Testing the stealth of The Jackal in the 2025 Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race
by Jane Austin / ORCV Media 19 Dec 2025 15:18 AEDT
27 December 2025
Entries have closed for the 2025 Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race with race newcomers and experienced race campaigners going head-to-head as they make the intrepid voyage down the West Coast of Tasmania to Hobart.
The Jackal's Matt Setton from the Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron will take the skipper's role for the first time in the race and will be hoping to mirror the cunning, speed and stealth of the adaptable canine, as the Ker 11.3 vies for line honours and a handicap win.
Formerly known as Aikin and heralding from South Australia, The Jackal has been in Victoria since 2021 where she has undergone extensive updates and improvements including conversion to twin wheels in late 2024.
"We've spent the last four years getting the boat to Category 2, the crew ready, and we've also added some asymmetric kites to boost the wardrobe," said Setton.
"It's been some ten years since I did the Westcoaster on Jazz Player with this year's race being my first as skipper.
Setton is an experienced ocean sailor with a dozen Sydney Hobarts and two Westcoasters under his belt, but he hasn't competed in the Melbourne to Hobart for ten years.
Setton launched The Jackal's offshore racing campaign in 2025 with the boat finishing third on AMS overall in the 2025 Melbourne to Devonport Rudder Cup, a strong achievement in what was a challenging and frustrating race.
"I was very pleased with how the boat and crew performed in the 2025 Devonport race," said Setton, who feels that the boat will sail well in the Melbourne to Hobart given the right conditions.
"The Jackal is a great reaching and running boat for its length, which should suit the Westcoaster if the conditions are right, and we have winds from a west / south westerly direction.
"She's [The Jackal] not as strong upwind which is why I see our real competition coming from Faster Forward as she's a much better upwind boat," said Setton.
Joining Setton include regular inshore crew and race first timers, Peter Grant and Ronald Piang Ng, along with experienced offshore sailors Jeffrey Whiteside, Nigel Fellowes-Freeman, Robert Buchanan, Stuart Addison and Thor Cembala.
While Setton acknowledges that the competition will be tough, what frightens the rookie skipper most is the River Derwent itself.
"Coming into the Derwent after dusk is perilous when the River shuts down, we are really hoping to avoid that happening," said Setton.
As Setton alluded to, standing between The Jackal and a line honours win is Matt Fahey's Sydney 38 Faster Forward, while Justin Brenan's Lidgard 36, Alien, with her wily skipper and seasoned crew, will heap the pressure on as they look for yet another handicap win.
Fahey, from the Royal Yacht Club of Victoria, is skippering his ninth Westcoaster and describes his team as a "small fleet specialist."
With over 50 years of experience between his senior crew, Fahey has added a few newcomers to the mix including the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria's (ORCV) Beyond the Bay graduates, Drew Morgan and John Beardsley.
"We've taken on a few newer sailors and first timers on this race, but it's balanced by experience.
"Both John and Drew showed promise and were adapting nicely as part of the crew, so I've given them a slot for this race, especially given we have some experience to balance what they lack," said Fahey.
Fahey, a latecomer to sailing, started his career at age 36 years, when he was given an opportunity to join a crew back in 2006.
Fahey has paid this generosity back in spades since owning his own boat and is a strong supporter of sailors keen to develop their offshore experience within a safe and supportive team.
"I was given a chance on a boat called Hush back in 2006 having never sailed before but it was something that I had wanted to do from the age of 10.
"The skipper said that if you are as keen as you say you are, then we'll give you a go.
"I did a race on Port Philip in July of that year, my first race to Western Port in the September and completed my first two Bass Strait crossings in the November, with virtually no experience in heavy weather, and then I was away.
"I've since spent the rest of my time giving people the opportunity to go sailing later in life," said Fahey.
Fahey, who held the prestigious Heemskerk Trophy aloft following his handicap win in 2021, has his competitive eye on The Jackal in this year's race, but knows you underestimate Alien at your peril.
"The Jackal could be the stand-out, it's a Kerr 11.3 which is a great reaching boat, but Alien is a strong and seasoned campaigner with a solid, mature crew and will be a hard one to beat," said Fahey.
Andrew McConchie, skipper of the Beneteau First 47.7 Vagabond, is slowly but surely building his crew and his offshore experience, with the 2025 event his fourth Westcoaster.
McConchie, a strong supporter and volunteer of the ORCV who also offers newcomers an opportunity to train on the boat and to participate in safety at sea events, is keen to take on the 2025 Westcoaster.
"It's an unusual race, with changing conditions and a race track that offers such variety and the only one that offers true Southern Ocean racing," said McConchie.
Natalie Reidy is one of the newcomers onboard Vagabond and is excited and apprehensive in equal measure.
"I'm feeling excited and a little nervous in the best possible way.
"It's a big step into offshore racing, but I feel incredibly supported by the crew and grateful for the opportunity to learn.
"There's a real sense of anticipation building— this race represents a big personal milestone for me, so I'm feeling determined, open to learning, and genuinely proud to be taking on a challenge of this scale.
"I'm excited about the challenge of the course and experiencing the diverse conditions that come with sailing Bass Strait and the Southern Ocean.
"I can't wait to contribute... grow in confidence... and of course, cross the finish line in Hobart for the first time with Andrew and the team," said Reidy.
Justin Brenan, skipper of the Lidgard 36 Alien, has competed in 15 Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Races and is a five-time overall winner.
For Brenan, getting the first stage of the race right can be the difference between winning and losing.
"The Westcoaster is a tactical and interesting race; first you need to get across Bass Strait which is generally windward work, and the strategy and timing to pass between Tasmania and King Island is critical.
"In my view, if you time it right, you are setting yourself up for a win.
"If we get through the gap between Tasmania and King Island and are about halfway in the fleet, we are in with a good chance of winning.
"Although the fleet is small this year, it's going to be very competitive and will come down to how well your crew work together, especially in light conditions over such a long race," said Brenan.
Since acquiring Alien, which incidentally was built to withstand the challenges of the Southern Ocean, Brenan has sailed over 26,000 nautical miles across ten years, with largely the same crew.
Onboard Alien for the 2025 race are Michael Noy, Calum Brenan, Ben Tyrrell and Andrew Vincent, who all have over 10 Westcoasters to their name, Glen Cowan, and Katrina Hartman and Allison Wetzels, both "very experienced women in sailing."
Peter Garner will be skippering the Beneteau Oceanis 46, Joan Lorraine once again, and will be looking for a better outcome than last year after retiring with a broken boom as they approached Storm Bay.
"Looking back, I think I reacted too quickly and could have jury rigged a boom to finish the race," said Garner.
Joan Lorraine, named after Garner's mother who didn't get to travel much, is generally a cruising boat, but the skipper was keen get into offshore racing as part of his own development.
"I'm largely a cruiser sailor at heart and entered ocean racing to build character, improve my skills and reflect on it being Type 2 fun.
"We aren't hard core ocean racers but do love to just sail," said Garner.
The Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race is the highest-ranking race in the ORCV's Offshore Championship Series.
The 435 nautical mile yacht race from Portsea Pier down the West Coast of Tasmania to Hobart starts at 1:30pm (AEST) on Saturday the 27th of December 2025.
Follow the boats via Blue Water Tracks at race.bluewatertracks.com/2025-melbourne-hobart-westcoaster.