Rolex Sydney Hobart 2011 - Investec Loyal clings to slender lead

by www.sail-world.com on 28 Dec 2011 Rolex Sydney Hobart 2011.

Anthony Bell’s super maxi Investec Loyal is clinging to a very slender lead as she heads down the Tasmanian coast, ahead of Wild Oats XI and betchoice.com Lahana.

As Ian 'Fresh' Burns, one of the navigators on the Mark Richard’s skippered Wild Oats XI, predicted the evening proved to be very challenging for the five times Rolex Sydney Hobart line honours winner.

With 25 miles of separation on the water, Investec Loyal was initially wider and in more pressure and she took the lead, still sailing at 13 knots while Wild Oats XI speed had dropped to less than four knots and by 8pm Investec Loyal was 3.6 nautical miles ahead.

By 9pm Investec Loyal had extended her lead to over six miles with both boats at similar speed.

By 10pm the tables had turned with Loyal, the boat now in a hole and her lead had dropped to less than four miles.

It was even closer at midnight. While the boats were still ten miles apart, Loyal's lead had shrunk to a mile.

At 1am the boats were getting closer to each other on the water and Wild Oats was less than a mile behind.

At 4am,the two boats could see each others navigation lights, with Loyal having crept forward by a mile and on paper she was 2.2 miles ahead.

Investec Loyal was 50 miles east of St Helens with Wild Oats inside her, both boats in a light northerly flow.

Just before 5am Adrienne Cahalan, navigator from Wild Oats XI reported ‘We are watching Loyal closely; we are in light (northerly) breeze heading straight at Tasman Island. Our plan is to handle the shifts are best we can and find a passing lane.’

Standings At racetime 01:16:00 - 28 December 2011, 5:00am

EST. ELAPSED

YACHT NAME

LAT

LONG

DTG

SOG

COG

TIME & SPEED

LINE HONOURS Overall

1

Investec Loyal

41° 36' S

149° 20' E

155.6

13.3

201

02:05:13:05

11.8

Anthony Bell (2) NSW

48nm SE of St Helens Point

28 Dec, 6:13pm

2

Wild Oats XI

41° 32' S

149° 15' E

157.3

13.5

203

02:05:28:57

11.7

Mark Richards (9) NSW

42nm E of St Helens Point

28 Dec, 6:28pm

3

Lahana

40° 55' S

149° 58' E

205.3

8.2

235

02:13:04:57

10.3

Peter Millard (2) NSW

74nm E of Eddystone Pt

29 Dec, 2:04am

4

Hugo Boss

40° 44' S

150° 34' E

229.2

8.6

172

02:15:28:53

9.9

Alex Thomson (2) UK

102nm E of Eddystone Pt

29 Dec, 4:28am

5

Loki

40° 27' S

150° 00' E

230.1

9.7

190

02:13:28:55

10.2

Stephen Ainsworth (12) NSW

81nm E of Flinders Island

29 Dec, 2:28am

6

Living Doll

39° 55' S

150° 37' E

271.7

9.9

199

02:19:16:08

9.3

Michael Hiatt (6) VIC

104nm E of Flinders Island

29 Dec, 8:16am

7

Ichi Ban

39° 52' S

150° 39' E

275.0

9.7

187

02:20:14:42

9.2

Matt Allen (22) NSW

106nm E of Flinders Island

29 Dec, 9:14am

8

Jazz

39° 40' S

150° 31' E

283.5

8.8

198

02:21:40:32

9.0

Chris Bull (4) NSW

129nm S of Gabo Island

29 Dec, 10:40am

9

Brindabella

39° 32' S

150° 32' E

290.4

8.3

210

03:01:59:27

8.5

Jim Cooney (1) NSW

121nm S of Gabo Island

29 Dec, 2:59pm

10

Ragamuffin

39° 34' S

150° 37' E

290.6

9.8

209

02:21:35:45

9.0

Syd Fischer (42) NSW

124nm S of Gabo Island

29 Dec, 10:35am

11

Calm

39° 34' S

150° 39' E

291.4

11.6

198

02:21:21:43

9.1

Jason Van der Slot (6) VIC

125nm S of Gabo Island

29 Dec, 10:21am

12

Scarlet Runner

39° 14' S

150° 45' E

310.8

10.2

189

03:02:15:24

8.5

Robert Date (3) VIC

108nm S of Gabo Island

29 Dec, 3:15pm

13

Cougar II

39° 09' S

150° 38' E

313.5

9.2

210

03:04:14:44

8.2

Anthony Lyall (10) TAS

101nm S of Gabo Island

29 Dec, 5:14pm

14

Southern Excellence

39° 04' S

150° 47' E

320.7

10.0

204

03:06:20:47

8.0

Andrew Wenham (5) NSW

99nm SE of Gabo Island

29 Dec, 7:20pm

15

Shogun

38° 56' S

150° 24' E

321.0

5.0

150

04:02:56:55

6.4

Rob Hanna (5) VIC

85nm S of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 3:56pm

16

Vamp

38° 46' S

150° 42' E

335.9

4.7

174

03:17:41:04

7.0

Peter Wrigley NSW

81nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 6:41am

17

Strewth

38° 50' S

151° 00' E

337.5

11.9

181

03:09:16:57

7.7

Geoff Hill (14) Hong Kong

92nm SE of Gabo Island

29 Dec, 10:16pm

18

Knee Deep

38° 43' S

150° 45' E

339.0

3.9

159

03:18:36:09

6.9

Philip Childs (4) WA

80nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 7:36am

19

AFR Midnight Rambler

38° 37' S

150° 32' E

341.1

2.1

179

03:15:28:27

7.2

Ed Psaltis (30) NSW

69nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 4:28am

20

Optimus Prime

38° 39' S

150° 43' E

342.5

8.5

145

03:15:30:30

7.2

Trevor Taylor (3) WA

75nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 4:30am

21

Victoire

38° 38' S

150° 44' E

343.4

4.4

159

03:18:50:55

6.9

Darryl Hodgkinson (1) NSW

75nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 7:50am

22

St Jude

38° 34' S

150° 32' E

344.0

5.2

185

03:14:55:57

7.2

Noel Cornish (4) NSW

67nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 3:55am

23

Balance

38° 34' S

150° 45' E

347.2

5.2

207

03:18:22:29

7.0

Paul Clitheroe (4) NSW

72nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 7:22am

24

Merit

38° 33' S

150° 45' E

348.7

6.0

188

04:08:47:36

6.0

Leo Rodriguez (3) QLD

71nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 9:47pm

25

Last Tango

38° 29' S

150° 38' E

350.4

10.1

172

03:14:54:57

7.2

Phillip King (14) NSW

64nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 3:54am

26

Chutzpah

38° 24' S

150° 29' E

352.4

7.5

173

03:20:42:15

6.8

Bruce Taylor (30) VIC

56nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 9:42am

27

NSC Mahligai

38° 26' S

150° 39' E

353.0

10.8

162

03:16:28:17

7.1

Murray Owen (5) NSW

62nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 5:28am

28

Minerva

38° 21' S

150° 33' E

355.6

10.4

155

03:17:52:16

7.0

Edward Cox (1) NSW

56nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 6:52am

29

Two True

38° 21' S

150° 34' E

355.8

10.7

155

03:15:52:51

7.1

Andrew Saies (6) SA

57nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 4:52am

30

Cadibarra 8

38° 20' S

150° 37' E

358.0

10.7

150

03:14:42:25

7.2

Paul Roberts (8) VIC

57nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 3:42am

31

Ocean Affinity

38° 16' S

150° 25' E

358.1

6.9

166

03:16:04:33

7.1

Stewart Lewis (6) QLD

49nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 5:04am

32

Wasabi

38° 19' S

150° 36' E

359.0

10.6

153

03:16:30:26

7.1

Bruce McKay (2) NSW

55nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 5:30am

33

Wild Rose

38° 19' S

150° 38' E

359.1

10.4

150

03:17:26:46

7.0

R Hickman (34) NSW

57nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 6:26am

34

Patrice Six

38° 16' S

150° 32' E

360.8

11.0

154

03:20:07:26

6.8

Tony Kirby (27) NSW

51nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 9:07am

35

L'ange De Milon

38° 15' S

150° 32' E

361.0

10.8

157

03:16:52:30

7.1

Jacques Pelletier (1) France

50nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 5:52am

36

Lunchtime Legend

38° 13' S

150° 22' E

361.0

7.0

167

03:22:28:40

6.7

Robbo Robertson (10) QLD

44nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 11:28am

37

TSA Management

38° 16' S

150° 34' E

361.3

10.4

152

03:18:22:09

7.0

Tony Levett (6) NSW

52nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 7:22am

38

Dump Truck

38° 15' S

150° 36' E

361.9

11.1

150

03:18:23:20

7.0

Justin Wells (4) TAS

52nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 7:23am

39

The Goat

38° 10' S

150° 21' E

363.0

7.0

172

03:23:06:51

6.6

Bruce Foye (11) NSW

42nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 12:06pm

40

Papillon

38° 10' S

150° 25' E

363.9

7.1

167

03:20:27:53

6.8

Phil Molony (21) NSW

44nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 9:27am

41

Ella Bache

38° 10' S

150° 33' E

365.9

10.5

155

03:19:19:37

6.9

Jessica Watson NSW

47nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 8:19am

42

Deloitte As One

38° 10' S

150° 34' E

366.4

10.2

155

03:20:13:45

6.8

Chris Lewin (4) NSW

48nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 9:13am

43

Dodo

38° 06' S

150° 23' E

367.8

8.6

165

03:23:22:39

6.6

Adrian Dunphy (9) NSW

39nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 12:22pm

44

Jazz Player

38° 07' S

150° 31' E

368.2

9.8

153

03:21:04:23

6.8

Andrew Lawrence (2) VIC

44nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 10:04am

45

Outrageous Fortune

38° 01' S

150° 09' E

368.6

7.3

174

04:06:39:03

6.1

Quintin Fowler New Zealand

29nm S of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 7:39pm

46

Quetzalcoatl

38° 04' S

150° 27' E

370.8

10.4

149

04:00:51:15

6.5

Antony Sweetapple (8) NSW

39nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 1:51pm

47

Carina

37° 59' S

150° 18' E

372.8

9.1

164

04:04:02:29

6.3

Rives Potts USA

31nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 5:02pm

48

The Banshee

37° 56' S

150° 13' E

375.0

8.1

173

04:05:48:17

6.2

Corinne Feldmann (1) & Rob Francis (4) NSW

26nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 6:48pm

49

Whistler

37° 59' S

150° 27' E

375.4

9.9

154

03:21:45:18

6.7

David Rees (14) TAS

35nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 10:45am

50

Sweethart

37° 56' S

150° 27' E

377.7

9.5

153

03:23:32:25

6.6

Laurence Pidgeon (4) QLD

34nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 12:32pm

51

Kiss Goodbye to MS

37° 57' S

150° 31' E

377.8

9.5

160

04:01:15:29

6.5

Tony Warren (3) VIC

37nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 2:15pm

52

One For The Road

37° 55' S

150° 24' E

378.2

8.9

167

03:22:21:39

6.7

Kym Butler (3) NSW

31nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 11:21am

53

LMR Solar

37° 51' S

150° 09' E

378.7

7.1

164

04:07:17:07

6.1

Michael Martin (3) NSW

20nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 8:17pm

54

Menace

37° 52' S

150° 14' E

378.8

8.6

171

04:08:01:11

6.0

Niven James (1) NSW

23nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 9:01pm

55

Patrice IV

37° 55' S

150° 29' E

379.2

9.7

162

03:23:32:47

6.6

Shane Wiseman SA

35nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 12:32pm

56

Martela

37° 49' S

150° 02' E

379.4

6.9

175

04:07:54:57

6.0

Anthony Williams (4) TAS

16nm S of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 8:54pm

57

Icefire

37° 54' S

150° 24' E

379.5

10.0

164

04:03:50:45

6.3

Peter Tucker NSW

30nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 4:50pm

58

Mille Sabords

37° 51' S

150° 22' E

381.7

8.8

176

03:22:53:11

6.6

Stephane Howarth (1) VIC

27nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 11:53am

59

Mondo

37° 45' S

149° 59' E

382.3

04:20:28:25

5.4

Ray Sweeney (2) QLD

11nm S of Gabo Island

31 Dec, 9:28am

60

Copernicus

37° 43' S

150° 04' E

384.8

6.0

174

04:05:56:38

6.2

Greg Zyner (4) NSW

12nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 6:56pm

61

Wave Sweeper

37° 44' S

150° 22' E

387.6

8.2

176

04:06:29:23

6.1

Andrey Arbuzov (1) NSW

24nm SE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 7:29pm

62

Willyama

37° 34' S

149° 57' E

392.2

7.2

192

04:06:04:02

6.2

Richard Barron (10) NSW

2nm E of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 7:04pm

63

Bacardi

37° 34' S

150° 03' E

393.2

6.2

195

04:08:04:09

6.0

Martin Power (9) VIC

7nm E of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 9:04pm

64

Chancellor

37° 32' S

149° 58' E

394.5

7.0

204

04:10:45:44

5.9

Ted Tooher (6) NSW

3nm NE of Gabo Island

30 Dec, 11:45pm

65

Flying Fish Arctos

37° 38' S

150° 38' E

397.3

9.0

162

04:10:36:48

5.9

John Naylor (30) & Duncan Macalister (1) NSW

36nm SE of Green Cape

30 Dec, 11:36pm

66

Nutcracker

37° 23' S

150° 10' E

405.7

6.4

176

04:20:20:11

5.4

Robert Davis / David Clancy VIC

9nm SE of Green Cape

31 Dec, 9:20am

67

Samurai Jack

37° 25' S

150° 34' E

409.1

7.9

173

05:03:59:00

5.1

Michael Lazzarini (1) QLD

26nm E of Green Cape

31 Dec, 4:59pm

68

Fullynpushing

37° 17' S

150° 14' E

412.0

7.1

175

04:19:56:54

5.4

Andrew Griffiths VIC

9nm E of Green Cape

31 Dec, 8:56am

69

She

37° 14' S

150° 26' E

417.8

7.2

170

04:15:51:53

5.6

Peter Rodgers (16) NSW

18nm E of Green Cape

31 Dec, 4:51am

70

Natelle Two

37° 07' S

150° 04' E

420.1

7.6

174

05:02:25:01

5.1

Laura Roper TAS

9nm N of Green Cape

31 Dec, 3:25pm

71

Kioni

37° 05' S

149° 54' E

420.4

3.4

290

06:11:18:49

4.0

Rowan McColl (5) NSW

13nm NW of Green Cape

2 Jan, 12:18am

72

Not Negotiable

37° 09' S

150° 22' E

422.0

6.8

168

04:23:46:36

5.2

John Rayner TAS

17nm NE of Green Cape

31 Dec, 12:46pm

73

Aurora

37° 03' S

150° 02' E

423.6

2.2

247

08:07:25:31

3.2

Jim Holley (23) NSW

13nm N of Green Cape

3 Jan, 8:25pm

74

Nemesis

36° 44' S

150° 24' E

446.6

6.2

172

06:23:32:07

3.7

Jeffery Taylor (1) USA

30nm S of Montague Island

2 Jan, 12:32pm

75

Maluka Of Kermandie

36° 37' S

150° 09' E

449.5

5.6

184

06:16:41:39

3.9

Peter Langman NSW

23nm S of Montague Island

2 Jan, 5:41am

76

Eressea

36° 30' S

150° 30' E

460.9

4.3

146

09:04:45:48

2.8

John Bankart (4) QLD

20nm SE of Montague Island

4 Jan, 5:45pm

Shepherd Centre*

Retired - at Sea

Hugh Torode (3) NSW

ColorTile*

Retired - at Sea

Warren Buchan (1) NSW

Elektra*

Retired - at Port

Peter Gregory NSW

Alacrity*

Retired - at Port

Chris Percy QLD

Alchemy III*

Retired - at Port

Jarrod Ritchie (1) TAS

Pretty Fly III*

Retired - at Port

Colin Woods (5) NSW

Illusion*

Retired - at Sea

Christopher Bowling (17) NSW

Duende*

Retired - at Sea

Damien Parkes (24) NSW

Ffreefire 52*

Retired - at Sea

Anthony Day Hong Kong

Wild Thing*

Retired - at Sea

Grant Wharington (23) QLD

Accenture Yeah Baby*

Retired - at Port

Marc Ryckmans (5) NSW

Celestial*

Retired - at Port

Sam Haynes (1) NSW