Please select your home edition
Edition
Sydney Boat Show 2025 - Apply to Exhibit

Rolex Sydney Hobart lives up to reputation for Fastnet winners

by Rupert Guinness/RSHYR Media 30 Dec 2022 17:00 AEDT 26-31 December 2022
Tom Kneen and the Sunrise crew were challenged by a `real Hobart` - 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race © Andrea Francolini

For a brief moment in the 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, Thomas Kneen, the British owner of the JPK 11.80 Sunrise, thought: "This is ridiculous. Why are we doing this?"

It was on Wednesday night, as Sunrise powered through strong winds and seas, carrying breakages to the masthead halyard lock, then the boom and tiller, as well as torn sails.

It was quite a predicament for the British entry undertaking its first Rolex Sydney Hobart, even though it was the 2021 Rolex Fastnet Race winner and Rolex Middle Sea Race runner-up.

Sunrise finished the Rolex Sydney Hobart on Thursday at 1:56.17pm as the 30th finisher and in a time of 3 days 56 minutes 17 seconds, with its boom bandaged by gaffer tap and sail straps.

After Sunrise docked in Hobart, Kneen reflected on his moment of doubt in light of the boat's state during the race.

After the initial lighter winds for Monday's start strengthened on Tuesday, Kneen said: "We set off like a scalded cat, sailed through the fleet, feeling pretty happy with the world."

However, by Wednesday things were breaking. First, the masthead halyard lock "which we've broken on every 600 plus mile race we've done. That was standard operating procedure."

Then the boom "broke in two". Then the tiller broke, then sails started to tear open.

"With all this damage, I was thinking, 'this is ridiculous we are even doing this'," Kneen said.

"We had holes in the mainsail. The tiller came off. We had Chinese crash gybes in the middle of the night.

"It was brutal, but it all held together last night going upwind in 35 knots."

When it came to fixing the boom, Kneen's crew of eight delivered with some ingenuity.

"Within two hours, the crew sawed up some bunk pipes, and with duct tape and sail ties, we braced the boom with them," he said.

And so, Sunrise pushed on towards Hobart as the conditions continued to change.

"Every time I finish racing this boat, I get prouder of the crew. They are amazing," Kneen said.

"They take on a project and they take on a problem and nothing seems to stop them."

Kneen said the Rolex Sydney Hobart is unique for the challenge it is in the ocean sailing world.

"This is like nothing we've done before," he said.

"In every 600 plus mile race you get thrown a bit of everything. But this is all extremes.

"It's perfect champagne sailing, then brutal downward sailing with breaking rollers behind you. Then no wind at all. Then 30 knots upwind. Then coming up here, 10 knots downwind.

"The other thing that's amazing about it is the environment here is so different.

"It was cold. When you go across the Irish Sea it is cold, but [Wednesday night] was freezing cold, and the sea state was brutal. It's like the middle of the Irish Sea, but on steroids.

"So, I would say it's a much more difficult challenge to what we have done before."

One of Kneen's crew, Australian Adrienne Cahalan, for whom today's finish was her 30th in the Sydney Hobart - a record for women - vouched for his high estimation of the race.

"It was a real Hobart - this Hobart - and when you sail on a boat this size, you're out there to experience everything that crosses a deck," she said of the 39-foot yacht.

Cahalan was understandably proud of her record number of finishes in the race.

"It was really a special moment, crossing the finishing line," she said.

"Finishing is a really big thing in this race. To cross the line for my 30th was a really proud moment. It's always very special, no matter where you come - first over the line - or 30th.

Related Articles

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
RSHYR 2024 | final update from Hobart
Final update plus more from Smuggler about the 2024 Sydney Hobart race Final update plus more from Smuggler about the 2024 Sydney Hobart race Posted on 31 Dec 2024
SCIBS 2025Navico AUS Zeus3S FOOTERHenri-Lloyd Dynamic Range