Assa Abloy beats Nicorette to take 2001 Sydney to Hobart race

by Peter Campbell on 29 Dec 2001 Swedish Volvo 60 Assa Abloy has won the 630 nautical mile Sydney Hobart Race to line honours and beat favourite Nicorette by 15 minutes.

Assa Abloy, skippered by Neal McDonald and joined by a welcoming fleet of local pleasure boats, crossed at 9.46.43 ahead of line honours favourite Nicorette (Ludde Ingvall) to win in an elapsed time of two days, 20 hours and 46 minutes and 43 seconds - a day outside Nokia's 1999 record.

Nicorette crossed the line 14 minutes and 34 seconds behind Assa abloy to an enthusiastic welcome from spectators lining Elizabeth St Pier.

A few minutes behind them were Amer Sports One (Grant Dalton) which crossed at 10.10.31, Tyco (Kevin Shoebridge) at 10.13.23 and illbruck (John Kostecki) at 10.33.31.

Assa Abloy led the race fleet leaders across a tranquil Storm Bay in which yachts were jockeying for what little breeze was about on the notoriously rough stretch of water leading to the Derwent River.

Shortly after coming alongside, McDonald said the race leaders were all in sight of each other. 'It was on for young and old,' McDonald said.

He described the situation at the head of the fleet near Cape Raoul in Storm Bay as intense at Cape Raoul. 'We stayed offshore and it turned out to be a good move'.

McDonald had Assa Abloy around the Iron Pot at the entrance to the Derwent at 8.10 am, 12 minutes ahead of Nicorette, with Amer Sports One six minutes further back to begin a tacking duel to the finish.

Behind them were four Volvo 60's - Tyco, which rounded at 8.30 am, Team News Corp at 8.32 am, Djuice at 8.44 am and illbruck at 8.46 am.

All had a chance at line honours as breezes filled in on the Derwent River, with north to northeasterly winds of five to 10 knots, setting up the race to the finish as boats sought the strongest winds, beating up the river.

Assa Abloy, a magnificent sight sailing at nearly 10 knots, appeared to open up a gap over Nicorette midway through the 11 nautical mile race from the Iron Pot to the finish.

Built for this year's Volvo Ocean Race, she is one of eight Volvo 60's which left Sydney on Boxing Day including the Sydney Hobart Race as part of the third leg of the round-the-world- event. Assa Abloy now has three and a half hours to undertake media interviews, accept trophies and return to the mouth of the Derwent River to resume the third leg race to Auckland, NZ.


Further information: Peter Campbell 03 62349183, 03 62349238

Website: s2h@tas.gov.au