Launceston to Hobart- Yachtsman's thwarted bid for repeat performance

by Peter Campbell on 20 Dec 2010 Prominent Launceston yachtsman Richard Fisher will be unable to repeat his overall handicap victory in next week’s Sargisons Jewellers and Natuzzi Launceston to Hobart Yacht Race, despite competing with a new, state-of-the-art, French-built boat.

The new boat, an imported Beneteau 45 named Believe-Sundance Marine, arrived at the Tamar Yacht Club marina at Beauty Point only 10 days ago to be prepared for the 285 nautical mile race that starts from Inspection Head next Monday, 27 December at 3pm.

While the yacht will meet all safety and stability requirements, Fisher has been unable to have it measured in time to receive an AMS rating certificate and will have to race under the PHS arbitrary handicap system.

The Derwent Sailing Squadron has decided that from this year the Overall winner should be the first placed yacht under a rating system, with AMS (Australian Measurement) now the most popular now among Tasmanian yachts. Of the expected 33 starters, 23 have an AMS rating certificate, while all entries are eligible to be scored under PHS.

'Unfortunately, this means we won’t be able to defend the title of overall winner that we took with my previous boat Blue Sky, a Beneteau 40.7, when the main prize was decided on PHS handicaps,' said Fisher, a past Commodore of Tamar Yacht Club.

'However, we hope to give the fleet a run for their money in line honours and also for PHS first place as she is, I believe, a fast boat. Unfortunately, I could sail her across Bass Strait in the delivery trip but the crew, including Julian Burgess, were delighted with her performance in making the voyage in less than 24 hours,' Fisher added.

Believe – Sundance Marine is a sistership to Balance, the Beneteau 45 owned by television ‘money man’ Paul Clitheroe, which recently won the 414 nautical mile race from Gosford, north of Sydney, across the Tasman Sea to Lord Howe Island.

Joining her husband for her first long offshore race will be Katrina Fisher, listed as co-owner, along with an experienced crew that includes sailmaker Steve Walker from Wynyard, Rob Matthews from Launceston and Perry Foster from Hobart and his 16-old-son Hugh on his first ocean race.

Following two late withdrawals, a fleet of 33 yachts, including four northern entries, will line up for the race, now in its third year.

Nick Edmunds from Port Dalrymple Yacht Club is returning to the L2H race with his Radford 14 Haphazard. Edmunds was recently inducted into the Tasmanian Yachting Hall of Fame for his services to the sport.

A strong northern contender will be Matangi, David Stephenson’s Frers 39 from the Tamar Yacht Club, which finished an impressive fifth in Division 4 of last year’s Sydney Hobart Race.

Another interesting entry is Advantedge, an 14.3m Inglis sloop owned by Andrew Jones from Port Sorell, who sails the yacht out of Port Dalrymple Yacht Club.

Heading the fleet is last year’s line honours winner Andrew Hunn’s Cape/Barrett 40 Mr Kite and the line honours winner of the recent Maria Island Race, David Creese’s DK46 Dekadence. .

This will be the first L2H for Dekadence, as it will be for Edward Fader and Justin Wells’ Ker 11. 3 Dump Truck, a two-times division winner in the Sydney Hobart, and for Greg Prescott’s Melges 32 2Unlimited.

Also entered for the first time is the Don Calvert’s former Admiral’s Cup team yacht, the Tony Castro-designed 40-footrer Intrigue, which will be sailed by his son, David.

Organised by Derwent Sailing Squadron in conjunction with the Tamar Yacht Club, the L2H was conceived early 2007 as an alternative coastal ocean race for Tasmanian yachts to the long established Sydney Hobart and Melbourne Hobart races.

Because of its coastal nature and shorter duration (between two and three days) the cost of competing in the L2H is considerably less and it also enables skippers and crews to have Christmas with families before the race starts, at 3pm on 27 December 2010.

The Launceston to Hobart Race will start at 3pm on Monday, 27 December, again from a line off Inspection Head wharf at Beauty Point on the Tamar River, giving the fleet a testing dash of several nautical miles before clearing Low Head and sailing into the open waters of Bass Strait.

From there the course will take the yachts through notorious Banks Strait between the north-east tip of Tasmania and the Furneaux Islands before heading down the Tasmanian east coast sailing through The Mercury Passage inside Maria Island before rounding Tasman Island for the final legs across Storm Bay and up the River Derwent to Hobart.