 26.6 knots and averages over 24 knots - it was FANTASTIC – I got soaked to the bone as I didn't have time to put the wet weather gear on when it hit!”

A passionate sailor with a penchant for inspiring younger people and opening their minds to the possibilities in life, Ingvall said: “The whole idea of what we do know, is to tell the adventure just like it is, from all sides, warts and all.

“One big brother/sisterhood living the dream, having fun as if there was no tomorrow....”

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race

RSHYR: Pre-race favourite now waits for others to decide her fate

Niklas Zennstrom's JV72 RAN passing Tasman Island at sunrise. Image copyright ROLEX/Kurt Arrigo.

by Jim Gale

Fresh from her outright win in the Rolex Fastnet race, the British Judel Vrolijk 72 RÁN, campaigned by her UK based Swedish internet entrepreneur Niklas Zennstrom, was immediately identified by local grand prix offshore sailors as the boat to beat for the Tattersall’s Cup.

RÁN looked even more ominous after the pre-race weather forecast tipped a lot of fresh, windward work, the conditions in which the 72-footer is blindingly quick.

And in the early stages, all the local forebodings looked prescient indeed, as RÁN dominated the handicap table. But after such a variable, on-again off-again race, RÁN is now sitting tied up in Hobart, nervously waiting to see what her fate will be.

“We have re-calibrated our objectives,” Zennstrom said as his yacht was being secured dockside. “We realised that our first objective was to win in our class. And in our division we are racing against 51-footers (which are still at sea). We give them eight hours or so (on handicap) so they are sailing in completely different conditions to us.”

Zennstrom described RÁN’s race as a mixture of spectacular beats and reaches in amongst dispiriting lulls, when they had the wind seeker out, trying to find whatever whisp of breeze they could.

“It was very frustrating because it was a very complex race,” he said. “The weather forecasts changed a lot. We knew they would before the race, but when we got out there it was very, very different from what we had seen before. We got parked up way too many times. It was very, very frustrating.

“Yesterday afternoon though, we had a fantastic run, reaching at up to 24 knots boat speed, and this morning was very good.”

RÁN’s handicap aspirations took a huge knock in the middle of Bass Strait, a patch of dead air so big there was no way round it. “That hurt us a lot,” Zennstrom said.

Zennstrom saw the three supermaxis slip through him just before the wind gate closed, and “the small boats (that arrived much later) didn’t get the worst of it, but we were just in that spot where we got the worst of it.

“That was our bit of bad luck for this race, but we also got more bad luck last night when we parked up for hours.”

Overall though, the crew of RÁN are very pleased with how they sailed their race. They don’t feel they made too many mistakes, though the constantly changing conditions sometimes made genius calls look bit ordinary an hour later.

Still, Zennstrom described the race as “fantastic”. The uncertainty both during the race and now, as he waits to see whether the small boats will get home in time to rain on his parade, is a contrast to his winning Rolex Fastnet experience.

“The Fastnet was much more predictable weather and also we had a tidal gate that we made, so we knew after the first seven hours that it would be very difficult for the small boats.

“This race was much less physically demanding than we prepared ourselves for. It wasn’t tough at all. Mentally, though, it was much more difficult.”

So will he be back for more?

“I would not rule that out.”

A slight pause.

“It also depends on the results,” he chuckles.

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race

RSHYR: Sport Stars Thrive at Sea

Sean Langman and his all-star crew aboard Investec LOYAL. Image copyright ROLEX/Daniel Forster.

by Greg Peart and Lisa Ratcliff

Six yachts have now completed the 65th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race including Investec LOYAL, dubbed ‘the celebrity boat’ which left Sydney Harbour Saturday afternoon with a bunch of sports stars and sailors, and arrived with a tight team of yachties who can all talk the talk and walk the walk – albeit a little wobbly after nearly three days at sea.

Boxing world champion Danny Green described his experience once Investec LOYAL had docked in Hobart, his first visit to the island state, after finishing fourth over the line. “The whole thing was a buzz. We all pulled together, there was great camaraderie.”

When asked what he had planned for his first moments ashore, Green said “brush my teeth, have a shower, and I’m looking forward to a cold schooner.”

Olympic gold medallist Grant Hackett said “it was very trying, very rewarding getting to the other side” while Wallaby hooker Phil Waugh described the 628 nautical mile ocean classic as a big challenge. “Early on there were some hairy moments. We didn’t get much sleep. I really enjoyed being out there. Physically it was harder than I thought; it’s very different to playing rugby.”

Investec LOYAL’s navigator David Dickson summed up the trip beautifully, “I’ve never laughed so much on a boat. The owner’s rep, Ross Field, is a passionate Kiwi supporter. The banter between him and the two Phils [Phil Waugh and Phil Kearns] was priceless.”

Skipper Sean Langman had nothing but praise for the sport’s latest recruits. “These guys never stopped. They are excellent, competitive men who don’t give up. I hope they come back.”

On his own plans, Langman has no doubt. “I’ll be back next year. It’s still unfinished for me.”


Wild Oats XI and ICAP Leopard crossing swords. Image copyright ROLEX/Daniel Forster.

Mike Slade’s UK 100 footer ICAP Leopard finished third over the line early this morning.

In typical Slade vernacular, he offered the following, “When Napoleon turned up at Waterloo he knew he was in for a bad day, he had a bad day at the office didn’t he? I’ve been a bit like that. It was a fantastic race and well done, Alfa, bloody marvellous.”

Slade said that ICAP Leopard had gambled by sailing farther offshore. “We went offshore because there was no point in covering Alfa’s tracks; she had about 20 miles on us and we just got locked out. We had about four shut-downs and it was as frustrating as hell. We sat there for hours, watching them go away. That cost us. We got punished.

“Despite suggesting pre-race that this year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart would be his last, Slade was this morning overhead saying “We will be back to do another one I think. The boat’s a glutton for punishment.” Finishing out of the top two can be a strong motivator.

ICAP Leopard’s tactician Ray Davies this morning paid credit to line honours winner Alfa Romeo.

“The Alfa Romeo boys really deserved to win. They sailed tactically a very, very good race and kept the boat sailing well in all conditions. We had a shocker.

“Considering the conditions, morale was really good on board. We had a very good first part of the race. We were hoping for a bit of breeze and a bit of luck, but we didn’t get either. The guys on board just kept their chin up even when it became pretty evident we just weren’t going to be able to draw them back.

“Now that the pain’s over, everyone loves their yachting and we are going to be back for many more Rolex Sydney Hobarts, that’s for sure.”

Cricket’s on the agenda this afternoon for the 22 man ICAP Leopard crew, the right amount for two teams to square off at the Queenborough Oval at Sandy Bay, Hobart. Half time refreshments include Pimms, English Breakfast tea and cucumber sandwiches.

The next boat due to finish is Ludde Ingvall’s 2002 Rolex Sydney Hobart line honours winner YuuZoo, due to cross the finish line off Hobart’s Castray Esplanade at 1pm.

The last boat in the fleet, Chris Dawe’s Polaris of Belmont, is the only starter currently not expected to see the New Year’s Eve fireworks in Hobart.

From a starting fleet of 100 there are have only been five retirements.

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race