Warming Up

by John Curnow on 18 Jul 2016 If you’re down South or out West, you could be thinking this is going to be about the weather. After all, the Winter solstice is long gone and the hours of daylight are steadily increasing, so it sounds like a plan. Writing this from the tropics makes those words seem almost surreal, but alas there is no climate change to be talked of here.

Rather, it is all about the jam-packed series of events that will have us barrelling into Christmas and the Hobart like the proverbial freight train coming off the hill with no brakes! So hit the gas to get through the lights and don’t worry, for there aren’t any read light cameras to be had here.

So the Sydney International Boat Show is sizing up nicely, thank you very much. There will be many things to see and do. One of these is the new Beneteau Oceanis 41.1. Just reviewed Beneteau’s material on the new little sisters, 38.1 and 35.1. With the boot topper now split fore/aft and above the chine down back, looking at the 41.1 will be interesting.

There are many options available, both below deck and on top too, with furlers, self-tackers, code zeros and aces. The targa bar really cleans up the cockpit on the Finot-Conq penned vessel and the new L-shaped galley by Nauta Design, along with the bi-fold doors to the Owner’s Stateroom really modernize the whole equation. Being a bit lighter, with twin rudders and the mast stepped further aft means I will be looking forward to a sail in due course.

A little thing known as the Games looms ever larger. With USD900m having been handed over by the Brazillian Government in June for security and transport, it seems the additional USD24m handed out last week for ‘final adjustments’ is the actually the ‘final straw’. There will be no government money given for the opening and closing ceremonies.

The Organising Committee seems to be in a scramble now to find fuel for the 4,000 cars the event is to use and also power generation at the Olympic Village and other venues. The state-owned oil company, Petrobas, is now their prime target for vital assistance.

We have also just learned that BBC sports journalist, Richard Conway, is not going to Rio because of the Zika virus and it is said that a dozen of his colleagues are considering following his lead. Of course many golfers and tennis players have already declined. Tomas Berdych even took to Twitter to explain it all. The original report is here

With less than three weeks to run before it all happens out on the various ‘tracks’ at Rio, we’ll just simply say ‘Good Luck’ to all our Olympians and Paralympians. Of particular note too is how well Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen did in the final hit out before the real deal. They were on song to take it out and perhaps back-to-back Gold is possible.

Now one of the largest events on our annual calendar is Hammo. Having gone through the Whitsunday Passage only a few weeks ago, it was a good reminder of why everyone does it. Throw in a few large mammals and yes it is a whale of a time, argh, argh, argh.

In speaking with Rob Mundle, you really get to understand just how aware they are of the effort people go to, just to get there. Mundle commented, “Audi Hamilton Island Race Week has been described as the Melbourne Cup, or Royal Ascot, of international yachting regattas – and rightly so. There is nothing in the world to compare with it.”

“Thanks to the foresight and ingenuity of the Oatley family, and with the backing of Audi, Audi Hamilton Island Race Week blends some of the world’s best sailing in a stunning tropical island environment, with an incomparable party and social agenda.”

“The greatest endorsement of the concept comes in the size of the fleet. When you consider that almost every yacht, the crews, family and friends have to travel a considerable distance to be part of the magical Race Week scene, that really says everything”, said Mundle.

One of the best testimonials for Audi Hamilton Island Race Week came from high-profile American yachting identity, Tom Ehman, when he attended the event. A 30-year veteran of the America’s Cup and a participant in great regattas all over the world, Ehman said it all when it came to the uniqueness of Audi Hamilton Island Race Week. For him, this was a series for all sailors.

“Audi Hamilton Island Race Week is the best kept secret in the world of yachting,” Ehman said. “The organisers of any major race week should look at how Hamilton Island makes this more than a sailing event: it’s also a social and cultural happening. Through resources, imagination and hard work it has really come into its own.”

Speaking of Hammo, two of the plethora of sailors making there way there will be Pantaenius Sail and Motor Yacht Insurance’s, Jamie MacPhail and Maike Muth. After undertaking her first Hobart last year, this year she will partaking of her first time at Hammo. MacPhail’s immense experience built up over last three decades will be well used, as he’ll be the Tactician aboard the recently tweaked JV42, Elena Nova.

In what will seem like ages after the Gold Coast, Airlie Beach Race Week and Magnetic Island Race week are all done and the boats are back South, there will be the Sailing World Cup on Port Phillip. Now it was meant to be the Top 20 in each of the classes and the AUD200k prize money was meant to secure their participation.

Yet in the curiously titled release, ‘Final Places Available By Request’, we get to learn that indeed it will be a cascading affair, where the sailor pays their entry fee to secure a spot or it moves on down the line. As one incredibly well-seasoned commentator said to me, “Yes, admission of failure”. Another merely said, 'Perhaps they could use the Spruce Goose as the Mothership!' QED me thinks.