| Secret’s nearly out of the bag. |
| By Bruce Montgomery, Sydney Hobart media team. |
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Photos by
Peter Andrews,
Story and page edited By Peter Andrews. |
| 08:30 AEDT, December 30,
2010. |
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| Geoff Boettcher’s South Australian yacht Secret Mens’ Business 3.5 looks set for corrected time honours in this year’s Sydney Hobart as the only two other contenders overnight dropped off the pace. Should Secret Mens’ Business 3.5 be declared the winner of the Tattersall’s Cup, it will be the second South Australian yacht to take the top trophy in consecutive years. |
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Geoff Boettcher’s South Australian yacht Secret
Mens’ Business
3.5 crossing Storm Bay during the 2010 Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.
Photo © Rolex / Daniel Forster.
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| The leader on corrected time for most of yesterday, Darryl Hodgkinson’s Sydney boat Victoire missed her 3.16am deadline today by one hour and 25 minutes. It left Peter Mosely’s Local Hero as the only boat at sea still likely to challenge Secret Mens’ Business 3.5. |
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Darryl Hodgkinson's Beneteau 45 Victoire off Tasman Island, during
the 2010 Sydney Hobart.
Photo © Rolex / Daniel Forster.
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Local Hero has to be in Hobart by 9.19am today (Thursday) but is still only half way down the Tasmanian east coast and not due in Hobart until about 10 o’clock tonight. Local Hero may seek time redress for standing by the dismasted Bacardi on Monday, but it seems it’s not going to be enough to get the BH36 over the line.
Boettcher modified the original version of Secret Mens’ Business 3.5, hence the point 5, to improve the Reichel Pugh 51’s upwind performance, clearly a shrewd move. |
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Geoff Boettcher’s South Australian yacht Secret Mens’ Business
3.5 crossing Storm Bay during the 2010 Sydney Hobart.
Photo © Rolex / Daniel Forster.
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Race organiser Cruising Yacht Club of Australia is expected to formally announce the overall winner today.
At 8.30am 24 boats had finished the race, 18 had retired and 45 were still at sea. While the fanfare of yesterday’s line honours announcement might have faded, for half of the original starting fleet their race is not over. Chris Dawe’s Polaris of Belmont was last night reported as retired, but at this morning’s sked they confirmed they are still racing south. |
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Awaiting the finishers, dockside in Hobart.
Photo © Rolex / Daniel Forster.
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The last boat on the standings is Morgan Rogers’ Wave Sweeper, a Beneteau 40.7, which should round out the fleet at 1pm tomorrow bringing all boats in by New Year’s Eve.
Today’s forecast for the Tasmanian east coast is for west to south west winds, 10 to 20 knots easing to 15 knots this morning and variable to 15 this afternoon.
For further information about the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, go to: www.rolexsydneyhobart.com. The race can also be followed on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/rshyr. |
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| Outimage and Rolex © 2010 |
