Old and Near New Yachts confirmed as handicap winners

by Peter Campbell on 31 Dec 2001 The state-of-the-art 62-footer Bumblebee 5 and the 30-year-old 43-foot cruiser/racer Polaris of Belmont got top billing today when the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia and the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania officially named the provisional handicap winners and placegetters in most divisions of the 57th CYCA Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

With less than a dozen yachts still to finish the 630 nautical mile bluewater classic, results are provisional until all yachts have finished, but there will be no changes in the major handicap results.

Bumblebee 5, John Kahlbetzer’s Sydney 62 designed by skipper Iain Murray and his design team of Andy Dovell and Ian Burns and re-launched last month with a new “turbo” keel, was confirmed Overall Winner of the Race and winner of the historic Tattersall’s Cup as the first placed yacht in the IMS handicap division.

Polaris of Belmont, a Cole 43 built in 1970 and owned and skippered by John Quinn, was named as Overall Winner of the IRC handicap division, the
yacht’s fourth division win in the six starts since being owned by Quinn.

The results were announced at a ceremony near Hobart’s Constitution Docks with Bumblebee 5 being presented with the Tatterall’s Cup by Lord Mayor Rob Valentine and the crew receiving Tattersall’s medallions to mark their prestigious victory.

With the winds dying away in Southern Tasmania over the past eighteen hours, larger yachts dominated overall IMS results, with the tiny sloop Zeus II losing all chance of causing an upset.

Although this is Murray’s first personal win in the Sydney Hobart Race, it is his third as a designer, his MBD team having previously designed Raptor, the German-owned 1994 winner, and Terra Firma, the 1995 winner from Victoria.

Bumblebee 5 won by a commanding three hours on corrected time from Graham Gibson’s Farr 47, Ninety Seven, which took line honours in the 1993 Sydney to Hobart race, a gale-battered race which saw all the bigger boats retiring with damage.

Third overall went to the Farr 50, Ragamuffin,, owned and skippered by the veteran ocean racing yachtsman Syd Fischer, completing his 33rd Sydney Hobart Race. A six time CYCA Blue water champion, Syd was inducted into the NSW Hall of Champions this year for his near life contribution to yachting.

The little 30-footer Zeus II, which yesterday had been predicted as a threat to Bumblebee 5, suffered from lack of wind overnight and is now expected to arrive late this afternoon, well outside the time allowance that might have given her victory.

However, Zeus II still has a strong chance of winning IMS Division C, but results for this division will not be announced until later today or tomorrow.

IMS Division B went to the Beneteau 40.7, Shipping Central, owned by Ashley Reed and Michael Spies from Sydney in a close race with Chutzpah, the Sydney 36 owned by Melbourne yachtsman Bruce Taylor, and the 1998 Overall winner, AFR Midnight Rambler, the Hick 35 owned by Ed Psaltis and Bob Thomas.

Polaris of Belmont took the IRC Division overall narrowly from Lodka Bols, the first Polish maxi to compete in the Sydney Hobart Race. Although skippered by an English yachtsman, Gordon Kay, 60% of the crew were Polish nationals, half of the 25 being chosen by a national competition in Poland.

Third overall was another veteran yacht, Bacardi, owned by Melbourne yachtsmen Graeme Ainley and John Williams, the yacht sailing in her 19th Hobart Race.

Polaris of Belmont’s owner/skipper John Quinn is remembered as the survivor of the gale-ravaged 1993 Sydney Hobart, when he dog-paddled for five hours at night in the Tasman Sea after being washed overboard from his previous yacht.

Polaris won IRC Division A from Bacardi and Wahoo, Brian Emerson’s Prestige 40 whose crew included Bill Ratcliff, sailing in his 36th Sydney Hobart.

Lodka Bols won IRC Division A from the American cruiser/racer, Icon, skippered by Brian Roser, and Line 7, the original Volvo 60 now owned by Ian Treleaven.

Results of the PHS division will not announced until tomorrow as many of the tailender boats still racing are in this division.

Further information: Peter Campbell 03-62349183, 03-62349238



Website: s2h@tas.gov.au