Launceston to Hobart Yacht Race - Small boats dominate handicap result

by Peter Campbell on 29 Dec 2014 2014 Launceston to Hobart Yacht Race - Small boats have dominated the provisional handicap results in the 2014 National Pies Launceston to Hobart Yacht Race, announced this morning by the Derwent Sailing Squadron.

Steelin Time, a 31-year-old Tasmanian designed and built Knoop 32 skippered by Allan Warren from the small Geilston Bay Boating Club in Hobart, is the provisional winner of the AMS category and thus the overall winner of the 285 nautical mile race around Tasmania’s north-east and coast.

Another Tasmanian designed and built boat, the Snook 30, skippered by Malcolm Cooper from the DSS, is provisionally first under IRC scoring while Off-Piste, a Beneteau Oceanis 34 skippered by Paul Einedor from the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania, has won the PHS category.

The entire fleet of 24 boats in the National Pies Launceston to Hobart Yacht Race was tied up at Hobart’s Elizabeth Street Pier before 9:30am today, with the last boat crossing the finish line off Hobart’s Battery Point just before 9am.

The 285 nautical mile race has been one of the fastest on record with the entire fleet finishing within two days of the start from Beauty Point last Saturday morning.

There were no retirements although Reflection (David Pring) broke its boom in Storm Bay last night and the Tamar Yacht Club entrant Allusive (John Joyce) had to put into Port Arthur to enable a crew member to be hoisted up the mast to clear a spinnaker that had wrapped itself around the yacht’s forestay. Both boats continued on to finish this morning.

Line honours winner, Gary Smith’s Bakewell-White 45, The Fork in the Road, finished at 10:18:35pm yesterday, slashing about three hours and 13 minutes off the race record previously set by Helsal 3 in 2011.

Second boat to finish, Peter and Catherine Cretan’s newly acquired Marten 49, Tilt, finished just outside the previous record.

They were followed home in the early hours of today by The Protagonist (Stuart Denney), Infinity (Greg Prescott) and first northern yacht, David Allan’s Obsession.

Remarkably, less than 11 hours has separated the first boat, The Fork in the Road, and the last to finish, Take 5. With such a compact fleet, none of the larger, higher-handicapped yachts has figured in the top placings with The Fork in the Road placing 11th overall under AMS scoring.

Steelin Time was 22nd boat to cross the line at 8:54am today, winning the AMS category, Steelin Time won on corrected time by just on nine minutes from Off-Piste, third place going to Silicon Ship, a Knoop 32 and sistership to Steelin Time.

As AMS winner, Steelin Time is also first overall in the 2014 National Pies Launceston to Hobart Race.

Under IRC, for which only a few boats were rated, Kaiulani took the honours from Off-Piste with third place going to The Fork in the Road.

All 24 boats were entered with a PHS rating, with Off-Piste winning by just over 54 minutes on corrected time from Steelin Time and Kaiulani, with the last finishing boat, Ian Gannon’s Traditional 30, Take 5, a close fourth.