Wild Blue Yonder
The Age
Saturday December 27, 2008
RACE favourite Wild Oats XI was relishing the strong northerly winds down the NSW coast last night, putting her on track for a fourth consecutive line honours win and a possible race record in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race.
After beating the smaller boats, and her main maxi rivals out of the Sydney Heads by taking a northerly tack immediately after the 1pm cannon start, Wild Oats XI quickly hoisted her new high-tech spinnaker and cleared the hundreds of chasing spectator boats for a booming sleigh ride south.However, the crew experienced an early tear in the spinnaker which had to taken down, repaired and rehoisted. Despite the early mishap, Wild Oats XI was powering along at record pace, sitting on a speedy 20 knots."It is great, beautiful sailing," the Wild Oats XI crew said in an email message sent while off Jervis Bay. "Skandia is rolling along well right beside us."Indeed, Skandia was just in front of Wild Oats XI about 9pm. Skandia skipper Grant Wharington said: "At one point here we were leading Wild Oats, which I'm very pleased about ... we're just kicking down the coast doing 20 knots, it is just one of those magnificent days of sailing."Ichi Ban was in third ahead of Peter Harburg's experienced crew on Black Jack. In handicap honours, Skandia was also leading ahead of Yendys, Quest, Wot Now and Loki.When the boats immediately put up their spinnakers and kept close to the shoreline, the thousands of spectators that lined the cliffs at Vaucluse, Dover Heights and North Bondi were treated to a kaleidoscope of blue, red, white and green spinnakers underneath blue skies and a sea mist. Even the youthful crew of Flying Fish Arctos was in the spirit of the occasion, donning Santa hats.However, for one of the new boats, Alan Brierty's Limit, launched less than a fortnight ago, the drama was offshore when its experienced skipper Roger Hickman damaged his knee. Hours before the start Hickman was at the marina getting physiotherapy, but took his place at the helm for the start.The start of the 100-strong fleet was uneventful, with no boats being recalled by the starter, Lou Abrahams, who has retired this year from the race after notching up 44 Sydney to Hobart race starts, an equal record. But his fire immediately produced a new record. Tony Cable, sailing on Getaway-Sailing.com, has now started in 45 races.Brindabella had her protest flag flying, upset at being interfered with soon after the start. Eleven helicopters were flying above the harbour, with one hovering just metres above the sea swell sucking the air out of the sails of a couple of boats, whose skippers weren't too impressed.It made for riveting action in the heaving swell just outside of the heads, intensified by the maelstrom of zig-zagging spectator boats, kept largely in check by the black powerboats of the NSW Police and NSW Coastguard patrols.Skippers were told at the final pre-race briefing that the nor-easterly winds would continue to freshen until a westerly change in Bass Strait tomorrow night. However most of the big boats will be dockside in Hobart by the time of the change, which could hinder the chances of the smaller boats capturing the prestigious handicap honours.NSW Bureau of Meteorology's Michael Logan said the weather today would play a key role in determining if a race record would eventuate."On Saturday a front will push lighter westerlies through Bass Strait while the northerlies along the southern NSW coast will either lighten, or possibly even shift to the south-west as a result of the Bass Strait change," he said."That change is also forecast to produce a light southerly off the Tasmanian east coast."But Logan said when a stronger westerly change moves across tomorrow night producing winds up to gale force, there could be patches of light wind in the lee of the east Tasmanian coast.
© 2008 The Age