Sydney to Hobart 2010

[tdw]

An unsurprising start to this year's classic. Wild Oats XI first out the heads and rhumb lining it to Hobart.

What a boat. Four time line honours, just pipped by Alfa Romeo last year, two times Line Honours and holder of the race record.

Moving south with a nor westerly hustling them on but a plus thirty knot southerly due to give the fleet a smack across the chops late tonight early tomorrow.

Depending on how much south is in it the race record looks safe and the whole thing should turn into a race for survival. Not predicted to be on the scale of 1998 but slamming across BassStrait into the teeth of a southerly gale is not for me or the equally faint hearted.

On form and of it turns into an on the nose slog current second place Loyal should give WOXI a run for her money.

Give an eye out for Ragamuffin. Skippered by the legendary Syd Fisher she may be a shot at handicap. Fisher is 83 years old and is competing in his 42nd Hobart. One of his earliest Rags won the 1971 Fastnet. Another once Rags now named Spirit of Koomooloo is also competing.

http://rolexsydneyhobart.com/default.asp?key=521

[smackdaddy]

Oh man! I'm IN!

[SimonV]

Hi Andy, did you see the maxi ram the rear of the Officals boat at the first turnning mark. LOL. realy shoved them out of the way.

[smackdaddy]

The "premier rough ocean passage of the circuit" {Hubbards - "Dawn Star"]. Okay, I wanna do this race some day. Crikey. This is what it's all about.

[tdw]

Originally Posted by SimonV

Hi Andy, did you see the maxi ram the rear of the Officals boat at the first turnning mark. LOL. realy shoved them out of the way.

Simon,
Unbelievable eh ? How on earth they got themselves into that position beggars belief. Thankfully there doesn't appear to have been any damage done.
Trust all is well with you.
Rain has stopped down here, off to boat tomorrow to finish off a couple of things and then heading down to Jervis I hope. Would like to get down to Batemans and Eden but weather will dictate that.
Cheers to you.
Andrew

The "premier rough ocean passage of the circuit" {Hubbards - "Dawn Star"]. Okay, I wanna do this race some day. Crikey. This is what it's all about.

Smack,
I've never done it, in fact never done any offshore racing and to be honest don't have the inclination nor probably the cajones. If you search youtube you'll find footage of the '98 Hobart, Just looking at it scares the hell out of me. Out of my league. I'm more one for staying in port and hoping to dodge the weather. Maybe one day these kind of seas will find me but I sure as hell am not going looking for them.

Update

According to website Lahana (30m maxi, older boat owned by Peter Millard and winner of this years's Brisbane to Great Kepell Island race by 22 seconds over WildOatsXI) is currently leading the field. She's a fixed keel and could be expected to shine if conditions turn ugly as predicted. Her lead may be due to WOXI heading out to sea while Lahana is taking the rhumb line.

edit..I'm suspecting that Lahana's position may not be correct and that WOXI is out in front. The tracking map is not making a lot of sense.

edit - positions just posted now showing WOXI, two nms ahead of Loyal with Lahana a further two nms back. That makes a bit more sense.

[blt2ski]

How can you folks down under be starting a race on boxer day, still have 2 some odd hrs of christmas day left!LOL so some of us are a bit behind the times eh?!?!?!

now to go look at the phun!

Marty

[tdw]

Originally Posted by blt2ski

How can you folks down under be starting a race on boxer day, still have 2 some odd hrs of christmas day left!LOL so some of us are a bit behind the times eh?!?!?!

now to go look at the phun!

Marty

That's it Marty. Xmas done and dusted. Hooray. Woohoo !!.

Mind you I celebrated in my own quiet way ... I celebrate the Feats of the Baby Cheeses.

[mhalchemy]

Watched the start - very odd ramming of the news boat. Poor form by someone there.

Just re the roughness - Tasman can be very nasty. Did the trip on a very large ferry two years ago and we were pitching too hard to walk. Couldn't imagine it in a small yacht.

Indeed I believe the great Joshua Slocum remarked that the Tasman had terrible seas with little warning, worse than anywhere else he had experiences.

[tdw]

Can be an ugly stretch of water the Tasman. Nothing between it and the Antarctic so the weather can get quite a run up. Comes charging in like Dennis Lillee in his prime.

The change went over Sydney in the last hour. Blew like snot and now its bucketing down.

Oooohhh 'eck .. glad its not me out there.

Hey Smack, you still up for it ?

[chall03]

A few years ago, in my 6 pack days, pre wife, pre inpending parenthood, I sailed/hung out at CYCA( the club that runs Sydney to Hobart) my dream was Hobart....I raced several times a week..... winter series on a boat at CYCA leads to summer series, summer series leads to short offshore, short offshore leads to a few ocean races and a few ocean races leads to getting a ride to Hobart.

The guys that do this race are seriously finatical.....they eat BFS for breakfast with there cornflakes.......

It was one of the veteran skippers,(maybe even Syd???) who turned to me one boozy night after I had announced my intention to do Hobart and said with a look that chilled "if your not honestly prepared to die for your sport you don't go to Hobart"

A few weeks later I had a gig on one of the big boats. It was a summer series race so not life and death but certainly everyone was treating it as serious business. The sailing master on this boat was one of the most abusive, offensive sailors I had ever sailed with....we nearly lost the Bowman over the side before we had even crossed the start line, he ended up with a completely sprained ankle, and by the end of the race I had been smacked in the mouth with a winch handle and was bleeding all over the deck.....(the injury later required orthodontic surgery)..........all the while being subjected to the shrieking abuse of a sailing master for whom every tack was too slow.......every sail change unacceptable.

It was at about this time that I decided Hobart was not for me