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| Race ready for Sydney Hobart. |
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Photos by
Peter Andrews,
Story edited from press release by Peter Andrews. |
| December 20, 2010. |
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The Trophy is sailed out of Sydney in December each year. Although held in the lead-up to the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, it is an important event in its own right.
The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia originally introduced this regatta, formerly known as the British Trophy, to provide a competitive event in the even years between the biennial Southern Cross Cup. Unlike that series, the Trophy is a standalone regatta for individual yachts and is not linked to the Sydney Hobart. However, contenders for the Sydney Hobart often take part in the regatta and use the racing as a shakedown, checking both crew and equipment before launching out of Sydney Harbour on the famous Boxing Day (26 December) race start. The Trophy is now held every year and is seen as the semi-official kick off to the main event. |
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Just after the start of a windward leeward race during the Trophy
Ratings Series 2009.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage Australia.
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This year 29 yachts took part in the four days of handicap racing, which form part of the Trophy and which started on December 16. The series was made up of two days of windward leeward racing and two days of passage racing.
The TP52 Hooligan, businessman and health food giant Marcus Blackmore’s yacht, came in first overall this year, followed by Stephen Ainsworth’s Reichel Pugh 63 Loki and Robert Hanna’s TP52 Shogun, in third. Hooligan’s win surprised many as the boat had just been put in the water only hours before the first race start. |
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Marcus Blackmore's TP52 Hooligan, the 2010 Trophy Ratings Series
winner, will not be sailing to Hobart this year.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage Australia.
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Hooligan’s crew boss Terry Wetton says winning the Trophy was, "awesome." He too was surprised at the outcome, as Hooligan, purchased just three months prior and had undergone a refit; including a new keel that arrived only two days before the event. "It was a mad rush to get her in the water. We really didn’t know what to expect, but she performed like a wonder," revealed Wetton.
Unlike Loki and Shogun, Hooligan is not participating in the Sydney Hobart Race. Still, like most other yachtsmen in Sydney around Christmas time, Wetton has an opinion on likely contenders. He thinks that while it is difficult to predict with certainty the outcome of the race: "handicap-wise Loki has a very good chance. Stephen (Ainsworth) has put together a great team." As for line honours, Wetton gave a chuckle and said, "Oh, I think it will be Wild Oats, she’s a fast boat and hard to beat." |
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The fleet working up to the top mark during the Trophy
Ratings Series 2009.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage Australia.
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According to owner Stephen Ainsworth, Loki fought tough to end in second place, saying, "there were a big variety of race conditions and every race was different. Loki handled the conditions very well, except we struggled against the smaller boats in the fleet when the breeze dropped to five knots or less."
As to how he feels about coming in behind Hooligan, Ainsworth said, "Hooligan sailed a very good series and deserved to win. Having said that, it is a pure regatta boat and is not going to Hobart. The Hobart race is the main game for me." |
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Stephen Ainsworth's Reichel Pugh 63 Loki, during the Trophy
Ratings Series 2009.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage Australia.
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In her two Sydney Hobart races so far, this version of Loki launched in 2008 has been consistent in making the top ten boats on elapsed time; last year the boat placed ninth. Ainsworth attributed his boat’s consistency to the fact that, "we have very good boat speed and crew work. If we can get our tactics right, we’ll do well in this year’s race too."
When questioned if he is prepared, Ainsworth responds with certainty. "we are extremely well prepared. After having done twelve (Hobart) races, I have first-hand knowledge of the dangers and consequences of the lack of preparation. My boat captain Darren Senogles is very thorough and I can confidently say that there will not be a better prepared boat on the start line."
As to why he participates in the classic 628 nautical-mile race each year, Ainsworth explained, "I guess it is the challenge, the camaraderie, the feeling of not only competing against other boats, but Mother Nature herself." |
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Stephen Ainsworth's Reichel Pugh 63 Loki, during the
Trophy Ratings Series 2009.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage
Australia.
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Rob Hanna, owner of Shogun, also agreed that this year’s Trophy was tough because of the "reasonably light winds," which made the larger and heavier yachts that much slower, "although we’re the same size as the winning Hooligan, our boat is 14 percent heavier." He also added that Hooligan is a strictly a "regatta boat" and optimised for these kind of races. "She’s definitely not going to Hobart!" he observed.
Hanna sees the Trophy race as a useful tool, "we actually use the regatta as a crew shaper-upper." As to how Shogun performed, Hanna said, "it worked out exceptionally well. I am very pleased with the boat and the way it handled during the race." |
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Rob Hanna's TP52 Shogun, during the
Trophy Ratings Series 2009.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage Australia.
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This year’s Sydney Hobart Race will be the seventh for Hanna. As a seasoned veteran of the event he, like Ainsworth, stresses that the race requires careful, thorough preparation. "Besides painstaking preparation, I’m also making sure the crew is totally fit because this is an extremely physically demanding race." He added, "I’m going to make sure the boys get plenty of exercise and rest well during the week before start."
Hanna’s reasons for racing year after year in this tough competition are simple, "if I’m not wrong there are only three Category 1 races left. They’re becoming rare." He also gets a high from the "adrenalin rush" that this race causes and sees it as "an achievement just getting to Hobart." |
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Out on the rail to Hobart, outside the heads after the start of the Sydney Hobart 2009.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage Australia.
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The veteran racer predicted that this Sydney Hobart would be like all the others that have gone before, saying with a laugh, "when the race is over, there will only be one happy boat and 88 others with hard-luck stories."
A fleet of 89 yachts will compete in the 2010 race, which starts at 1300 AEDT, 26 December 2010. The Sydney Hobart fleet will include six international entries from the USA, UK, Italy, France, and Russia, as well as every Australian state. |
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Maxis' and choppers lead the fleet outside Sydney Heads after the start
of the Sydney Hobart 2009.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage Australia.
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| For further information about the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, go to: www.rolexsydneyhobart.com. |
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| Outimage © 2010 |
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