Rolex Sydney Hobart Race – Situation normal

by John Curnow on 26 Dec 2016 You could easily say that all is right with the world again. After the worst start in 12 years, the Oatley family’s 100 foot Wild Oats XI, the eight times line honours winner skippered by Mark Richards is leading the fleet South, as she has done so many, many times before.

First it was the three leaders’ turn to hit the wall, with WOXI now doing 12 knots, which is but half of what they had on as darkness set in last night. She was the first boat to provide her Green Cape declaration, affirming she had a functional HF radio, motor, and her crew was in good shape, before she blasted jumped off and made for Tasmania.

Next up was Anthony Bell’s Perpetual Loyal, with the Hong Kong entry, Scallywag, the former Ragamuffin, in third place. The fourth of the supermaxis, Ludde Ingvall’s and Sir Michael Hintze 98-footer, which is the former Nicorette that won in 2004, and is now called CQS, was not nearly as well placed. CQS turned right yesterday afternoon with just eight sails, and not a single spinnaker amongst them.

In theory that was a logical decision, after all, sail maker extraordinaire Rodney Keenan had done 76 simulations at the University of Auckland. Yet in the real world of ocean racing, it has been the big kites on Oats, Loyal and Scallywag that have dragged them to the front of the fleet, and CQS has fallen steadily back through the fleet. In a message from on board, Ingvall admitted the boat was underpowered and suffering.

Just before 0400hrs, Wild Oats XI had made it into the 38th parallel and was some 70nm Sou’east of Green Cape. She had extended her lead over Perpetual Loyal to around 8nm. Seng Huang Lee’s, Scallywag, the former Ragamuffin 100, had been in fifth place earlier in the night, but returned to third. However, it was Kiwi Jim Delegat’s, Giacomo, a Volvo 70 on fire, that had made the ground and was still ahead of Peter Harburg’s, Blackjack, but the latter was reporting more boat speed.

Around five nautical miles further astern was Karl Kwok’s 80-footer Beau Geste and then another Volvo 70, Jim Cooney’s, Maserati. CQS, the fourth supermaxi, was back in a disappointing 10th place, with the Ker56, Varuna VI right next door and sometimes going faster.

As the fleet has hit the soft spot just North of Eden on the coast of Southern NSW, the concertina affect has thrown up a host of different IRC handicap leaders. First up it was Paul Clitheroe’s TP52 Balance, which is the 2015 winner, ahead Matt Allen’s Ichi Ban. Ichi Ban was ahead on the water, but has a much higher IRC rating and so Balance was ahead on corrected time.

Hobart veteran Michael Green is Balance’s principal helmer, he had similar role on the boat when she also won the race in 2008, that time as Bob Steel’s Quest. Prerace ‘Greenie’ felt Ichi Ban was the boat to beat, saying if Balance could hang on to within five miles in 24 hours, then he’d be extremely happy.

Then as it became the 50-somethings turn to hit the wall, Peter Wrigley and Andy Kearnan’s Koa, one of the slower TPs took over the notional handicap lead. Not long after that it was the turn of the multiple time division winner that is yet to take the overall crown. Bruce Taylor’s 40-footer, the downwind flier, Chutzpah.

Pre-race Taylor had been enthusiastic about the forecast, “I think some of the models are saying there is virtually no upwind work at all, but that will be almost unprecedented, so I am yet to believe it.” Given he is doing his 36th, you kind of have to listen to the man.

Yet they will want the expected return of fresh Nor’easters to occur sooner than later, for the boat is a bit of light switch, and when it goes soft, the pace drops off considerably. So we hope that the kite gets more airing soon, as it is a special time for the whole crew.

For even if they had won (overall) years ago, would that have been enough? Bruce loves racing, and especially ocean racing, and Drew caught the bug early. He was just 15 when he crewed his first Chutzpah to Hobart, and he’d done a lot of delivery trips from their hometown of Melbourne, before that.

That’s why, this year, the Taylors will write a new page in the history of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. Drew is doing his 25th Hobart, which is the first time a son will have amassed so many races, and all of them with his father.

Chutzpah was second overall in 2014, behind another 40-something, Wild Rose, and also fourth overall in her launch year, 2007. Taylor has been a class winner 12 times in the different Chutzpahs. “If you win your division, you have sailed pretty well. Where that places you overall is at the mercy of the prevailing weather patterns. I have done 22 of my Hobarts on boats under 35 feet, and remember my first on a Holland ¾ tonner, and all the early ones on Davidson ¾ tonnes.”

In 2014, after three days of racing, Roger Hickman’s veteran Wild Rose crossed the finish nine hours after Chutzpah. With a storm predicted on the Derwent after Chutzpah finished, the pundits said Taylor had it in the bag. But the storm waited, Wild Rose reached the finish 10 minutes before the storm hit, and won the Tattersall’s trophy by 38 minutes overall from the Taylors. Last year, Chutzpah was fifth in Division Three.

Is this their year? Well Taylor probably knows best. Talking of the current Chutzpah, Taylor said, “Back in 2007 I went to Reichel-Pugh and asked for the fastest off-the-breeze 40-footer you can do. It was interesting to sail my son’s new boat, Ambush, for in the in right conditions, our boat is still competitive. In light airs we need it to be past 70/80? AWA, but if it is blowing and at 110?, well Chutzpah is like a bullet!”

So, all is right with the world WOXI leads and Bruce Taylor’s in front on corrected time. You’d bet on the Swiss Army Knife cutting the rubber band back to her supermaxi rivals now at least eight miles back in the next 12 hours, but the overall lead, well you’d expect that to chop and change over the next three days!

The remnants of the Tropical Cyclone currently over the central Australia will appear in the Great Australian Bight at some point, most likely Wednesday, but the blocking high-pressure system in the Tasman Sea will have influence over that. More than that is a little bit like Nostradamus for now, but we’ll update that again shortly.

Time will tell, so keep your head out the companionway hatch, for it has been many, many years since this set of conditions has been the overarching scenario for the race. Warm temperatures on the South-East corner landmass of Australia mean one thing at this time of year. Change! And hopefully not bushfires!!

Ultimately then if you are looking for smiles yourself, then do keep a weather eye here on Sail-World.com for all the latest intel on the great, inspiring, captivating and very historic, blue water classic… The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.