Rolex Sydney Hobart Race - Jazz and Pretty Fly III ORCi leaders

by ORCi media on 30 Dec 2010 As of 0310 local time on 30 December, Chris Bull’s Cookson 50 Jazz is currently leading the ORCi fleet in the 2010 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, having finished at 1320 yesterday. In a race that has been described as 'classic' for its challenging upwind and cold ‘southerly buster’ conditions, Jazz’s canting keel has no doubt helped her performance relative to the fleet of 33 entries being scored in ORC International.

Runner-up in the ORCi division is another Cookson 50, Colin Woods’s Pretty Fly III, who finished just 13 minutes later across the finish line, but was 31 minutes behind in corrected time.

With just eight miles to go to the finish, Darryl Hodgkinson’s First 45 Victoire is just 3 mi north of Iron Pot, but may not be able to overcome the 2-minute deficit in corrected time behind Pretty Fly III to get second.

They do, however, have a healthy 2½ hour lead in corrected time over Ed Psaltis’s Welbourne/Farr 40 AFR Midnight Rambler currently lying in fourth place.

The race’s challenging conditions have taken their toll on the fleet, with numerous entries retiring, including last year’s winner Too True, a First 40 skippered by Andrew Saies that retired with engine problems.

Jazz and Pretty Fly III are lying second and fourth in IRC scoring, while Victoire lies in fifth.