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Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race - the Real Race

by Sail-World.com on 13 Dec 2009
Quest - In the Derwent - Rolex Sydney Hobart 2008 Sail-World.com /AUS http://www.sail-world.com
While the mainstream media devotes acres to the Rolex Sydney Hobart line honours race, sailors follow the handicap race above all.

For crews in the fleet, the keys to winning the best known blue water classic, the Sydney to Hobart race is simple, particularly if you say it fast.

All you have to do is absolutely outsail the other boats, perhaps 12-20 in your division and hope that the weather gods deliver you to Tasman Light with the wind and time to make a fast run across Storm Bay and up the Derwent River, while your larger rivals who arrive earlier or smaller rivals later, struggle on a mirror glass river with an outgoing tide.

In 2008, the handicap race within a race that had to be won was that of the Division 1 who arrived in Hobart at 1400 on a windy afternoon, 49 hours and 628 nautical miles after the Boxing Day start.

The top four boats were TP52's.

Quest was the best of the bunch and she won the Tattersalls Cup, for the boat sailing under IRC handicap with the best corrected time.

Quest finished at 2pm, Graeme Wood's Wot Now finished ten minutes later, Alan Whiteley Cougar II was two minutes back. After some minor handicap adjustments between the boats, Quest was the overall race winner ahead of Cougar II and What Now.

See simple really.

If you have any questions on how to make it happen, you could do worse than ask multiple Sydney Hobart winning owner Bob Steel, principal helmsman Mike Green and the Quest crew. They will confirm that is ALL you have to do.

Here for the record, are the 2008 IRC Results across the five divisions .

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2008
IRC
 
Div Div Place Corrected
 Quest
 Cougar II
 Wot Now
 Ragamuffin
 Yendys
 Quantum Racing
 Limit
 Loki
 Secret Mens Business 3
 ASM Shockwave 5
 Ragtime
 Ichi Ban
 Black Jack
 Wot Yot
 Chutzpah
 Wedgetail
 Skandia
 Audi Centre Melbourne
 Pale Ale Rager
 Goldfinger
 Wild Oats XI
 Tow Truck
 Rush
 Optimus Prime
 Winsome
 Ray White Spirit of Koomooloo
 AFR Midnight Rambler
 Pinta - M
 Terra Firma
 Impeccable
 Dormit INSX
 Wild Side
 Pisces
 True North
 Valheru
 Mr Beaks Ribs
 Lady Courrier
 Seahold Perie Banou II
 Morris Finance Cinquante
 41 SUD
 The SubZero Goat
 Broadsword
 Obsession
 Copernicus
 Eleni
 J Steel (Yeah Baby)
 Mustang Sally
 She's The Culprit
 Maluka of Kermandie
 Jus' do it 3
 Typhoon
 Papillon
 Balance
 Strewth
 Patrice Six
 One For The Road
 Pla Loma IV
 Aurora
 Kioni - Global Yacht Racing
 St Jude
 Mahligai
 Bacardi
 Secret Men's Business 1
 Audacious
 Walross 4
 Chancellor
 Jazz Player
 Nest Property
 Finistere
 Helsal III
 Inner Circle
 Leukaemia Foundation
 Sanyo Maris
 Georgia
 Shogun

 

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