“It doesn’t look like a big boat race to me,” saidWild Oats XI tactician, Iain Murray, of the super maxi’s handicap chances following this morning’s official race briefing.
“We’ll barrel out of Sydney and get some leverage to the east,” said Murray, referring to the nor’easterly breeze that is meant to follow the fleet for the first six to 12 hours after the 1pm start prior to the front runners striking the weak edge of a southerly change.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s regional director NSW, Rob Webb, reaffirmed the fleet will run into a forgiving southerly off the NSW south coast, but not before the wind backs off in between the two systems where “you might get more time to know each other,” he mused to competitors.
Southerly winds are expected to build into Tuesday to 20-25 knots, possibly stronger the further south the yachts travel into Bass Strait where waves from opposing directions will join together and where “you are going to have some fairly erratic sea conditions” suggested Webb this morning.
By day two, Wednesday 28 December, winds are forecast to ease as they swing left from the south east back to the north east, creating what Murray calls “sketchy” conditions off the east Tasmanian coast.
“It will come down to what happens in Bass Strait, it could turn into a big parking lot,” he warns.
While a race record is not a talking point this year, Murray affirmed today that “Wild Oats XI has never been in better shape”. The crew are estimating a race time of 2 days 4-5 hours for the 628 nautical mile sprint across the Tasman Sea.
Loki’s navigator, Michael Bellingham, is predicting the overall winner will come from the 40 to 60 foot range. At 63 feet, the Reichel Pugh design owned by Stephen Ainsworth that has won every other major trophy on the Australian east coast, bar this race, is hoping to sneak into that window of opportunity and finally claim the overall win.
“I’m buoyed by the forecast I’ve seen this morning,” said Bellingham. “Half way across [the Strait] to the finish will be interesting....”
Loki’s crew hope to be in Hobart early on the 29th December, before the light and patchy winds plague the Tassie east coast, adding an element of pot luck to the closing stages, which is where the overall win has slipped out of the hands of so many over the race’s 66 year history.
Michael Bellingham Loki's navigator at the post race briefing press conference
ROLEX/Daniel Forster
Rolex Sydney Hobart debutante, Leander Klohs, crew boss of Damien Parkes’ JV52 Duende, was in esteemed company when she sat between Hugo Boss skipper Alex Thomson and Iain Murray at this morning’s press conference. Leander is one of 77 women from 1008 crew contesting this year’s race, including three women skippers and at least nine navigators.
Santa will visit some of the international competitors at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia tomorrow. On race day, Monday 26 December, at least two crew from each of the 88 yachts rearing to go will attend the final compulsory weather briefing at 8.30am at the host club.
By Lisa Ratcliff/Rolex Sydney Hobart media
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