Sydney Hobart- 120 Vegemite Rolls keep Waugh at Peace

by Crosbie Lorimer on 28 Dec 2009 Sydney Hobart. Rugby flanker and NSW Waratah’s captain Phil Waugh was sounding like a seasoned yachtie this afternoon when he spoke to us from aboard Investec Loyal, the 100 footer owned by Sean Langman which is making its way down the Tasmanian coast in ample breeze this afternoon.

Describing the broken steering gear Phil Waugh had all the jargon to hand. 'one of the lines to the steering quadrant snapped, so Sean had to leave the port helm and steer from the starboard wheel; in the end we also rigged the emergency steering gear' he said with confidence.

Loyal’s navigator David Dickson provided only one minor clarification to Phil Waugh’s description, explaining that the emergency steering was rigged only as a precaution. 'the lines from the quadrant to the steering wheels are independent and if one goes from chafing there’s a good chance the other one may go too, so we rigged the emergency steering while we re-spliced the lines’ he said.

Dave Dickson also handed his famous novice sailors a major compliment 'these guys’ performance has been absolutely stellar’ he said.

While several of the elite sportsmen aboard Investec Loyal had suffered from seasickness it would not appear to have affected their appetites too heavily as Phil Waugh explained.

'I made up 120 vegemite roles on Christmas Eve and then we froze them’ he said. Asked how many rolls were left Waugh said 'they’re all gone mate'.

While the new sailors have been sick and even frightened at times they have obviously relished the challenge, ‘we have even been talking about coming back in 2010' said Waugh.

On the understanding that new pressure from the south was imminent Loyal was heading well east of the rhumbline, but enjoying strong 19-25 knot breezes from the northwest, running under spinnaker.

As this story goes on line Investec Loyal is running at 17 knots and is still east of the rhumbline abreast of Cape Tourville.