| Southerly slow-up |
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Photos By Kurt Arrigo
and Daniel Forster.
Additional photo and story edited from press release by Peter Andrews. |
| 17:00 AEDT December 29,
2009. |
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A strong southerly to southwesterly change sweeping up the Tasmanian coast this afternoon slowed the 87 yachts still at sea in the 2009 Sydney Hobart Race.
At 16:00 AEDT, the Bureau of Meteorology issued a strong wind warning for the lower east coast, from Wineglass Bay to Tasman Island for southwest to southerly winds of 30 knots in open waters. The winds will then ease to 5 to 15 kn by late evening, with two to three metre seas and a southwest swell of 2.5 to 3.5 metres. The wind will then tend northeast to northerly at 10-20kn during tomorrow morning, before increasing during the afternoon to 20-30kn by evening. |
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Alejandro Perez Calzada’s Spanish entry Charisma,
a 1970 Sparkman & Stephens at sea, during the
Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2009.
Photo © Rolex / Kurt Arrigo.
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For the yachts covering the remaining miles of the 628 nautical mile race, the forecast meant a bumpy, wet night of tacking upwind. These conditions will continue until the strong northerly picks up the fleet still at sea, and propels them towards Tasman Island at a very fast pace for a wild spinnaker ride.
This scenario removes any certainty about the computer calculations, of the likely winner of the Tattersall’s Cup for the overall IRC handicap winner. But it is comforting for a leading contender for the Tattersall’s Cup, already tied up at the Kings Pier Marina in Hobart. |
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Andrew Saies’ Beneteau First 40 Two
True, at sea,
during the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2009.
Photo © Rolex / Daniel Forster.
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| At 18:00 AEDT, Niklas Zennström’s Judel Vrolijk 72 Rán (UK), was showing up in 15th position on corrected time calculations. Ran’s tactician, Adrian Stead, said: "We’re in good shape; we got Neville (Alfa Romeo) by 50 minutes or so which is good and we sailed really well. All we can do now is wait and see how we shape up." |
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Niklas Zennström’s Judel Vrolijk 72 Rán sailing off Tasman Island and about to enter Storm Bay,
during the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2009.
Photo © Rolex / Kurt Arrigo.
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| Also at 18:00 AEDT, Tony Kirby's X41 Patrice 6 was calculated to be leading IRC overall handicap from an eclectic mix of designs and sizes. She was 12nm east of Cape Sonnerat, between the coastal villages of Swansea and Triabunna and making seven knots with 96 nautical miles to sail. |
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Tony Kirby's X41 Patrice 6 (left) with Global
Yacht Racing's Beneteau 47.7 Kioni, outside the
heads after the start of the Sydney Hobart Yacht
Race 2009.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage.
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| Second was Andrew Saies’ Beneteau First 40 Two True, followed by Mike Welsh’s Wicked, another Beneteau First 40. Then came Alejandro Perez Calzada’s Spanish entry Charisma, a 1970 Sparkman & Stephens IOR rule design that should revel in the strong upwind conditions. |
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Mike Welsh’s Beneteau First 40 Wicked, sailing across
Storm Bay during the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2009.
Photo © Rolex / Kurt Arrigo.
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One IRC handicap result that is certain is the win of Neville Crichton’s 100ft super-maxi Alfa Romeo, the line honours winner in IRC division 0, for canting keel-powered boats. The other certainty is for second place in that division. Matt Allen’s modified Jones-design Volvo 70 Ichi Ban, is unbeatable in second place based on current position reports.
Allen said the Volvo 70 was a very good boat for upwind and in high-wind pressure sailing. In the sou’wester of up to 25 knots on the first night, she worked up to within a half mile behind Wild Oats XI. |
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Neville Crichton's Alfa Romeo passing Tasman Island, during the Sydney
Hobart Yacht Race 2009.
Photo © Rolex / Kurt Arrigo.
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"We were not overly surprised to see that," added Allen. "But we knew the next night in the lighter airs and with the bigger sails the maxis carry, giving away rating, they would get through that first light-air gate. Only the three boats got through and the next morning we were there with all our fellow-sized boats stuck for five or six hours."
Allen said that every night there were challenges. "You’d sail through the day, with quite a few wind shifts, but generally the night-time sailing was tricky. Every night we parked up. Tactically it was a very interesting race, because you had to work out where you were going to get through in the next transition. |
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Matt Allen’s modified Jones-design Volvo 70 Ichi
Ban, during the
Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2009.
Photo © Rolex / Daniel Forster.
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| "Last night we’d had a 30-knot nor’westerly and we were doing 25 knots, white water coming over the boat. It lasted for an hour and-a-half and within minutes it went down really quickly; to ten knots, to five, and then zero. So we went from having 30 knots to being in no wind with leftover swell and you could only go in one direction, with the waves. The big transition zones had the navigators really on their toes, playing the angles and trying to work out how to handle the next transition." |
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Matt Allen’s modified Jones-design Volvo 70 Ichi
Ban, during the
Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2009.
Photo © Rolex / Kurt Arrigo.
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The Sydney Hobart fleet with eight finished and five retired, there are 87 yachts still racing to the finish in Hobart.
The Sydney Hobart Yacht Race fleet has crews representing the USA, UK, New Zealand, Spain, the Netherlands, and New Caledonia as well as every Australian state.has crews representing the USA, UK, New Zealand, Spain, the Netherlands, and New Caledonia as well as every Australian state.
For more information about the Sydney Hobart, please visit the event website at: www.rolexsydneyhobart.com |
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| Outimage and Rolex © 2009 |
