Rush and Nautilus Marine team up for Sydney Hobart

by Mike Sabey on 6 Dec 2006 One of Royal Brighton Yacht Club’s top offshore yachts is hoisting sail in this year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart with the solid support of the local Brighton based Nautilus Marine Insurance Agency that has become a new force on the boating scene.

The forty five foot Bruce Farr design which is undertaking its second Sydney-Hobart will compete as Nautilus Marine-Rush. It will be crewed by 12 local sailors that have completed 40 Hobarts between them!

Nautilus Marine’s marketing manager Mark Crockford says, 'Our support is providing this top local boat and its dedicated club sailors with the opportunity to compete head to head against the international and leading national fifty footers doing the race.

'As part of our Nautilus Marine sponsored Sydney Hobart radio coverage that will be heard each morning on 3AW in Melbourne and 2UE in Sydney, we will crossing to our yacht for live reports and up dates to bring to the armchair admirals listening all the excitement, drama and agony of the 635 mile dash south to Hobart.'

Nautilus Marine-Rush’s 39 year old co-owner skipper John Paterson, who is a project engineering manager living in Sandringham with wife Anne and two young daughters says, 'We are not a team of professionals but rather an experienced local crew who pride ourselves on good teamwork and who love their offshore racing.

'This year we are looking for a solid performance in the Hobart after our recent good third across the line in the annual Melbourne to Stanley race,' John adds.

Nautilus Marine-Rush’s core crew has been sailing together for five seasons and most started in off the beach boats progressing through to keelboats. The oldest on board will be 49 year old Andrew Poulton from East Brighton and the youngest doing his first Hobart, will be 21 year old Andrew Fairley from Brighton who has been training for nearly two years to secure a berth in this race.

Nautilus Marine-Rush leaves its Royal Brighton Yacht Club berth on Thursday 7 December to head north under sail for the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in Sydney to prepare for the start on Boxing Day where 83 boats will start the 635 nautical mile race.

Over the past 61 years, the Rolex Sydney Hobart has become an icon of Australia’s summer sport, ranking in public interest with such national events as the Melbourne Cup horse race, the Davis Cup tennis and cricket tests between Australia and England.

Nautilus Marine is a national insurer of recreational boats and commercial pleasure craft. It has state managers and offices in New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia and is fully backed and underwritten by Hollard Insurance Company Pty Ltd, an APRA licensed and ASIC regulated local insurance company.