The agony of a Rolex Sydney Hobart

by Jim Gale on 28 Dec 2016 They say if the Rolex Sydney Hobart ended at Tasman Light the list of winners over the last seven decades would read entirely differently. But it doesn’t. It finishes in Hobart, 11 miles up the cruel Derwent River from Storm Bay.

Cruel rivers are usually known for their destructive floods or raging white waters. The Derwent’s cruelty is its indifference to the hopes and morale of sailors. It just shrugs its shoulders and goes to bed.

The river had behaved so well early on, driving Perpetual Loyal to its record-breaking victory at 2:30 in the morning, Giacomo to club house leadership an hour later and then Scallywag, all well inside the 2012 race record.

Down the river, or fast closing at the mouth of the river, another three boats, Black Jack, Maserati, and Beau Geste were moving along nicely, still with a chance to break the old record themselves.

But the rain had arrived in Hobart with Scallywag, and the breeze bid us all good night.

With the lights of Hobart in sight, the three spent the rest of the night drifting aimlessly.

It would not be until 9 o’clock that the fourth finishing boat, Black Jack, would finally slump across the line.

Her owner, Peter Harburg summed up the modified V70’s night.

“It was terrible out there. It’s really frustrating for a sailor in a race to be not moving. We had the anchor down for two, two and a half hours, down in the bay, less than a mile from the line.”

“Sandy Bay?” he was asked.

“No,” he sighed. “We call it the Bay of Certain Death.”

Overall, though, Harburg was happy to finish fourth in a race of this status.

The pall spread beyond the river, enveloping CQS in Storm Bay.

“We have no wind whatsoever,” CQS crewman Michael Rummel said as the morning clouds lightened, but would not lift. “We could use some breeze. We are so looking forward to getting on land and having a hot breakfast.”

Still, he says, the team is in good spirits, and despite some thrills and challenges along the way skipper Ludde Ingvall retains his faith in the philosophy behind his radical yacht. They have learned a lot about how to drive this boat, and there will be changes, but this was always the beginning of a 10 month evolutionary program.