| Difficulties on the
Derwent - Part 2 |
| Photos and story
by Peter Andrews. |
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| February 21, 2010. |
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| The first photo looking down the Derwent reveals a line of four boats, evenly spaced apart. The leading boat is Rod Skellet’s Krakatoa II, which has just reached a point in the river where any wind that was there was now gone. Within this and some of the photos that follow, you can actually see the patch on the river where there is still some light breeze. It is indicated by the slightly darker blue surface on the river. |
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Light puffs continue to torment Krakatoa II as Discoverer of Hornet approaches from behind.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage.
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Philippe Mengual’s Paca, finds the breeze
and sailing under spinnaker in the distant background.
Due to the distance and available light, this is the last
shot of Paca.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage.
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| Second in line
under spinnaker is Discoverer of Hornet, representing
the United Kingdom’s Air Force and skippered by Rebecca
Walford. Behind Discover is Howard De Torres’ Nips
N Tux and Philippe Mengual’s Paca,
also sailing under spinnaker. |
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Finally some consistant but slight wind pressure reaches Krakatoa II, with Discoverer of Hornet in the background.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage.
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| The first manoeuvre
is seen in the second photo, where De Torres sees that both
boats ahead had lost their breeze and has changed course in
an attempt to hang onto what little breeze was left. It was
a good move as the series of photos reveal. |
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De Torres’ Nips N Tux has changed course
to recover some of the lost ground towards the finishing
line and now taking advantage of the breeze that has only
just got Krakatoa II.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage.
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| When Challenger manages to get some air into their spinnaker, they too turn to follow the darker patch of the river to recover some momentum. |
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The finishing line has been in sight of Krakatoa II for
a while, but now both are close enough to be seen in a
single frame of a photo.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage.
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| As it was basically dark by the time the second boat crossed the finishing line, what unfolded between Challenger and the fourth boat (as seen in the photos), Paca, is unknown. But the Line Honours results reveal that Challenger finished only 59 seconds behind Paca, so at some point Paca has gained a place. |
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A slight crinkle in the spinaker of De Torres’ Nips
N Tux reveals what breeze they have is now getting
lighter.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage.
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With the lights from the cricket match at Bellerive Oval
in the background, Rod Skellet’s Krakatoa II has less than a boat-length to go.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage.
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| The last photos reveal Skellet’s Krakatoa getting some very light puffs of breeze that gets the boat over the line, just under five minutes ahead of De Torres’ Nips N Tux. |
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Krakatoa II finally gets over the line to finish the Sydney Hobart 2009.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage.
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Really pushing the boundaries of photography here, Howard De Torres’ Nips N Tux and Discoverer of Hornet, representing the United Kingdom’s Air Force, still making some ground towards the finishing line.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage.
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| The very last shot is of Nips N Tux, with the lights from the cricket match at Bellerive Oval in the background. At this point, De Torres’ is less than a hundred metres from the line, but unfortunately it was just too dark to get that final shot. It was then another 8 minutes and 11 seconds before Paca had crossed the finishing line ahead of Challenger. |
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So close to the line but so dark, this photo of Howard De Torres’ Nips N Tux was the very last
shot that was able to be captured.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage.
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In such a big race as the Sydney Hobart, there are so many great stories that are left untold. To see a finish like this for me was indeed one of the many highlights of the 2009 Hobart.
For further information about the 2009 Sydney Hobart, go to the official race website at: www.rolexsydneyhobart.com |
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| Outimage and
Peter Andrews © 2010 |
