Please select your home edition
Edition
Pantaenius Sail 2025 AUS Leaderboard

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race: Late call to race pays dividends for Trumpcard

by Rupert Guinness 30 Dec 2018 17:21 AEDT 30 December 2018

A late decision to race the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race paid off for the Queensland entry Trumpcard on Sunday when it finished at 7.32am this morning.

The Blake Boulton owned Van de Stadt 44 crossed the finish line on the Derwent River to record a time of 3 days 18 hours 32 minutes 10 seconds. It was the 63rd of 64 yachts that had finished at 1pm.

But for the Queensland Cruising Yacht Club registered entry, that moment was certainly not the end, but more so the beginning.

Trumpcard's participation in this year's Rolex Sydney Hobart was a dress rehearsal in preparation for next year's 75th edition; but one that was only decided upon four months ago and required a late call out for friends and family to help clean, repair and outfit the boat in readiness for ocean racing in whatever conditions might prevail.

However, the dry run south by Trumpcard will have served the eight strong crew well for experience and knowledge for next year's race.

Boulton, for all his experience, will go home with much to recall, including how the Sydney Hobart challenges to the end. Afterwards, he said "the last 12 hours were tricky", particularly from Storm Bay.

But Boulton was not alone in that summation. TSA Management trimmer Julius Raithel reported after the Tony Lovett owned Sydney 38 finished that Storm Bay was the hardest stretch for them. Raithel said it was "demanding and cold" and that southerly wind towards the end made their final run "very tricky" and "a bit of a gamble."

Trumpcard, previously named Trump Card, was launched in 1986 by Tasmanian Arthur Budd who made the mahogany boat. Even then, her Sydney Hobart appearance was against the clock. She was only completed shortly before the race in which she placed 67th overall.

Queenslander Craig Coulsen bought her from Tasmanian, Hughie Lewis, but his 2002 Hobart dramatically ended due to a collision at the start for which the crew was absolved of wrongdoing. Boulton bought her in 2015 and until now only raced her locally, including this year's Brisbane to Keppel race in which she was sixth on PHS.

Trumpcard's finish came as the docks in Hobart continued to fill with finishers. For the 15 boats still sailing, the weakening winds led to slowing speeds and ultimately a mentally challenging finale for all.

For those on land in Hobart, the area was awash with festivity as the race entered its fifth day since its Boxing Day start last Wednesday.

With the line honours race long fought, settled, claimed and celebrated by the super maxi Wild Oats XI both on and off the water after an international race jury declared a protest against them invalid on Saturday - all the focus for the best part of the last day had been on the race for overall victory and the Tattersall Cup.

As sun set over Hobart on Friday evening, the outlook was that the Tamanian Reichel-Pugh 66 Alive would be the entry to win it, as it sat comfortably on first position on the leader board and with only a handful of boats having a remote chance of creating an upset and even then, requiring a miraculous turn about of conditions to do so.

But as night set in, those chances dissipated and all that Alive owner Philip Turner and his crew had to do was continue their celebrations for an all-but-confirmed victory and return dockside on Sunday morning to be officially informed that victory was definitely theirs.

At 11am the official presentation to Turner and his crew of the Tattersall Cup at the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race - Hobart Village was under a glorious sun and before a mass of spectators.

Not that the end of official proceedings brought an end to the 'party'. As race entries continued to filter into their respective moorings, crowds continued mingle on the docks to greet them as crews began washing their boats and drying out their wet weather gear.

The only off water issue for the race was the outcome of a protest lodged by Helsal 3 against Black Sheep, citing outside assistance, scheduled to be heard at the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania at 2pm.

But that verdict would not impact the top places in the various classes and divisions for which all awards will be presented to the winners at 3pm on Monday at Hobart's Grand Chancellor Hotel.

For that, the Sydney Hobart celebration was able to continue at full pace, as all that otherwise remained was to cheer in the final boats.

For all information and to follow the race on tracker visit rolexsydneyhobart.com

Related Articles

New Caledonian duo set sights on RSHYR
Two French sailors based in New Caledonia will take on the 2025 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race When Yann Rigal and Michel Quintin began sailing Double Handed in 2020, Rigal had his doubts. "When Michel called me and said, 'Are you in?' I was like, 'Wow, that's crazy but yes, let's go'," Rigal laughed. Posted on 11 Jun
Teams poised to settle unfinished business
80th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race preparations are well underway While the start of the 80th anniversary Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is still some time away, preparations are already well under way at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA). Posted on 14 Mar
80th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race entries open
A fleet of over 120 yachts expected to compete in the milestone event The 80th anniversary of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is expected to attract huge interest from sailors from Australia and around the globe, all eager to participate in the milestone event. Posted on 12 Mar
80th Rolex Sydney Hobart entries to open soon
Promising to be a spectacular edition of the race The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) is thrilled to announce that entries for the milestone 80th edition of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race will open in the coming weeks. Posted on 14 Feb
RSHYR 2024 | 50 feet and below start videos
Start videos from the third and fourth lines Start videos from the third and fourth lines Posted on 8 Jan
RSHYR 2024 | Maxi and mini maxi start videos
Start videos from up in the chopper on Boxing Day, where the airspace is as busy as the Harbour Start videos from up in the chopper on Boxing Day for the annual Sydney Hobart race, where the airspace can get nearly as congested as Sydney Harbour itself... Posted on 7 Jan
2024 RSHYR: Fika wins PHS Double Handed
Annette and Sophie crossed the RSHYR finish line late last evening on Fika Mother and daughter, Annette Hesselmans and Sophie Snijders, crossed the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race finish line late last evening on Fika, the only one of the three female double handed crews to finish the tough 628 nautical mile race. Posted on 1 Jan
2024 RSHYR - Resilience in adversity
Competing crews confronted myriad challenges and a range of weather conditions The official prize-giving for the 2024 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race offered a poignant conclusion to an edition marked by tragedy and defined by resilience. Posted on 31 Dec 2024
RSHYR - Mountaineering skills come to the rescue
A crew member with mountaineering skills came to the rescue of Tasmanian boat A crew member with mountaineering skills came to the rescue of Tasmanian boat Tilting at Windmills as it approached the finish line of the 2024 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race on Monday. Posted on 31 Dec 2024
2024 RSHYR: No more dehydrated food
Kings Pier overflowed with spectators on Monday Kings Pier overflowed with spectators on Monday, all vying to get a prime view of the latest finishers in the 2024 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and among the arrivals was Double Handed entry Disko Trooper_Contender Sailcloth. Posted on 31 Dec 2024
Excess CatamaransRooster 2025Boat Books Australia FOOTER