Sally Rattle the sole woman owner/skipper in Sydney Hobart race

by Peter Campbell on 18 Dec 2009
Derwent Sailing Squadron (DSS) member Sally Rattle will be the sole woman owner/skipper in this year's Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, sailing her Archambault 35 Archie.

The 628 nautical mile race will her first Sydney Hobart, but she and her boat have already established a most successful record in ocean racing, including winning Tasmania's Bruny Island and Maria Island Races and the
2007 Melbourne to Hobart Rudder Cup Centenary Race.

Archie is one of eight yachts sailing under the burgees of Tasmanian yacht clubs, including Sean Langman's 100-footer Loyal, which he has entered as representing the Huon Yacht Club, as he did previously with his gaff-rigger
Maluka of Kermandie..

Archie will be the sole representative of the DSS, with Sally entering the yacht for both the IRC and new ORCi handicap categories. 'We are confident of a good showing on corrected time.the boat rates particularly well and we
have had considerable success, this season winning the AMS division of the Maria Island Race,' she said in Hobart today after receiving the news that her boat had safely completed its delivery voyage to Sydney.

Graduating from racing a J24 on the River Derwent, then crewing on various offshore racing boats, Sally bought the French-built Archambault 35 brand new. 'I did a lot of research on a yacht competitive for racing and comfortable for cruising in Tasmanian waters and it came down to the Archambault 35,' she said. 'My first ocean voyage was bringing the boat from Melbourne, where it was commissioned, to Hobart.'

Since then Archie has proved that Sally made the right choice, notching up a second across the line in the 2006 West Coaster Race, followed by IRC wins in the Bruny Island and Maria Island Races and then, in 2007, an
overall victory in the Melbourne to Hobart Bass Strait and East Coaster Race that celebrated the Centenary of the Rudder Cup, Australia's oldest long ocean racing trophy.

Sally lays no claims to being the 'skipper' of Archie on long ocean races.'I do the entire pre-race plan.and at sea keep the crew from killing each other..but I will be doing some of the helming in the Rolex Sydney Hobart,' she said.

'We have a fantastic crew for the Sydney Hobart.

Mick Souter will be skipper, his brother Phil the navigator and Scott Brain is the sailing master,' she added. 'I'm excited but nervous about my first Sydney Hobart, but really looking forward to racing against two other Archambaults in the fleet, Papillon from the CYCA and 41 Sud from New Caledonia, both 40-footers.'

In addition to Loyal and Archie, the Tasmanian entrants in the Rolex 65th Sydney Hobart Yacht Race are:

Auch, David Bean's Beneteau 44.7, RYCT
Dekadence, David Creece's DK46, BYC
Helsal III, Tony Fisher and Bob Fisher's Adams/Barrett 20, RYCT
Matangi, David Stephenson's Frers 39, TYC
She's the Culprit, Todd Leary's Jones 39, BYC
Valheru, Tony Lyall's Elliott 43, RYCT