Sydney Hobart – Death Valley or Plateau of Pain
by John Curnow, Sail-World.com AUS Editor 25 Dec 2025 15:56 PST
Zephyr sailed an excellent race in heavy weather conditions such as she did in the Channel Race © Peter Watson
It could be Death Valley that gets you. If it doesn’t, then perhaps it will be the Plateau of Pain caused by the large and slow High that is sitting over Tasmania. This particular Editorial stems on from Ocean Graders’ Delight, which might not exactly be mandatory pre-reading for this here ditty, but it sure will help you get up to speed, as it were.
So, at any rate, we see that one of the ‘corners of the now 1026hPa High is right on Sydney, with some precipitation included, just for fun. May as well start getting used to being wet… Rather than a mere fingertip, it is now almost like a sore thumb, and that obviously brings more freshness to the already fresh breeze.
If we then take in the wind from our friends at PredictWind, then we see it is right on the shnozz at a very healthy 25 knots, with more in the gusts. Might be a start under flying sails, but lap it up, for it will change dramatically at South Head, and you’ll want all that extraneous gear stowed away nicely by then. Some may even be looking for the first slab. We’ll see…
So in what we can call Death Valley, due to the parallel isobars we went into in great detail in Ocean Graders’ Delight, it will be the vertical acceleration that will wear you down. It will be relentless. It will make some sailors revisit Christmas Lunch all over again, and possibly again, too. No joke.
For the bulk of the 1300 or so sailors out there, there will be some 40 plus hours to acclimatise, should that be of interest. Here, staying hydrated is crucial, and undrinks, although desperately annoying, need to be done with the bottle. No heroics over the leeward quarter please!!! Those days are over.
Next to ponder is the Plateau of Pain. Waiting, waiting, waiting. Below you’ll see it is all lovely and Magenta in the River Derwent in Sunday evening, which may be when the supermaxis could be looking to finish. Basically, it is from the North (ish) and well light, like under five knots. It is enough to make Storm Bay at possibly 8 knots on a reach look like you just won the lottery.
Now as you can see, the large High has moved into the Tasman Sea by now (and has swung to the North, so will bring slower boats down under flying sails), and what trails behind it is soooooo slow due to being ultra-light. Rule #1 is that things always change, but for now it is a case of deal with Death Valley, and if you can, just simply forget that the Plateau of Pain awaits once you have survived it.
So. This is where tough wears a name. Several, really. Focus, grit, determination to overcome, and the laugh that no matter how many times you tap your Star Trek Communicator Badge, Scotty just cannot beam you up. Look tot he sky now, see the airliners, and smile as you repeat the mantra, ‘Nothing goes to Windward quite like a Kerosene Canary!’
If another rule is that there are four starts in a Hobart (The cannon, the Heads, Tasman Island, and ultimately the Iron Pot), then how many will there be in 2025? A dozen? Time will tell.
Now there is one thing that may help. The beer does taste better at the Customs House after a heavy-duty bashing. Promise… Also, as an added bonus, there's plenty of barely used wet weather gear for sale and unreal prices, so bring your cash!
Thanks for tuning into Sail-World.com
Earlier 2025 Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race articles:
Ocean Graders' Delight in the Sydney Hobart Race
New and improved Swiss Army Knife (now with steroids)
Like watching a big front build
Who let the dogs out?
And so, it begins…