65 years later… Sydney Hobart dreams are still born of a ‘QLD'

by Wai Lee on 25 Dec 2009
In mid-October 2009, a sailing instructor and his former student met for a Quiet Little Drink at Sydney's (now famous) Slip Inn.

Wouldn't it be great if we could do the Sydney to Hobart? What boat can we charter? How much will it cost? Can we put a crew together? It's not going to happen… it's already October!

But time and again, it's been proven that nothing is impossible in this ocean classic. And in the true spirit of the original yacht race, that QLD on a warm spring night sowed the seeds of what was to be a Rolex Sydney Hobart campaign 'put together within just weeks'.

This is the stuff that dreams are made of.

So who's Jay Krehbiel? Just a fun-loving American who has been working in Sydney for a few years, who loves his sailing and loves his beer. Jay, who hails from Chicago, is returning to the US next year and simply wanted to do the Rolex Sydney Hobart before he left. So he rang Ian Mason, Chief RYA Instructor at the Pacific Sailing School, who taught him sailing a few years ago, and they met over a QLD. First, they had to find a boat. Then they rallied together a bunch of sailing mates. And, with the help of Richo and Stuart, owners of the Sydney 38 yacht ‘Next', a Rolex Sydney Hobart 2009 campaign was born.

The next few proved to be a mad rush and a huge challenge for the skipper and crew, who were scattered geographically from Sydney to Brisbane to Spain. The paperwork, 24 hour qualifying passage, safety checks, sail preparation, boat preparation, training, cleaning, catering, training … with everyone holding down a full-time job, everything was done late at night and in the weekends, with the help of friends, partners, spouses, mums, dads and a lot of emails.

'We have only two rules,' says Ian. 'Rule No. 1: No prima donnas. Rule No. 2: Race hard, sail hard.'

Skipper and crew are aware they've had little time to prepare, compared to the months of preparations of other programs. But they're counting on the boat – Sydney 38s are great offshore – and a lot of discipline, determination and focus. As it turned out, all but two have passed through the ranks of Pacific Sailing School either as an instructor or as a student. But between them, they have completed 36 Sydney Hobarts. Everyone has done many miles together offshore, and there is an implicit trust in each other.

A quizzical look usually accompanies the typical question from crew members' friends, families and colleagues, 'Which boat'? Because NEXT is not among the 100-foot maxi's that dominate media headlines… but the race is not just about the big boats. It's about the effort, the determination, it's about competing, and finishing.

It's about keeping alive the true Corinthian spirit. And the Dream. Just like it was 65 years ago.