Sydney Hobart – Sign of the times.
by John Curnow, Editor, Sail-World AUS 29 Dec 2021 13:42 PST
Testing times the RAT huddle aboard Whisper © Bow Caddy Media
Morning. Well it is at least under AEDT… This image of Whisper just about summed it all up for me. The beer and scallop pies wait on the deck whilst the crew conduct their rapid antigen tests and complete the paperwork. HELLO. Beer waiting. Like really. Priorities. But yes. It is a real sign of the times. No test, no paperwork, no beer. Damn. Luckily I did not have that problem!
Yes it is all a bit weird. You can’t say it is a crew confab, and it certainly adds an element of tedium, and removes the immediacy of the microphones being shoved in the faces of the crew. Is what it is, however…
So what else have we got? Well the East Coast of Tasmania has a severe bushfire alert on for the day. That’s a sign. The Southern most State of Australia is also the worst affected by the hole in the ozone. 25 degrees C today for Hobart, with 29 tomorrow may not seem like much, but the burn factor on your skin literally has you walking from shadow to shadow as you move about, unless you’re already three sheets at the Customs House.
There are light winds on offer early, with Sou’westers to come in late before dying off again at dusk, so anyone who made it in yesterday afternoon can tell you all about that.
Again, it is all over shop from Nor’east to South, and anywhere from 2 knots to maybe 10 if you were lucky. Certainly that is more than one would have expected, and all of that is going to help those left out at sea. That means that Shane Kearn’s little S&S Azzurro has a theoretically chance claim the big one, and you are running with it at the moment, not pushing into it.
128NM in 23 hours (at the time of writing) is an average of 5.5 knots (that's VMG, BTW), which is kinda sorta possible, but the big card to overlay across that one is the River Derwent, for in order to claim the Tattersall Cup they need to finish by just after 0700hrs tomorrow (31/12/21 local). Just not convinced the River will see it that way…
Could be a very nervous wait for Celestial, both in the room, and of the clock. If it is upheld, and if a time penalty is applied, well... Fascinating stuff.
Stay safe, thanks for tuning into Sail-World.com, and all the best for 2022.