Please select your home edition
Edition
Selden 2020 - LEADERBOARD

All's quiet on the Western Coast of Tasmania

by ORCV media 29 Dec 2021 13:47 AEDT 29 December 2021
Alex - Team Macadie look for the wind on the West Coast of Tasmania © Michael Currie

Seven of the Melbourne to Hobart fleet made the unusual choice to round King Island to the west, most of the them have now made it back to the rhumbline. Only after the results come in will we know whether east versus west was the correct decision. For at least one yacht, Audere, sticking to the traditional route does seem to have worked well.

Skipper Josh Thring's Beneteau First 45 Audere is currently leading from some of it's larger and faster rivals. Yachts Lord Jiminy, Tevake ll and Faster Forward are in pursuit and working hard to find which side of the rhumbline will give them the best air.

The double handed crew of Alex-Team Macadie currently have good boat speed and seems to ahead of the other double handed crew on Blue Water Tracks.

All yachts had a tough night trying to find the best path to Hobart with little light and a confused sea state. The crew of Vagabond reported to Race Director Jeremy Walton last night, "It's pitch black and to call the winds fickle is a kindness."

Walton then commented "if they think last night was bad, they are now sailing into worse. The weather hole off Strahan means they have about 5 knots from the west and it's going to be like that all day."

The Bureau of Meteorology's MetEye shows that light wind 'hole' extending from Granville Harbour to Elliot Bay. Importantly it doesn't show any change to that pattern until the early hours of Thursday morning. Those that can make enough progress now to get past Point Hibbs will pick up that new breeze, anyone left near Cape Sorrell may find that the hole just gets deeper into Thursday morning. This can be disadvantageous to the smaller boats in the fleet and affect handicap places.

Walton continued, "it's those light wind sailing skills that are at the fore again today. Looking for the lifts and zephyrs and keeping the boat moving is all important. I have been informed by Blue Water Tracks that they will take the opportunity to make a decent meal while they are in calm seas."

Early tomorrow will see the fleet enjoy 20 knot westerlies, helping them around the rugged South West Cape and Maatsuyker Island. For most Westcoaster aficionados this is the most exciting part of the race for both beauty and exhilaration but first they must survive today.

Track the fleet at race.bluewatertracks.com/2021-melbourne-to-hobart-westcoaster.

Related Articles

72nd Melbourne to Apollo Bay Race overall
MRV stifles Ambition to take line honours and overall win Margaret Rintoul V (MRV), skippered by Damien King from the Sandringham Yacht Club (SYC), has sailed a fast and furious race to win the 72nd Melbourne to Apollo Bay Race (M2AB). Posted on 25 May
Newcomers enter Melbourne to Apollo Bay Yacht Race
The 52 nautical mile sprint is the final race of the ORCV summer sailing program Competitors in the 2025 Melbourne to Apollo Bay Yacht Race (M2AB) will start this final offshore event of the season under the eerie cover of darkness at 0400 hours on Saturday the 24th of May. Posted on 20 May
First mother-daughter team make history as equals
In the 2025 Melbourne Osaka Cup Spending 35 days at sea with your daughter might not appeal to everyone, but for Annette Hesselmans and Sophie Snijders the experience aboard Fika, their Najad 490, was one so natural and easy as they sailed from Melbourne to Osaka. Posted on 13 May
Alive makes clean sweep in the Melbourne Osaka Cup
They had their sights on breaking current race record of 21 days, 12 hours, 41 minutes, 13 seconds The Reichel/Pugh 66 Alive, skippered by Duncan Hine and co-skipper Glenn Myler, has made a clean sweep of Line Honours, AMS, PHS and ORCi in the 2025 Melbourne to Osaka Cup. Posted on 3 May
Life-Changing Experience in Melbourne Osaka Cup
The crew of White Spirit talk about their journey A resounding yes, they'd do it again for such an amazing life-changing experience, is how Cyrus Allen, skipper of the Beneteau 50, White Spirit, summed up the 2025 Melbourne to Osaka race, which he completed with co-skipper Lillian Stewart. Posted on 1 May
Joker X2's Long Game in the Melbourne Osaka Cup
A quiet sense of achievement after thirty-six days and 5,500 nautical miles After thirty-six days and 5,500 nautical miles, the double-handed crew of Joker X2 crossed the Osaka finish line with a quiet sense of achievement. Posted on 1 May
Melbourne Osaka Cup Update
A close finish for family crews After more than 5,500 nautical miles and 37 days at sea, Magellan has crossed the finish line in Osaka, and not without some dramas, friendly family rivalry, and a few missing ducks. Posted on 27 Apr
Melbourne Osaka Cup Update
A Thrilling Finish for Quest and Lord Jiminy After more than 5,500 nautical miles of ocean racing, just 44 seconds separated Quest and Lord Jiminy in one of the closest finishes of the Melbourne to Osaka Yacht Race so far. Posted on 24 Apr
Melbourne Osaka Cup Update
On long Escapade Robert and Michael Bradley are one of two father-son teams in the Melbourne to Osaka Cup. They crossed the finish line last night, as the drone display from Expo 2025 welcomed them in. Posted on 21 Apr
Neck and Neck After 5,300 Nautical Miles
6 of the Melbourne to Osaka Yacht Race main starters are within 120 nautical miles of each other After 5,300 nautical miles sailed, six of the Melbourne to Osaka Yacht Race main starters are within 120 nautical miles of each other, as two distinct strategies emerge while navigating a large Kuroshio eddy just south of Osaka. Posted on 20 Apr
Allen Dynamic 40 FooterSea Sure 2025Rolly Tasker Sails 2023 FOOTER