Sink this silly race says Tabloid Writer

by Robyn Riley/Sail-World on 2 Jan 2007 'It is time to pull the plug on the Sydney-to-Hobart yacht race' says Robyn Riley from Melbourne's Sunday Herald. Her views on motor racing, cycling, rock fishing, mountain climbing,kayaking, horse riding, Australian Rules football, Rugby, parachuting, trekking and tiddly winks are unknown.

Here is her article in full.

Sink this silly race

It is time to pull the plug on the Sydney-to-Hobart yacht race

This high-maintenance, high-risk event caters for a privileged few while threatening the safety of sailors and rescue crews - and it relies on taxpayers' money to bail out crippled participants.

Again this year there has been a bout of the serious injuries and dangerous rescue efforts that we have come to expect with this race.

Only 24 hours after it started, nine boats were forced out of the race and six yachtsmen taken to hospital.

Race organisers may claim it is a tough race and not nearly as bad as the 1998 race that saw six sailors lose their lives, but that doesn't wash with me. Enough is enough. The race has become too dangerous.

On Wednesday, three crew of Maximus had to be rescued by helicopter when its $800,000 carbon-fibre mast broke and fell on the yacht.

Water police had to haul another two crew members to safety and one, Sydney sailor Ian Treleaven, said they were lucky to be alive.

Rudders have been ripped off and masts snapped, but so have limbs and ribs. That is not sport.

Vintage timber yacht Koomooloo, which won the 1968 Sydney-to-Hobart, also was a casualty and now rests at the bottom of the Tasman Sea after it was cracked open like a crab.

Owner Mike Freebairn and his family had dedicated a decade to restoring the yacht to its former glory. What a waste.

The bottom line is that the race is too brutal on boats and bodies and we can no longer turn a blind eye.

It may be part of our history, but common sense must prevail.