Sydney-Hobart 2017

Here is the first part of a short article in todays Scuttlebutt Europe:

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Followers of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race might think they are seeing double when the 628 nautical mile classic starts on Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day.

The reason for this is simple: on the starting line will be two yachts from the Oatley family's "stable" that are near-identical in profile and name.

First and foremost will be the famous 30-metre supermaxi, Wild Oats XI, which stands as the most successful yacht in the 72-year history of the great race. And, on the same starting line will be the 20-metre long Wild Oats X, the yacht that was the prototype for the big boat.

Despite the difference in size, both boats have the potential to be among the major prize winners in the Hobart race - Wild Oats XI for line and handicap honours and Wild Oats X for first on handicap. Wild Oats X's racing record over the years includes first-to-finish in the Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race in 2005, 2007 and 2009, second in the 2004 Maxi Worlds in Porto Cervo and overall victory at Hamilton Island Race Week 2005. Most recently, at this year's Audi Hamilton Island Race Week, Wild Oats X, skippered by HRH Prince Frederik of Denmark, took top honours in the Grand Prix racing division.

 

The list of starters is here
The Yachts - Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2017 http://www.rolexsydneyhobart.com/the-yachts/

Only two from Tasmania this year.

 

Thanks for that info!

 

It's interesting that of the major 600 mile ocean classics, the one with by far the biggest number of big canters has by far the smallest number of starters. Obviously population has an effect, but for many years the Hobart was much stronger than it currently is when compared to the Fastnet, Bermuda and Middle Sea races. The reasonable number this year contains the Clipper boats and quite a few overseas boats, masking the massive drop in interest in ocean racing in this country in recent years.

 

Yeah, its moved out of the "working man" range, and into the ridiculously exotic rich mans world.
The motorized leaders make the concept of "sailing" redundant too.

One day they will have a class where the winner is the boat that moves the most people, fastest for the least cost by windpower only - thereby making sense of what is increasingly an elitist activity.

 

Thanks for the race update Doug. Yeah the big boys always get the media attention, but there are many divisions for us "ordinary sailors". I gotta rub it in for Wild Oats and their big boy pants. Comanche would eat them alive again if it were raced. It holds the trans Atlantic, Pacific & 24hr speed records. Just let that sink in real good.

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Josef, there's not really a division for "ordinary sailors" in the Hobart unless you reckon the "ordinary sailor" spends $250,000 on their boat, which is typical of those in the small boat class in the Hobart. The cheapest competitive boat was $80,000. The fact that the race is so centred around big boats means that the "small boat" class varies from Swan 44 etc down to a 1930s gaff cutter, so even the class victory gets down to the luck of the weather.

It's a very, very different situation from (for example) the Fastnet, where they put more emphasis on minor prizes and much less emphasis on the big boats. There you get literally dozens of smaller standard cruiser/racers like Beneteaus and J/s of 10-11m and they have lots of comparable boats to race against. The Fastnet is regularly won by boats of around 10m - that hasn't happened in the Hobart for 20 years.

The score between Comanche and WOXI is one-all, by the way. Not much proof that WOXI or any other maxi canter would be "eaten alive".

 

This is a tough race to be sure. I should have clarified "ordinary sailor" as those outside the IRC division. Due to the location & tough seas that go with it taking cruising boats like Beneteaus, etc. is just not a smart idea. It's best to team up and get on one of the tougher boats if you really want to do this race. FYI the Clipper 70 fleet does this race every other year as part of their RTW race. They do have open slots for competent crew from time to time for this race so reach out to them. The Clipper 70's are tough, fast boats and did a good job last year.

For most sailors it's the ocean adventure that matters most. Holding up a prize is nice too, but it's just a token and worth a few bragging points.

 

Joseph, I'm pretty familiar with the Hobart. I first did it when I was 17 years old, so I know it fairly well.

Beneteaus are not my favourite boats but they have not only done the race but won it.

It's not about "bragging"; it's about having a situation where sailing at your best, with a well equipped but reasonably affordable boat, gives you a good chance of a fair result. At the moment the small boat class has such a huge range of different sizes and speeds that the result largely gets down to which of the good boats has the best luck with the weather. A 1930s gaff-rigged 30 footer cannot race against a Farr 43 or Beneteau 40.7 on even terms even on rating, because one of them will be many miles ahead in different weather conditions.

If you have a typical 36 foot cruiser/racer like the enormously popular J/109 or Beneteau 36.7, you have 50 similar boats in the Fastnet and just three vaguely similar boats in the Hobart. Sure, some of it is population but in the past the Hobart was often about half as popular as the Fastnet - now the Hobart is rarely 1/3 the size despite the fact that Australia has been going through the longest economic boomtime of any country in known history and therefore fleet size should be up.

The other major ocean classics of this style have played down the maxi-canter aspect and done more to make the smaller boats welcome, so they have more entries and less difference between the big and small boats in each class. Here's a comparison - the Hobart had just three boats that rated under 1.003. The Fastnet had 84! The Fastnet therefore has much tighter and better racing in the small class than the Hobart does.

I and other owners believe that the concentration on maxi-canters and the like is related to the lack of small boats, or at the very least a symptom of the same problem.

 

You're right CT, the big boats do get most of the credit. This is always the case. Media coverage for sailing is so biased it's ridiculous especially for the races with many boats. I see it from two angles:

-Media: They are simply trying to get the most effective coverage. They crunch as much as they can into a time slot with the budget they've got.
-Racing teams/Owners: They get noticed if their vessels stand out in some way (e.g. huge, fast, unusual).

Frankly, I could care less how much attention was paid by the media or even the race organizers. The chance to be on open seas with a swarm of sailboats/yachts is pure magic. We do a big race every year up in Chicago. Hundreds of boats all racing to Mackinaw Island on Lake Michigan in the Chicago Mac race. Lots of boats might bother some, but I wouldn't trace the on-board experience for a million bucks. Every other year or so we do a race all the way from Chicago to Port Huron (Supermac race). This is about 580 nautical miles...longest freshwater yacht race in the world. Racing conditions are all over the place. Not as treacherous as the Tasman sea though.

Fair winds and furious seas!!! Argghhhhhh /) /) /)

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Excerpt from Scuttlebutt:
Comanche finds new owner Down Under >> Scuttlebutt Sailing News http://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/2017/12/14/comanche-finds-new-owner/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Scuttlebutt%204981%20-%20December%2015%202017&utm_content=Scuttlebutt%204981%20-%20December%2015%202017+CID_d7aa07aacab1e266c2fe1fd9ffb44aec&utm_source=Email%20Newsletter&utm_term=Full%20report

Comanche, the innovative record-breaking 100 foot maxi yacht designed by VPLP and Guillaume Verdier and launched in 2014 for Jim and Kristy Clark, has been sold to Australian Jim Cooney.

The yacht was to compete in the 628 nm Sydney Hobart Race as LDV Comanche under partnership between Clark and two-time race winner Neville Crichton, but the last-minute sale now will have Sydney skipper Cooney at the helm.

“I have stepped down as skipper, we still have sponsorship for the boat, and if for any reason he can’t do it, I will step back into this shoes,” Crichton said.

Crichton had assembled a world-class crew for the race – including America’s Cup skipper James Spithill and many of the men who raced her to victory in the 2015 Hobart race. The crew will stay aboard while Cooney, daughter Julia, son James and Waratah Jeremy Tilse join the crew.

“We are all just so excited about doing the race on her, she is one not the most remarkable yachts in the world. I’ve actually never sailed it before. We are all going sailing on Tuesday (Dec. 19) to understand what sort of beast she is.’’

 

Awesome to see Comanche will sail again down under. Nothing worse than a fast yacht sitting idle. It's a great place for her to spread her sails. All eyes on Cooney's crew for the next race!

 

Yeah, I'm glad she's back. Can't wait to see if Wild Oats has improved enough to take her!

 

Let's hope those eyes are looking at a much more appealing graphic on the headsail. The beautiful lines of the boat can't overcome the awful black and white caricature on that enormous genaker.

 

I think that graphic is pretty cool!