Young guns, sailing royalty and double handers vying for prestigious Rudder Cup
by Jane Austin/ORCV media 31 Oct 2024 17:03 AEDT
1-3 November 2024
Advantedge and Ginan © Steb Fisher
Race analysts are predicting good weather and great sailing for the large fleet competing for the prestigious 2024 Melbourne to Devonport Rudder Cup (the Rudder Cup).
The Ocean Racing Club of Victoria's (ORCV) Race Officer, David Schuller, is expecting to send the 38-boat fleet on its way from Queenscliff at 2pm on Friday 1 November in a moderate south-westerly breeze of 10 to 15 knots.
The breeze will be on the nose leaving Port Phillip Bay with crews then following the rhumbline as fast and as far as they can before they reach the predicted lighter breezes.
"There may be some light wind areas that the boats will need to avoid in the late hours of Friday night and into Saturday morning, but from about midnight, the wind will be working its way to the northeast and strengthening all the way through Saturday to around 25 knots, it will be great sailing and hopefully a really strong finish into Devonport," said Schuller.
Tasmania's Andrew Jones, owner of the Inglis 47 AdvantEDGE, which will be skippered by his son Josh this year, is looking forward to the race but is cautious about his chances with the lull in wind likely to impact their final standing.
"We love hard reaching and hard running, and if we can get an Asail up, we'll be pretty quick, but it's not our ideal weather pattern," said Jones.
Jones predicts strong performances from last year's line honours winner, the Cookson 50 eXtasea, from the Royal Geelong Yacht Club, which will be skippered once again by Dustin Popp and his young crew, as well as Rob Date's Scarlet Runner.
"The Cookson 50, eXtasea, will be hard to beat; Chutzpah [Bruce Taylor] is another well-campaigned boat, and Scarlet Runner will be tough competition, they've got that boat pretty well tuned up now," said Jones.
In a fleet of contrasts, young guns are learning the ropes alongside seasoned ocean racing campaigners, national and world record holders, and a global sailing icon, and all are in contention for a win this year.
"I'm confident that our young and strong crew will do well.
"We've got Nick Smart doing the navigation, he's already sent me through the weather models over the last few days, telling me which sails to put on the boat for the trip and the sails to leave behind, while Josh is handy on the wheel, on the mast or up the front, and Nick McElwee is not an Australian NS Champion for nothing," said Jones.
Last year's Rudder Cup line honours winner, eXtasea, has been very prominent in the Victorian offshore racing scene having won every offshore race over the past decade, the ORCV Offshore Championship four times, the 100th anniversary of the Rudder Cup, and has had considerable success in the Melbourne to Hobart 'Westcoaster' Race.
Scarlet Runner is certainly coming in hot with the Carkeek 43 heading into the Rudder Cup in top form, fresh from a win in the 2024 ORCV Winter Series and with several other wins at her home club Sandringham Yacht Club, under her belt.
She is light, long, and racy with an all-black hull, specifically designed as a fast 40+ boat, and by all accounts, is truly humming and will be a line honours contender.
The Rudder Cup serves as a lead-up race to several offshore races this season including the Westcoaster, the Sydney to Hobart, and the 2025 Melbourne to Osaka Cup, a race also supported by the ORCV.
Global sailing icon Ken Gourlay OAM has come out of retirement for the double-handed Osaka Cup and will be testing out his newly revamped Adams 16.4 boat, Blue Moon II, with his son Tristan in this year's Rudder Cup.
Gourlay is the fastest Australian to sail solo, non-stop, and unassisted around the world, raising over $100,000 for medical research along the way, while son Tristan has plenty of sea miles under his belt, sailing with his father from an early age and having competed in the 2018 Osaka race.
"We bought Blue Moon II in December 2023 and have spent eight months doing 15 years of maintenance on her.
"I enjoy sailing with Tristan - I like the comfort of the cockpit while Tristan is happy to be up the sharp end - we have definitely got our defined areas, but I have a lot of respect for Tristan's sailing, so I am just happy to be along for the ride to support him," said Gourlay.
While Blue Moon II will enjoy the reaching conditions, she may give some ground to the rest of the fleet as the team hasn't sailed with spinnakers yet, with the boat only having been back in the water for a month, but local knowledge is always a good thing.
"We cut our teeth in offshore racing in Bass Strait - while we usually sail from the Tamar Yacht Club, Devonport is only 30 miles away, so we are pretty comfortable sailing there," said Gourlay.
Janet Wilks and Robert D'Arcy are sailing their Northshore 36.9, Foggy Dew, double-handed in their first race together outside of Port Phillip Heads.
"It's a little scary and daunting, but we have been practising a lot on the boat together - we've got a lot of experience and have a really good rapport, and I think we are going to do fantastic!
"We are looking for 10 to 20 knots, but the weather has been changing each time I look and is really hard to predict - I think there's a bit of a swirl happening in Bass Strait on Saturday so we could get some really variable conditions," said Wilks.
Yacht rigger Wilks has been keen to try double-handed sailing, and with D'Arcy's regular partner unavailable, has grabbed this opportunity with both hands.
"Sailing double handed has been on my radar for a while.
"I've been lucky to be mentored by Rohan Wood, who sailed Mister Lucky in the Osaka race - he has been talking with me about so many different aspects of double-handed sailing, I just love it," said Wilks.
Peter Fletcher, a long-time campaigner on the Reichel/Pugh 40, Chutzpah, thinks the team is in with a chance for line honours, with the boat primarily designed as a downwind / reaching boat.
"The race has a few pitfalls, mainly leaving Melbourne with the transition from Port Phillip Bay into Bass Strait being critical to get out into the more traditional breeze to gain distance on the remainder of the fleet, then the approach to Tasmania can also be difficult depending on the time of the day with either land breeze or sea breeze.
"Thankfully this year the finish should be in daylight so hopefully we will have the sea breeze pushing us in," said Fletcher.
Other contenders for handicap honours include the experienced crew of the J111, Ginan, under skipper Cameron McKenzie, while the Hick 10, Toecutter, skippered by owner and designer, Robert Hick from the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, will be quick in the forecast lighter air.
The race record for the Rudder Cup was set in 1998 by Prowler, a 14.3 Elliot Fast Yacht owned and skippered by Joe Westerlo, in a time of 19 hours, 32 minutes and 56 seconds.
While the record is unlikely to be broken this year, if the northerly breezes come in strong, according to Race Officer Schuller, "there is always a chance."
For more information on Australia's oldest ocean race, follow the Rudder Cup here.