Rolex Sydney Hobart - Plenty of golf left in the course

by Richard Gladwell, Sail-World.com on 27 Dec 2016 As the race leaders in the 2016 edition of the Rolex Sydney Hobart race close in on the race finish, the navigators and tacticians face some difficult options.

As at 1700hrs on Tuesday the leader, Perpetual Loyal had 138nm to sail to the finish in Hobart, and according to the routing function of Predictwind, she will take about six and a half hours off the race record of 1 day 18hrs and 23 minutes.

However, the optimal routing is recommending that the lead boats stay offshore before closing in on the landfall of Tasman Island.

But traditional navigational philosophy is to close in on the Tasmanian coast and protect your tactical position against the following boats.

While the fleet missed out on their usual caning from the advancing southerly front on the first night, the second night is expected to be marked with a steady 10-12kt breeze all the way to the finish line.

That should ensure the race record falls, and will also ensure that Perpetual Loyal wins her first Sydney Hobart race and becomes the new record holder.

Conditions across Bass Strait and down the Tasmanian coast have been made for the Volvo 70's - designed for fast reaching angles on the 40,000nm Volvo Ocean Race course. But as the race enters its closing stages the Volvo 70's will lose their edge and have to aim at the finish line.

Earlier in the day Volvo 70's were holding at least three of the top five places overall and were more than a match for Scallywag and Beau Geste. But as the need for more all round performance comes into play the super and mini-maxis should come back into their own.

At this stage of the race, officials have calculated that the Giacomo (RAYC) leads on IRC Class Zero and IRC overall - she trails Perpetual Loyal by just 16nm and at their current speed of around 16kts should finish an hour astern with 115nm left to sail in the race. The first two boats are sailing at approximately the same speed - 16kts, with just over 100nm, left to the finish.

Of the other two New Zealand boats, CQS is in 8th place on the water and Beau Geste is 5th overall.