Sixty knots across the deck in the Sydney to Lord Howe race.

by The Sail-World Team on 8 Oct 2002 Its not often that a yacht designer has the opportunity to helm one of his race designs in 60 knots upwind. explains Kevin Dibley, the designer of the 10 metre Babe

It was character building out there on Saturday night. We had a solid 50 knots with 60-knot peaks. The waves were spreader high and they had no backs, so up we went and then kind of launched down the other side. There was a lot of slamming.

We had three reefs in the main and a storm jib. We needed the headsail power to keep moving up the waves. There were occasional rogues, breaking.

Only once did we get a little sideways and we were pushed back down in the surf.

The important thing was that Babe passed this test with flying colours.

A good strong boat, no gear damage, no sail damage, the D4 taffetta has the durability we need.

Four boats retired from the race, after these storm force winds blasted the fleet apart on Saturday afternoon and evening.

While the Babe crew sailing on from Eden to Melbourne, two other retiring boats are back in Sydney, with the fourth expected in the morning.

Back in the race, the little Cavalier 350 SL Debonair is now only a couple of hours away from taking line honours in a very tough Sydney to Lord Howe race.

At the 1645 sked she reported she was in sight of the Island, 11 miles to the South West. As lagoon access after dark is impossible, she’ll spend the night hove to off the island while her two exhausted crew will have a well-earned rest.

Erik Frank and Sharon Bond have helmed the boat without a break since last Saturday morning.


Full race sked information is available on Sail-World’s home page.

The next sked is at 0745 tomorrow morning

To discover more about Short Handed Sailing www.ssaa.com.au