The Newport Bermuda Race fleet made their upwind starts in 16 classes over a period of more than two and a half hours on Friday afternoon. There now are 183 boats, after Avatar didn’t start. In addition, Blue sailed back to the shipyard to get her broken centerboard cable fixed; she’s expected to start again after the repair.

The start found some skippers were surprisingly aggressive. Apparently forgetting that this isn’t a day race but a 635-mile marathon running several days, they also seem to have experienced a touch of amnesia about the tide table.  As the new ebb tide ran with every great velocity out of Narragansett Bay, it pushed them inexorably toward Bermuda, but also over the starting line a little earlier than their tacticians had planned.

Of the 13 boats in Class 4 (St. David’s Light Division, 45-55 footers), four found themselves over early at the pin end, with Star Chaser getting what one of her crew called “the best start in the fleet” in an email to media@BermudaRace.com. “We were at the committee boat end of the line with some of the J-Boats but higher and faster. We all chose to be slightly late on the gun: no use being OCS  on a race of 635 nm!”

In Class 8 (St. David’s Light, 65-footers) two boats were premature. One was Aurora (with Gary Jobson in the afterguard), and she had to pick her way back to the line, losing at least three minutes in the process.

The current new on the Newport Bermuda Race  is that  Speedboat took the lead from Titan XV at sunset Friday night as the big 183-boat fleet raced toward Bermuda on a fast close reach in a flat sea, clear visibility, and a moderate southwest wind that gradually strengthened and clocked toward the west.  Two boats set Code Zeros.

For current boat positions click HERE

 Chris Museler reports from Titan XV:  a collision, a Code Zero, and a champagne wake

 Friday, 2045 EDT.  What an incredible day we’ve had! When I woke up to clear skies and glassy conditions, I knew the sea breeze was setting up nicely. After our delicious hot lunch aboard Tom and Dotty Hill’s Titan XIV, we set out in a relaxed mood, everyone smiling about the conditions. The spectators were all smiles and cheers. There were so many people camped out on the Castle Hill lawn that you couldn’t see any grass.

We started well to weather of the other mini maxis in Class 10 (Gibbs Hill Division) and from then until sunset (a few moments ago) it’s been champagne sailing conditions – sailing at 13-15 knots in a steady wind.   We’ve been the lead boat for a few hours, but now as it’s getting dark, Speedboat is passing us to leeward.  She started at 4:30, an hour after we did, and it’s now after 8.  Rán (in our class) isn’t far behind.

At about 5:30 we hit a large marine animal of some kind.  It may have been a basking shark, maybe as long as 20 feet. The hit was soft and we almost stopped. The fish made a few squiggles, spun off, and swam away in our wake.  The boat appears to be undamaged.

We’ve switched to a Code Zero, and as our grinders are getting busy they look a lot bigger than before. Mark Strube, who finished second at the Star Class Europeans two weeks ago, is 250 pounds of muscle.  The crew has just had dinner – hot rice and chicken with pineapple, which took an hour to cook in two large pots, plus the usual Snickers and Pringles for snacks . . . and apples, too.

Photos By George Bekris

More Photos Of The Newport Bermuda Race Start by George Bekris click HERE

 The leader for several hours was Titan XV, in the Gibbs Hill Lighthouse Division. She was caught by Speedboat (Open Division, which started an hour later) at about 8:45 pm.  Other positions have been changing in the extremely competitive group of mini maxis sailing in the Gibbs Hill Division, with Hap Fauth’s Bella Mente overtaking Niklas Zennstrom’s Rán soon after midnight, and Rán then catching Rambler and Beau Geste in parking-lot conditions. The wind slowly faded during the night, swung into the north for a while. After dawn, two boats reported a very light breeze from the southeast, which is the course to Bermuda.  Later on Saturday morning the wind filled in nicely with a report of 15-plus knots, whitecaps, and the first sighting of cumulus clouds over the Gulf Stream ahead.  There also were reports of U.S. Navy exercises in the area of some boats.

By John Rousmaniere

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Down in Bermuda, the best spot to watch the yachts finish in Bermuda is from the grounds of St. David’s Lighthouse. Visitors will find that the Finish Line Committee is very hospitable and depending on the finishing traffic, they may be invited up into the tower for a tour. It is a straight up climb and not for people afraid of heights. The view from the lawn is almost as good and worth the trip to St. David’s.

The HD Gateway Finish Line Cam is new for 2010.  From the high definition camera mounted on the St. David’s Lighthouse tower, finish line action will be streamed worldwide 24/7. Spectators can use iBoattrack to follow their boat of interest to the finish, then actually watch them cross the line when they arrive.

In Bermuda, digital spectators can watch boats finish from the comfort of the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club. A Gateway ‘SMART Board’ will be available for viewing in the Calabash Lounge and a smaller HD TV monitor will be available over the Terrace Bar.

 by Talbot Wilson

New Bermuda Race Entrants

Yacht	Yacht Type	Division	Captain
ANGEL	Ctm 84	CD	Edward T. Anderson
ATALANTA	Little Harbor 54	CD	James F. Volkwein
ATTITUDE	Beneteau 423	CD	Shawn Dahlen
AVATAR	Ranger 37	CD	Janusz Kedzierski
BERMUDA OYSTER	Oyster 435	CD	Paul B. Hubbard
BLE U	C&C 51xl	CD	Dan Epstein
BLUEBIRD	Migrant 45 Ketch	CD	Harry Bird
BONSPIEL	Nordic 44	CD	James J. Richter
CADENCE	Apogee 50	CD	R. David Warters
CETACEA	Hinckley 59	CD	Christopher J. Culver
CHECKMATE	Alden44	CD	Frank J. Flores
CLOVER III	Swan 56	CD	Neal F. Finnegan
CONVERGENCE	Jeanneau 43 DS	CD	James Linsley
EAGLE	J-40	CD	Dana Oviatt
ECLIPSE	Hinckley 59	CD	Barbara & Robert Cavanagh
FOX	Swan 53	CD	Ruth M. Pecherek
FREEDOM	Sabre 452	CD	Cary W. Thomson
HAERLEM	Swan 55	CD	Hendrikus (Henk) P L Wisker
I’LL THINK ABOUT IT	Beneteau 523	CD	Marc Tandourjian
ISOLA	Baltic 52	CD	Howard M. Eisenberg
KALUE	Wooden Ketch	CD	Rudy Schreiber
LAURA B	Island Packet 45	CD	Joseph R. Triggs, Jr.
LIBERTY CALL	HR 43	CD	Matthew G. Pilon
LILLA	CNB 76	CD	Simon M. De Pietro
MANANA	Swan 48	CD	Michhael V. Johnson
MISTY	Little Harbor 54	CD	Eric G. Thorkilsen
NIRVANA	Maxi 80	CD	Charles F Kiefer III
NOSTOS	Alden 44	CD	Lorenzo D. Weisman
NOVA	Swan 56	CD	Mark DiStefano
PILGRIM	Alden 44	CD	Mark Rice
POESKE	First 42	CD	Richard Donn
RESTIVE	Alden48 Ctm	CD	George P Denny III
RUTAINE	C&C 37/40+	CD	David P. McLoughlin
SCEPTRED ISLE	Ctm 63	CD	Rex G. Herbert
SHEARWATER	Morris 40	CD	Conrad Hall
SHINDIG	Pearson 39-2	CD	Kevin G. Flannery
TEMPTRESS	IMX-45	CD	Arent H Kits van Heyningen
WHISKEY GIRL	Hinckley 70	CD	Michael McAllister
WINDWALKER II	Lyman Morse 60	CD	Daniel Levangie
ALIBI	J-120	DH	Gardner L. Grant, Jr.
BOLANDS MILL	Class 40	DH	John Ryan
CHOUCAS	Jeanneau SF36	DH	Frederic Cosandey
CORDELIA	Valiant 42	DH	Roy F. Greenwald
CUTLASS	Class 40	DH	Alex / Nick Mehran / Halmos
DAWN TREADER	Swan 48 MK II	DH	Lawrence G. Cohen
DELAWANA	Swan 51	DH	Hans F. Himmelman
DIRIGO	C&C 41	DH	Eric M. Johnson
DRAGON	Class 40	DH	Michael S. Hennessy
ESMERALDE	Sabre 386	DH	Bruce R. Beard, Jr.
GREAT SCOT	J-35	DH	Darren T Garnier
HERON	J-120	DH	Greg R. Leonard
KAMOA’E	Class 40	DH	Eric Lecoq
KILLUA	Aphrodite 101	DH	James G. Binch
KIVA	Hinkley SW51CB	DH	Mark Stevens
LORA ANN	Express 37	DH	Richard T. du Moulin
MIREILLE	J-120	DH	Edwin Gaynor
NEXT BOAT	Morris 45	DH	Mark Ellman
OCEAN WANDERER1	Montivideo 43	DH	Erwin Wanderer
PALADIN	J-35	DH	Jason A Richter
PLUM CRAZY	Sabre MK II	DH	Michael R. Berg
RESOLUTE	J/122	DH	D. Scott Miller
SEABISCUIT	J-46	DH	Nathan C. Owen
SIR EDMUND	Ctm 49	DH	Fredrick R. Holt
TOOTHFACE	Akilaria Class40	DH	Michael W. Dreese
WHISPER	Hinckley 48	DH	Thomas J. Vander Salm
BEAU GESTE	Farr 80	GHL	Karl Kwok
BELLA MENTE	Mini Maxi	GHL	Hap Fauth
CAPTIVITY	Farr 60	GHL	Samuel T. Byrne
CATAPULT RACING	SouthernCross 52	GHL	Marc Glimcher
HOI AN	Custom 50	GHL	Heilner Marc
NATALIE J	TP52	GHL	Philip D. O’Niel III, D.D.S.
NOONMARK VI	Swan 56	GHL	Sir Geoffrey Mulcahy
RAMBLER	Ctm 90	GHL	George David
RAN	JV 72	GHL	Niklas Zennstrom
RIMA2	R/P 55	GHL	John Brim
SNOW LION	Ker 50	GHL	Lawrence S. Huntington
TITAN 15	ctm75	GHL	Tom Hill, Mr.
VELA VELOCE	Southern Cross	GHL	Richard H Oland
GENUINE RISK	Dubois 90	Open	Mark E / USMMA Watson III
ILMOSTRO	VOR70	Open	Ken Read
SPEEDBOAT	Maxi	Open	Alex Jackson
ACTAEA	Hinckley B40	SDL	Michael M. Cone
AKELA III	Swan 43	SDL	Djoerd Hoekstra
AKUBRA	J44	SDL	Reginald H. Goodday Dr.
AMADEUS	IMX-40	SDL	Jack R. Yaissle
AMERICAN GIRL	King 40	SDL	Daniel Galyon
AMIGO VI	J-42	SDL	Bernie P. Coyne
APSARA	J-109	SDL	Mike Sleightholme
ARBELLA	First 44.7	SDL	James P. Shaughnesy
AURORA	Tartan 41	SDL	Andrew F. Kallfelz
AURORA	Reichel/Pugh 66	SDL	Gus Carlson
AVENIR	C&C 41	SDL	Joseph T. Murray
AVRA	J/120 Mod	SDL	George Petrides
BABE	Swan 46	SDL	Colin E. Couper MD
BACCI	Swan 53	SDL	Lorenzo Vascotto
BARLEYCORN	NYYC Swan 42	SDL	Brendan J. Brownyard
BEAGLE	J-44	SDL	Philip H. Gutin
BEAUSOLEIL	Beneteau 456SD	SDL	Richard A Parent
BELLE AURORE	Cal 40	SDL	R Douglas Jurrius
BIG BOOTY	Lutra 42	SDL	Patrick Eudy
BOMBARDINO	Santa Cruz 52	SDL	James W. Sykes
BRAND NEW DAY	J-65	SDL	James C. Madden
BUZZ	Sydney 38	SDL	Richard E. Stevenson, Jr
CARINA	CTM 48	SDL	Rives Potts
CHARLIE V	J-44	SDL	Norman H. Schulman MD
CILISTA	J-130	SDL	Jeffrey L. Eberle
CONVICTUS MAXIMUS	Farr IRC 42	SDL	Donald W. Nicholson
CYBELE	IMX-45	SDL	Richard M. Burnes, Jr
CYGNETTE	Swan 441	SDL	William J. Mayer
DENALI	Nelson Marek 70	SDL	Michael A. D’Amelio
DOGSLED	Kaufman 47	SDL	Todd F. Barnard
DOLPHIN	J-42	SDL	Henry S. Morgan
DONNYBROOK	Ctm Sloop	SDL	James P. Muldoon
FEARLESS	Farr 395 OD	SDL	Shaun J. Ensor
FINESSE	J-42	SDL	Newton P.S. Merrill
FLIRT	Navy 44 MK1	SDL	US NAVAL ACADEMY
FLYING GOOSE	Ctm 56	SDL	Daniel C. van Starrenburg
FROLIC	Sabre 362	SDL	Peter G. Brown
GLORY	J-44	SDL	Jack Neades/ USCGA
GOLD DIGGER	J-44	SDL	James D. Bishop
GONE WITH THE WIND	Cal 40	SDL	William M. LeRoy
GRACIE	Ctm 69	SDL	Stephan A. & Simon W Frank
GREY MATTER	Hanse 470e	SDL	Brian R. Parselle
GREYGHOST	Zaal 38	SDL	Philip W. Parish
HAKUNA MATATA	Cal 39	SDL	Christopher J. Andrews
HIGH NOON	Tripp 41	SDL	Colin Rath
HIRO MARU	Swan 43 Classic	SDL	Hiroshi Nakajima
HOUND	Ctm 60	SDL	Eberhart Frank
INVICTUS	TP52	SDL	US Naval Academy
JACKNIFE	J-133	SDL	Andrew Hall
JACQUELINE IV	Hinckley SW42	SDL	Robert S. Forman, Jr
JADE	J-42	SDL	Robert W. Thuss, Jr.
KALEVALA II	Grand Soleil 37	SDL	Tapio O. Saavalainen
KODIAK	Swan 601	SDL	E. Llwyd Ecclestone
LAPIN	Benn Frst 40.7	SDL	Christopher Clark
LINDY	Peterson 38	SDL	David G. Dickerson
MAGIC	Santa Cruz 52	SDL	Kenneth Laudon
MERLIN	Swan57	SDL	John H Duerden
MISCHIEVOUS	Ctm 65	SDL	Albert J. Fitzgibbons
MISTY	J-40 WK	SDL	Fred A. Allardyce
MOJOE	Peterson 43	SDL	Joseph M. Naroski
MORGAN OF MARIETTA	Centurion 42	SDL	Colin G Golder
NASTY MEDICINE	Corby 41.5	SDL	Stephen J. Sherwin MD
RAGANA	Cape Fear 38R	SDL	Darius Peleda
RAINMAKER	Swan40	SDL	Kenneth P. Hylwa Mr.
REGATTA	CARTER41	SDL	Constantine G. Koste
REINDEER	Morris 47	SDL	Peter/Tony Driscoll/Parker
RELATIVITY	Beneteau 53F5	SDL	Hall Palmer
RESOLUTE	J-44 WK	SDL	Fred Madeira
RICOCHET	J-120	SDL	USCGA
ROCKET SCIENCE	J-120	SDL	Rick F. Oricchio
RUNAWAY	J-44	SDL	Lawrence R. Glenn
SAILOR BANDIDO	Quest 33	SDL	Christopher A. Palabrica
SARAH	X-41	SDL	Gregory B. Manning
SFORZANDO	Ker 55	SDL	Clayton G. Deutsch
SHINNECOCK	J-120	SDL	James C. Praley
SINN FEIN	Cal 40	SDL	Peter S. Rebovich, Sr.
SIRENA BELLA	J44	SDL	Joe Murli
SIRENSONG	J-133	SDL	Thomas J Carroll
SLIDE RULE	First 44.7	SDL	Scott Bearse
SPIRIT	Baltic 38DP	SDL	A. John Gregg
STAR CHASER	Swan 51	SDL	Wijnand (Boogie) van den Boogaard
STARLIGHT	Simonis Voogd 56	SDL	Michael Dybvik
SWIFT	Navy 44 MK1	SDL	US Naval Academy
TEMPTATION	Taylor 45	SDL	Arthur & Peter Santry
TERRAPIN	Beneteau 40.7	SDL	Jonathan Litt
THEJACKAL	Beneteau 40.7	SDL	John DeFilippo
THREEBEANS	Santa Cruz 37	SDL	Christopher Rosow
TIGER	Swan 46	SDL	Thomas & Nancy Grieb
TRIPLE LINDY	Swan 44 MK II	SDL	Joseph Mele
TRUE	J-42 (mod)	SDL	Howard B. Hodgson, Jr.
UPGRADE	Farr 395	SDL	Peter Gibbons-Neff
VALKYRIE	First 44.7	SDL	David Andril
VAMP	J-44	SDL	Leonard J. Sitar
VANQUISH	STP 65	SDL	Rego / Riker Lucas / USMMA
VORTICES	J 145	SDL	Christopher L Saxton
WAZIMO	Aerodyne 38	SDL	W. Barrett Holby, Jr.
WESTRAY	Concordia 39	SDL	John D. Melvin
WHISPER	Canning 48	SDL	Sheldon Brotman
WHITE RHINO	Swan 56	SDL	Todd Stuart
WINDBORN	J-120	SDL	Richard W. Born
XCELSIOR	IMX-45	SDL	Alice O. Martin
XENOPHON	Swan 44 MKII	SDL	Jeffrey V. Rabuffo, MD
ZEST	Hinckley SW42	SDL	Brian E. Swiggett
ZWERVER	S&S 57′ Berm Cut	SDL	Frans van Schaik

The above list subject to change.

 

For More Photos of the Newport bermuda Race 2008 by George Bekris click  HERE

 From the June 18^th start in Newport to finish in Bermuda 635 miles later, this classic ocean race is almost a spectator sport.

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In the end, smaller production yachts topped the podium. Two of the new Farr-designed Beneteau First 40s, Two True (Andrew Saies) and Wicked (Mike Welsh) placed first and second.

Third and fourth were two of the Murray, Burns & Dovell Sydney 38 one-designs, Next (Ian Mason/Jay Krehbiel), and Swish (Steven Proud).

These first four boats followed a similar strategy; heading well out to sea from the start, staying mainly east of the rhumb line and chasing the current eddies. And they pushed each other hard, racing one-design.

The two Sydney 38s ended their 628nm match race with a gybing duel over the last 11 miles in the River Derwent. Next crossed half a boat length in front to win the Sydney 38 One Design division ahead of Swish, but placed fourth behind Swish on IRC overall because she has a slightly higher IRC overall handicap for carrying a masthead spinnaker.

Next’s skipper Ian Mason said: “It was a very tough race. It was just match-racing for nearly 400 miles with Swish. We were never more than about 800 metres apart and then she beat us by five seconds.”

Two True also won the ORCi division, introduced into the race for the first time this year in response to a growing push among Australian owners for a more measurement-based, transparent rule than IRC.

Ragamuffin’s veteran skipper Syd Fischer, strongly behind the move towards ORCi was surprised and gratified that 33 boats in the 100-boat fleet, raced under ORCi as well as IRC. “I think it will be a great rule because it’s fully measured, transparent and we don’t have anyone’s input into it other than the measurements,” he said.

“It’s fair. I can’t stand anything that isn’t fair because people spend a lot of money on these boats. If you look around the world there’s billions of dollars spent on them and they’ve come into what’s a club rule.”

At the presentation, Matt Allen, Commodore of the race organizer, Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, who sailed his first Hobart race in 1976 and the 21st this year on his own modified Volvo 70 Ichi Ban, said: “The race to Hobart has certainly captured my imagination. Now it has never been in better health and I’m convinced that the best years are ahead.”

Matteo Mazzanti from Rolex SA presented overall winning skipper Andrew Saies from Two True with a Rolex Yacht-Master timepiece, and the Tatersall’s Cup for the overall handicap winner in IRC.

Sailes, sailing in his fifth Rolex Sydney Hobart, but on a brand-new boat this year, was clearly touched and said, “You can’t win without a great boat, a great team and an ounce of Hobart luck..This is an iconic race, if you’re a yachtie in Australia, you want to win this race.”

RESULTS

LINE HONOURS
Alfa Romeo, Neville Crichton, (NZ), Reichel Pugh 100

IRC OVERALL
1. Two True, Andrew Saies (AUS), Beneteau First 40
2. Wicked, Mark/Mike Welsh (AUS), Beneteau First 40
3. Next, Ian Mason (AUS), Sydney 38

DIVISION LEADERS
IRC Div 0: Alfa Romeo, Neville Crichton, (NZ), Reichel Pugh 100
IRC Div 1: Ran, Niklas Zennstrom, (UK), Judel-Vrolijk 72
IRC Div 2: Tow Truck, Anthony Paterson (AUS), Ker 11.3
IRC Div 3: Next, Ian Mason (AUS), Sydney 38
IRC Div 4: Two True, Andrew Saies (AUS), Beneteau First 40
PHS Div 1: Wasabi, Bruce McKay, (AUS), Sayer 12
PHS Div 2: She, Peter Rodgers, (AUS), Olsen 40 MOD
Sydney 38: Swish, Steven Proud, (AUS), Sydney 38
ORCi: Two True, Andrew Saies (AUS), Beneteau First 40
Cruising: Holy Cow!, John Clinton (AUS), Oceanis 50

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Andy Saies’ Two True survived a protest this afternoon to be confirmed as overall winner of the Tattersall’s Cup, the major prize in the 2009 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race for the overall IRC handicap winner.

After a two-hour hearing, the International Jury dismissed the protest entered by the Inglis 39 She’s the Culprit (Todd Leary), the Hobart yacht damaged in a crush of boats approaching the first rounding mark after the race start on Sydney Harbour.

Two True, one of the first new Farr-designed Beneteau First 40 stock production racer/cruiser to be imported into Australia, won IRC overall by 42 minutes from another new First 40, (Mike Welsh) after a close race-long duel in which they followed a similar strategy – stay well east of the rhumbline.

Ian Mason’s Sydney 38 Next, in third place, another 1hr 19min behind, was similarly pushed by close competition in the six-boat Sydney 38 fleet racing one-design, as well as on IRC handicap. Another Sydney 38, Swish (Steven Proud) from the strong Sydney fleet, was fourth and Tony Kirby’s Jeppersen X-41 Patrice Six, fifth.

In sixth place was the 2009 Rolex Fastnet Race winner Ran (Niklas Zennstrom), from the UK.

Two True, from the Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia, is the first yacht from South Australia to win the Tattersall’s Cup since Kevan Pearce’s win with SAP Ausmaid in 2000. The South Australians continue to be strongly committed to the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race, sailing 1000 nautical miles just to get to the start.

Owner-skipper Saies said he was absolutely elated at the win after being in the surreal situation of not knowing the outcome until after the protest hearing. “Obviously we are very happy with the jury’s decision. We believe we did everything in the circumstances to avoid significant damage to the other boat. We gave our intention to protest, we did a 720 (degree penalty turn), though the damage to the other boat was minor and superficial.”

“I respect the decision of the skipper of She’s the Culprit not to continue racing in those circumstances, but obviously we are very happy and delighted with the outcome.”

He thanked his crew, which raced the two prior Sydney Hobart Races on his previous boat True North, a Beneteau First 40. “The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race cannot be won without a great team, a great boat and an ounce of Sydney Hobart luck. Our team are fabulous guys. We have worked together for the past three years on my previous boat True North.” Saies particularly thanked Brett Young, his team and boat manager. “Energetic, tireless work ethic, great understanding of the rules.”

He said the race was a physical endurance event over 628 miles. “The wind was in, the wind was out, we drifted, we went backwards, we lost internet access, we didn’t know what was going on until the last few minutes. It was a classic Rolex Sydney Hobart event and we were in it up to our back teeth and it came our way in the end.

“Great boat, this new Beneteau it just jumps out of the water, jumped a bit too hard in the last day or so in those big short waves. It’s a fast boat, we had belief that this boat was going to rate well and do okay in this event, if the weather conditions allowed a small boat event.

“We may be privileged enough to have a boat and a team that gets to this position as people have in the past. But in yacht racing to have everything going right in one event at the right time is probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

“So it meant so much to get this right this time. So celebrations, back to normal, business as usual, great boat, great team looking forward to the next regatta in Melbourne, the next Sydney Hobart.”

The last boat to finish, Chris Dawe’s Polaris of Belmont (AUS/NSW) was due to cross the finish line at 0830pm tonight.

The 100-boat fleet that started the 65th Rolex Sydney Hobart had crews representing the USA, UK, New Zealand, Spain, the Netherlands, and New Caledonia, as well as every Australian state.

Results:

IRC overall: 1, Two True (Andy Saies, SA), Beneteau First 40, corrected time 04 days 07hr 57min 43sec; 2, Wicked (Mike Welsh, Vic), Beneteau First 40, 04:08:39:08; 3, Next (Ian Mason, NSW), MBD Sydney 38, 04:09:48:54.

IRC 0: 1, Alfa Romeo (Neville Crichton, NZ), Reichel Pugh 100, corrected time 04 days, 12hr, 11min, 51sec; 2, Evolution Racing (Ray Roberts, NSW), Farr Cookson 50, 04:14:32:46; 3, Ichi Ban (Matt Allen, NSW), Jones Volvo 70, 04:16:27:22.

IRC 1: 1, Ran (Niklas Zennstrom, UK), Judel/Vrolijk 72, 04:10:48:21; 2, Shogun (Rob Hanna, Vic), J/V 52, 04:13:09:50; 3, Ragamuffin (Syd Fischer, NSW), Farr TP52, 04:15:18:43.

IRC 2: 1, Tow Truck (Anthony Paterson, NSW), Ker 11.3, 04:11:16:18; 2, AFR Midnight Rambler (Ed Psaltis/Bob Thomas), modified Farr 40, 04:11:26:24; 3, Chutzpah (Bruce Taylor, Vic), Reichel/Pugh IRC 40, 04:14:06:32.

IRC 3: 1, Next Ian Mason, NSW), 04:09:48:54; 2, Swish (Steven Proud, NSW), 04:10:17:42; 3, Patrice Six (Tony Kirby) Jeppersen X-41, 04:10:24:32.

Sydney 38 One Design: 1, Swish, 04:00:16:54; 2, Next, 04:00:16:59; 3, Subzero Goat (Bruce Foye, NSW), 04:06:37:59.

ORCi (ORC International): 1, Two True (Andrew Saies, SA), Beneteau First 40, 04:07:57:43; 2, Wicked (Mike Welsh, Vic), Beneteau First 40, 04:08:39:08; 3, Zephyr Hamilton Elevators (James Connell/Alex Brandon, NSW), Farr 1020, 04:10:52:17.

Performance handicap:

PHS 1: 1, Wasabi (Bruce McKay, NSW), Sayer 12m, 04:19:02:33; 2, Sailors with disAbilities (David Pescud, NSW), Lyons 54, 04:21:26:15; 3, Mahligai (Murray Owen/Jenny Kings, New Zealand), Sydney 46, 04:21:26:15.

PHS 2: 1, She (Peter Rodgers, NSW), Olsen 40; 2, Flying Fish Arctos (A.Fairclough, NSW), McIntyre 55, 04:13:41:02; 3, Namadgi (Canberra Ocean Racing Club, ACT), Bavaria 44, 04:16:12:30.

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 The smallest boat in the fleet, Zephyr Hamilton Elevators, was as of this evening, still well in the running to win the IRC overall handicap division of the 2009 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race.

Zephyr is a Sea Nymph 33 co-owned by James Connell and Alex Braddon from the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia. She won division E in the 2007 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race.

The Sea Nymph 33 design is extremely fast downwind and is well-suited to the strong northerly wind prevailing on the lower Tasmanian east coast, forecast to reach 20-30 knots by evening.

The final 40 nautical miles of the 628nm course, with the northerly forecast to blow at 15-25 knots with gusts to 30 knots, which will put Zephyr on the wind, and will certainly slow and may end her chances of winning the Tattersall’s Cup for IRC overall handicap.

At 1550, Zephyr had 46 miles to go, and was doing 9.7 knots for an estimated finish at 2311, well inside the time she needed to take first place (0131 on Dec 31).

Second and third on corrected time standings were two of Beneteau’s new First 40s, which have already finished: Two True (Andrew Saies) from the Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia and Wicked (Mike Welsh) from Sandringham Yacht Club.

The Farr-designed First 40 is a replacement for the successful Beneteau 40.7. A Beneteau 40.7, First National Real Estate skippered by Michael Spies, was the overall handicap winner of the 2003 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race.

Two True, in second spot, still has to face a protest by the Tasmanian Inglis 39, She’s the Culprit (Todd Leary), which was badly damaged after the race start in a jam of boats converging on the first rounding mark at Sydney Heads and had to retire.

With some of the boats named in the protest documents still racing, the International Jury has deferred the protest until tomorrow morning (Dec 31).

Zephyr has also signaled by radio to the race committee that she will lodge protests against three boats, without specifying who they are, after finishing. That protest could also arise from the crush of boats in the 100-boat fleet converging to leave Sydney Harbour.

Two True and Wicked finished fast under spinnakers before a moderate southeasterly sea breeze early this afternoon, with Two True crossing 22 minutes ahead of Wicked.

Saies said: “It was a very difficult and frustrating race. Having had a couple of light patches on the way down, we thought we were through it and then we got a third one, 25 miles from Tasman Light last night; around 3:00am we were flapping around for three hours.”

Tactician Brett Young said Two True had followed a strategy of always being well east of the rhumbline and had received a favourable push from the current in two major eddies.

“Our routing was always east of the rhumbline,” said Young. “It’s the first time I’ve ever done that. And we had really good competition from Wicked. They sailed hard, but we got through them. We really stuck to our game plan, even with the weather not being anything like what it was originally forecast. We only came into Tasmania when we could lay Tasman Island.”

Young said the First 40 had performed well in the bumpy seaway following the southerly front. “Last night was a tough night, but that’s when this boat comes into its own. In a seaway, it just goes faster.”

Mark Welsh, boat manager and tactician on Wicked for his owner-skipper father Mike Welsh, said: “We chose the design after a lot of searching around the world for one that would be very competitive in IRC racing and it looks like we might have chosen successfully.”

A third new First 40 was racing, Paca (Philippe Mengual) from the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia. “So our race really depended on watching the other two boats, said Mark. “All credit to Two True, they sailed an absolutely sensational race.

“On the second night out, even though we were with them off Gabo Island, we couldn’t hold them. They sailed very, very well that night, got through us and from there we were just playing catch-up and we couldn’t catch them. They did a great job.”

The only IRC division decided, with all boats finished, is Division 0 for canting-keeled boats. The line honours winner Alfa Romeo (Neville Crichton), a Reichel Pugh100, won from the Cookson 50 Evolution Racing (Ray Roberts), with the modified Jones Volvo 70 Ichi Ban (Matt Allen) third.

With 48 yachts finished, and five yachts retired, there are 47 yachts still racing to the finish in Hobart.

The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race has entries representing the USA, UK, New Zealand, Spain, the Netherlands, and New Caledonia as well as every Australian state.

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Fifth home, at 0927, was Niklas Zennstrom’s Ran from the UK, a Judel/Volijk-designed 72-footer that was overall handicap winner in the 2009 Rolex Fastnet Race.

Ran has a chance of winning the race’s major trophy, the Tattersall’s Cup, for the first yacht on IRC corrected time. She has certainly beaten Alfa Romeo, which led the IRC overall standings for a time yesterday, denying Crichton the rare handicap/line honours double.

Wild Oats’ Mark Richards was gracious in defeat. “It was a tactical race and we never got a look in really,” Richards said. “They had a little edge on us on the first night and the next morning we were in a big parking lot together. They got out first and put 30 miles on us before we knew what had happened.”

Mike Slade had an historical perspective of the close three-way battle of the maxis: “When Napoleon turned up at Waterloo he knew he was in for a bad day, he had a bad day at the office didn’t he? I’ve been a bit like that. It was a fantastic race and well done Alfa, bloody marvellous.”

Slade said that Leopard had gambled by sailing farther offshore than Alfa and Oats down the east coast of Australia rather than sailing in Alfa’s wake. “We went offshore because there was no point in covering Alfa’s tracks; she had about 20 miles on us and we just got locked out. We had about four shut-downs and it was as frustrating as hell. We sat there for hours, watching them go away. That cost us. We got punished.”

Rounding Tasman Island was the worst Slade had experienced. “There was no wind and appalling seas; really nasty because it’s a lee shore, you’ve got no steerage because there’s no wind, but the seas were huge and that took us a couple of hours.

“Alfa and Oats had already gone round. The rich get rich and the poor get poorer, that’s what the game’s all about. So it was a shocker but we loved every minute of it. We will be back to do another one I think – the boat’s a glutton for punishment.”

Ran, after performing well in the fresh upwind work on the first night, parked in calms before zooming back into handicap contention with a blistering run on the new nor’-west breeze off Flinders Island.

Ran’s owner/skipper Niklas Zennstrom said: ” “The race at times was frustrating, we got parked up. Yesterday afternoon we had a fantastic run, we were reaching at up to 24 knots of boat speed, averaging 18 and 19 knots. It was excellent sailing.

“This morning was also very good; last night we had a few stops and goes. But we are happy with how the boat performed on corrected time and we will have to wait and see how the other boats are going on handicap.

“At times it looked really, really bad for us and really good for the small boats, but that’s how it is. All you can do is sail as good as you can and avoid making as many mistakes as possible. I don’t think we made too many mistakes.”
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Ran’s tactician Adrian Stead said that after riding the nor’-wester fast, Ran hit a light spot last evening, 20 miles northeast of Maria Island. “We got through that and sailed the last bit up here pretty well, very conscious that 10:20 was our deadline to beat Alfa,” he said.

With six yachts finished, and five yachts retired, there are 89 yachts still racing.

The Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race fleet has crews representing the USA, UK, New Zealand, Spain, the Netherlands, and New Caledonia as well as every Australian state.

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The two near sister Reichel/Pugh designs Alan Brierty’s Limit and Stephen Ainsworth’s Loki, finished first and second, just one point apart, in the Rolex Trophy Rating Series regatta, the major warm-up for the Rolex Sydney Hobart race which starts this Saturday, December 26.

The close competition between these year-old, well-settled, professionally-campaigned yachts, establishes them as among the top contenders for the Hobart race’s major prize, the Tattersall’s Cup for the overall winner on IRC handicap.

Both are Sydney-based, from the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race’s host club, the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia. Limit is 63ft in length overall, Loki is 62ft, by virtue of a more plumb bow profile.

Limit’s crew includes Volvo race and America’s Cup veterans Ian (“Barney”) Walker as principal helmsman and Rodney Keenan as tactician. Loki has Irish-born international sailor Gordon Maguire as sailing master. Maguire, who lives in Sydney, has sailed in 15 Hobart races.

The Rolex Trophy Rating Series, over four days of racing, tested boats and crews in broad spectrum of conditions. The first two days of short windward-leeward course racing, were gear-busting and body-bruising, with winds of 25-28 knots and rough, confused seas off the Sydney coastline.

The small fleet of grand-prix racers contesting the rating series were joined for the last two days by a fleet of 26 more yachts, ranging in size from the maxis Alfa Romeo (Neville Crichton) and Investec Loyal (Sean Langman) down to 30-footers, in the Rolex Trophy Passage Series of two races over 27nm and 19nm offshore courses.

Also emerging with Tattersall’s Cup-winning prospects from this mix were the Judel/Vrolijk TP 52 Shogun (Rob Hanna), which placed third in the Rolex Rating Series and the three place-getters in the Rolex Trophy Passage Series: Geoff Ross’ Reichel/Pugh 55 Yendys beat the UK-based Judel/Vrolijk 72 Ran (Niklas Zennstrom), with veteran Sydney racer Syd Fischer’s Farr designed TP52 Ragamuffin in third.

Neville Crichton’s Reichel/Pugh 100, Alfa Romeo won the first race of the passage series by more than 12 minutes on corrected time. As the maxis can do in the Rolex Sydney Hobart, Alfa Romeo got a huge jump on the smaller boats in a changing light air wind pattern. She reached all the way on one leg to the seaward mark and back before the wind shifted from west to south-southeast, giving the rest of the fleet a much slower dead downwind ride back to the harbour. Alfa Romeo did not compete in the second passage race, preferring to spend the time on sail evaluation and crew training.

In the Rolex Rating Series, Limit and Loki, went into the last race tied on equal points. Limit, badly beaten the previous day after a crew error jammed the furling system on its Code Zero reacher, made no mistakes this time.

“We went out an hour and a half early at the owner’s orders and we trained, and we trained until we got it right and we fixed the problem,” said principal helmsman Walker.

Limit had a good start and led Loki, who was boxed in by a bunch of boats congregated at the committee boat end of the starting line, on the outward leg to the seaward mark, and rounded seven minutes ahead.

Loki, gained on the light-air run back to Sydney Harbour to finish just over two minutes behind Limit. They finished second and third on corrected time behind Michael Hiatt’s Farr 55 Living Doll, sailing the perfect race with UK-based Australian Volvo Ocean racer, Andrew Cape, navigating.

Despite the last-race win and a third in the first race, Living Doll, another Tattersall’s Cup prospect, did not make the podium – retirements due to sail mishaps from two races on the rugged first two days of the Rolex Rating Series stuffed her chances.

Limit’s owner Alan Brierty, puffing a cigar as he sat on the rail said after the last race: “A little bit nerve wracking. We got a good start and it’s the old story when you get in front you’ve got to stay in front. Barney was sensational”.

Barney Walker is pleased with the way Limit’s campaign has come together, sharpened by the boat-on-boat competition with Loki. “When you’ve got two boats that are so close you really get the best out of them, and having that second yacht there does really keeps you honest,” he said.

Loki’s owner Stephen Ainsworth has a similar perspective: “We enjoy racing against each other because it’s closely contested and we’ve learned to sail our boat better by racing against them.”

Third-place Rolex Rating Series skipper Rob Hanna, from the strong Victorian offshore fleet, was competing on his Judel/Vrolijk TP52 Wot Now, a boat he had only purchased last month. But Wot Now has a good track record in the upcoming Rolex Sydney Hobart Race, finishing third overall in IRC in the 2008 edition.

His crew, including Sydneysiders tactician Steve McConaghy and helmsman Sean Kirkjian, added to Hanna’s Victorian regulars, had not raced the boat before the opening day of the Rolex Rating Series. “The boat’s fantastic and this has been a great learning curve so far,” said Hanna.

A fleet of 100 yachts will compete in this year’s race, which starts at 1300 AEDT, 26 December 2009. The Rolex Sydney Hobart fleet will have crews representing the USA, UK, New Zealand, Spain, the Netherlands, and New Caledonia as well as every Australian state.

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Final day at the 20th Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup dawned with blue sky and a gentle north-easterly breeze between 8 and 10 knots. One more opportunity for those already at the top of the standings to prove themselves worthy of winning. Good news also for those yachts still within touching distance of the top. A race would mean opportunity and in yacht-racing opportunity is everything, but only if you are prepared to take it. Getting your name inscribed on the trophies at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup is no easy feat. Only those most deserving achieve the feat. At close of play those truly in clover were: Ronald de Waal and Velsheda (GBR); Claus Peter Offen and Y3K (GER); Mick Cotter and Whisper (IRL); Filippo Faruffini and Roma-Aniene (ITA), and, Neville Crichton and Alfa Romeo (NZL). Flush with victory and the spoils associated – the Maxi Yacht Cup and a Rolex Yacht-master Chronometer.

If only it were so simple. In Cruising/Spirit of Tradition, Velsheda had wrapped up her division a day early by virtue of winning every race to that point. In Wally, Y3K was also impregnable, by virtue of having scored more firsts than her closest rival, Open Season (GER), which could only match Y3Ks score however badly Offen’s crew sailed the last race; a situation where count-back would favour Offen.

In Racing/Cruising, Roma-Aniene never seemed likely to be overtaken by DSK Pioneer Investments, but the door was still open if DSK could repeat yesterday’s result and finish ahead of Roma. The chances of this seemed slim given Roma had not given DSK a sniff all week until her mainsail issues of yesterday. The same scenario existed in Mini Maxi Racing/Cruising, where both Aegir (GBR) and OPS 5 (ITA) had a mathematical chance to overtake Whisper, should she finish seventh or worse, something Whisper had not done all week. She had had problems yesterday, though, finishing fifth. So a glimmer of hope flickered on. In both cases you had to think lightning does not strike twice.

The classification where the duelling would go closest to the wire looked to be Mini Maxi Racing. Tight battles looked likely in both Mini Maxi Racing (Owner/Driver) and the larger overall Mini Maxi Racing 00 group. The Owner/Driver contest was between Neville Crichton’s Alfa Romeo 3 (NZL) and Hap Fauth’s Bella Mente (USA). The stakes were high; the pressure was on. The maths were simple for Bella Mente, she had to come first. Anything less would not be enough. For Alfa, if she could win or prevent the American crew from winning she would prevail.

The 00 group was also a two-way tussle and also involved Alfa Romeo, with the likes of triple Olympic Gold medallist Ben Ainslie in the crew roster, along with Niklas Zennström’s Rán (GBR). With a three-point separation, the onus was on Alfa to win and hope Rán would finish no better than fourth. Heading out to the start there was every possibility that Crichton might be distracted by his battle with Fauth, since that was where the major prize would be awarded. At the beginning of the week, though, Crichton had stated his aim was to win both groups. Given his competitive streak is longer and wider than most, no one would bet against the New Zealander attempting to win outright from the front.

In the end, the excitement came in only one spot.

Velsheda confirmed her supremacy in Cruising/Spirit of Tradition winning the final race. Hasso Plattner’s Visione (GER) did enough to beat Charles Dunstone’s Hamilton II (GBR) in the race today and to take second on the podium. Roma-Aniene confirmed yesterday’s problems were no more than a blip by adding a fourth bullet to her Racing/Cruising scoreline. Danilo Salsi’s DSK’s second place in the race and the overall standing will be some compensation. Whisper, too, asserted herself once more adding a fourth bullet to her Mini Maxi Racing/Cruising record and securing the class by 10-points over Brian Benjamin’s Aegir.

Ronald de Waal skipper and helmsman of Velsheda attributed his victory in Cruising/Spirit of Tradition to his crew, “the team we sail with has been together for a long time, some have been with us for eight years. Of course, we sail with some of the very best in the world and that helps.” This is de Waal’s first overall win at the Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup; he has sailed several times before and really enjoys the competition and the location, “it’s a combination of nature, the area, we always have beautiful wind, really beautiful surroundings and always a very good fleet.”

Claus Peter Offen sealed his Wally Division victory with another win. Not bad for a yacht launched in July this year. Sailing with designer Mani Frers onboard as a guest, Offen was understandably delighted with his yacht and the win, “we thought we could get in the top three, but to win with a brand-new boat is unexpected. You usually will have some technical problems, but in all six races we were always first over the line and never had any problems.” Offen paid tribute to his crew, particularly acknowledging the work on the first two days when conditions were at their most difficult.

Filippo Faruffini came, saw and conquered for the second time; Roma confirming her superiority over the series in Racing/Cruising. Faruffini was surprised given how they had come into the competition, “this is sport and you can leave nothing to chance. We only decided only one month ago to race and were really under-prepared. Our sails are old and we broke many, many things.” A number of his crew, from the Circolo Canottieri Aniene (a sporting club in Rome), were new to sailing and to turn them into a team capable of holding their own against the likes of DSK is a true achievement, as tactician Vascotto explains, “all the guys made a real effort today. We pushed hard. We had 22 guys that are not professional at all, but at the end of the week we look to be doing the same manoeuvres as we do with professional guys. Everyone has improved and they can see this, which is our aim.”

Mick Cotter’s emphatic result with Whisper in Mini Maxi Racing/Cruising was a revelation, but had been hinted at last year’s Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup when Cotter’s crew won a sub-division prize, “it’s been a wonderful week, everything went really well. I had a great team and that’s what did it for me. We had few mistakes yesterday, but you can’t expect to go through a week’s regatta and not have a few. The conditions were ideal for us, which helped us considerably in the overall results. The crew know the boat well and the pros have got to know both us and the boat.”

As predicted, the true battle came in Mini Maxi Racing and it was fought tooth and nail between two boats – Bella Mente and Alfa Romeo. Fauth’s crew knew they had to win. Tactician Dee Smith saw to it that Bella Mente won the start at the pin end, whilst Alfa went for the committee boat end. As both yachts sailed their own race for the first leg, the first crossing was a critical moment. It went to Bella Mente and she held off her larger rival until the top of the second beat. At this point the Americans were still within a shout of victory. They were sailing so well that within the Owner/Driver category they were undoubtedly winning. With three more legs it was never going to be easy and, unfortunately for them, Alfa had no thoughts of mercy in mind. She forced her way past and then proceeded to match-race Hap Fauth’s yacht progressively out of the running. Conceding waterline length and therefore speed it was never going to end happily for Fauth. Bella Mente corrected out ahead of Alfa, but critically Andres Soriano’s Alegre (GBR) and Sir Peter Ogden’s Jethou (GBR) corrected out ahead of her. Crichton won by one point.

Crichton knew he had been in a scrap and paid due compliment to the tenacity and sailing skills of Fauth and his crew, as did his tactician, Michael Coxon, and relief helm, Ben Ainslie, who knows plenty about the need for ruthlessness in such circumstances. Crichton was thoroughly pleased with the result “we’re delighted. It was pretty tough out there today. We had to do what we had to do, and we got there in the end. They (Bella Mente) camped on us on the first beat. We finally got them back and then just sat on top of them.”

Meanwhile, Zennström and his Rán crew were able to sail their own race with the fight going on far behind. Once again, Rán took the gun and in doing so walked away with an eight-point victory over Alfa Romeo in the Min Maxi Racing 00 grouping. Zennstrom readily admitted they were flattered by the gap, which had been accentuated by the duel between the Alfa Romeo and Bella Mente.

All in all it has been an enthralling week of competition. The weather has played ball. Each day of racing has produced quality conditions and allowed the crews of the gathered maxis to strut their stuff in style. We’ll allow a newcomer to capture the sensation of racing here. Rachel Howe is the sole female navigator competing this week. Not only that, but she did so on Jethou in the intense environment of the Mini Maxi Racing group. Jethou went out on a high today, finishing the race first in Owner/Driver and second in 00. According to Howe, “this is the most prestigious event that I’ve done, the field that we’re racing in is absolutely spectacular. It’s an inspirational fleet to be part of. To get the opportunity to race against the people we’re racing against is just incredible. It is a real privilege. It’s intimidating at first, but once you are out there getting on with your job you realise everyone is pretty normal.once you see past the (Olympic) gold medals and the America’s Cups!”

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