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| Blonde figurehead tough as they come. |
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Photos by
Peter Andrews,
Story edited from press release by Peter Andrews. |
| December 23, 2010. |
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| For’ard hand Sophie Ciszek makes one impressive figurehead, but behind her iconic Aussie blonde surfer look is a woman who can match it with the best. The 25-year-old will be manning the wettest, toughest and arguably most physically demanding position on a yacht when she steps up to the bow aboard iconic Australian maxi Brindabella in this Sunday’s Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. |
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Sophie Ciszek, bow-woman on Jim Cooney's Brindabella, on Sydney Harbour.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage Australia.
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The statuesque 6ft tall, 74kg light-weight has as much an imposing presence as a contrasting one, in what is largely a testosterone driven position in yachting.
"I’ve had a lot of comments lately in the last two weeks, especially because the boat’s so big, there’s a lot of heavy gear and a lot of load," she said. |
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Sophie Ciszek, bow-woman on Jim Cooney's Brindabella, on Sydney Harbour.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage Australia.
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"She’s as tough as they come, probably stronger than even some of the boys on board," Brindabella’s boat manager Justin Sutherland said.
Ciszek punishes her body with a grueling daily routine to ensure it’s ripped and ready for the 628 nautical mile trip across the infamous Bass Strait to Hobart, which will start this Sunday at 1pm from Sydney Harbour. Every day she runs for about an hour, she surfs four times every week and she does yoga to keep her core strong and her limbs flexible. But why does she do it? Well, it’s all about the challenge. |
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Sophie Ciszek, bow-woman on Jim Cooney's Brindabella, on Sydney Harbour.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage Australia.
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"I love it, it’s so much fun, it’s just exciting," she said. "It’s pretty tough, you have to keep your wits about you."
A close alliance with late sailing legend Andrew Short gave the Mornington Peninsula sailor her ticket to the big boat racing scene when he offered her a ride aboard ASM Shockwave 5.
She first learned the ropes of the bow on a 46ft Reichel Pugh called Shamrock, and got her first taste of offshore racing when she competed in the 2008 Melbourne to Hobart. |
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Tony Donnellan's Reichel Pugh 46 Shamrock, after the start of the Sydney
Gold Coast Yacht Race 2009.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage Australia.
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"I started on the bow basically because it’s the place to learn," she said. "If you can do the bow you know all the other parts of the boat."
Last year she was aboard Grant Warrington’s ill-fated Etihad Stadium, so despite starting, she never made it out of the harbour. But, this year, she’s confident she’ll round the Iron Pot and turn north up the Derwent River, sending shivers down her spine when she sees the finishing buoy bobbing off Castray Esplanade. |
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Sophie Ciszek seen on the bow of Grant Warrington’s ill-fated Etihad Stadium, after pulling out of the Sydney Hobart in 2009.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage
Australia.
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"I think I’ll just be so excited," she said.
For further information about the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, go to: www.rolexsydneyhobart.com. |
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Sophie Ciszek, bow-woman on Jim Cooney's Brindabella, on Sydney Harbour.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage Australia.
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| The Sydney Hobart can now also be followed twitter. To follow, go to: http://twitter.com/rshyr. |
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| Fleet Update |
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There has been two further withdrawals from the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race: Wild Rose (Roger Hickman, NSW) and Papillon (Phil Molony, NSW). Papillon ran aground on the weekend during a practice sail and sustained damage to her keel that can’t be repaired before Sunday’s race start. Rather than taking his own boat, Hickman will be heading south as co-skipper of the Corby 49 Vamp.
A fleet of 87 will start the Sydney Hobart Yacht Race this Sunday 26 December at 1pm AEDT. |
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| Outimage © 2010 |
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