Rolex Sydney Hobart 2015 – Overdue for a Blow?

by Rob Kothe & John Curnow on 2 Dec 2015 Rolex Sydney Hobart 2015 - Less than a month way, this year's 'Down Under' bluewater classic will have another great fleet.

Sail-World now begins its coverage of this year's race, with John Curnow beginning this year's feature stories in today's newsletter.

Over to John.....

First and foremost, it is nothing like 628 nautical miles. You’d be happy if your overall track was in the low 700s, but none the less, the windward/leeward part is true enough. Whilst the Sydney Hobart Race may look like a passage race from A to B, invariably it almost takes the guise of a laid course. If you’re having a particularly bad time of it, the kite gear may even stay clipped to the rail for the whole journey and never be used in anger!

The Sydney Hobart Race is completed in four parts. There is the race to the turning mark off South Head, where it begins again (just a paltry four minutes later if you’re on Jim Clark'Comanche), then you smash your way South to Tasman Island, where the reset button gets hit once more.

After enduring the relatively short ‘hop’ across Storm Bay you face yet another start and it is there that you pray it is the one and only time you will go past the Iron Pot in this race. If you got there in daylight, you are half a chance. Night-time is lap of the Gods territory.

At any of those points you could be kite up, kite down, two-sailing, scrambling for storm gear, or locating the drifter/setting the Code Zero. And let’s pray you are not looking for the drone to deploy, which is not a cute radio control aero toy, by the way...

Yes, it is a race that has the lot, often serves every piece of it up and always frustrates and delights the attendees to oscillating levels of amplitude. Going to Hobart’s Customs House Hotel is often a good way to assess the feeling. In the old days, the Foredeck Union would be inhaling jugs of Bundaberg rum and Coke 24/7 until the subscriptions ran out.

90+ jugs lined up in front of them was the norm – that’s the delight! Now if it was not such a good year, have wads of cash at the ready whilst you mingle, for you could be able to get near-new gear at like 10 cents in the dollar or less – that’s the frustration!!!

The last few races have been milder than average, a two front blow is overdue, will it be this year or next?

On Boxing Day only, the weather patterns will know which division has been tapped on the shoulder to take out the Tattersall’s Cup this year, and even then there is likely to be a lot of consternation for a couple of days.

Which division will that happen for…ah well if you knew that… you might note in the 110 boat entry list two boats called Ichi Ban, Matt Allen, the President of Yachting Australia, has his TP52 Ichi Ban and his Carkeek 60 Ichi Ban both entered in this year's race.

Why? Well Matt knows this whole race is about timing, to win the race, first you have to win your division, then you have to be one with the Weather Gods.

Arriving at Tasman Light at 8pm is not promising, the pain to be endured overnight might last forever, best to be leader your division and turn the bottom corner at 10am and sail across Storm Bay in a building breeze, hitting the Iron Pot by 1300 and crossing the finish line 1400. Then the Tattersal's Cup handicap glory will last forever.

So Mattie will wait until the last forecast to see which Ichi Ban will go south .. Tough really. (we will publish our full interview with him tomorrow.

Spectators have a much easier set of choices. Get out on the water and see it live, tune in here at Sail-World for all the goings on, watch the TV or listen to ABC Grandstand during the lunch break as the Aussies take on the Windies in true, red ball Test cricket.

Sail-World’s in-depth race coverage has started already, we have our first two feature interviews in this newsletters and there is lots more to come.

Enjoy as always and we have local news as well.