88 international crews are to set sail on Monday, 26th December in the 67th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race. Conditions this year are set to be diverse and challenging, but initial forecasts are not showing any extreme weather.

According to Rob Webb, Regional Director of the Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology, Monday’s start from Sydney Harbour, at 1300 local time, will be accompanied by 15-20 knot northerlies, providing an initial blast south for the crews. But this will be shortlived. Later that afternoon, southerly/SSWerly headwinds are expected to fill in on the north side of Bass Strait and up the New South Wales coast. Two days in and the weather on the south side of Bass Strait and down the east coast of Tasman turns into a lottery, with light patchy wind dominating the course until an area of high pressure moves in from the west later in the week.

Clear favourite for line honours is of course Bob Oatley’s 100ft maxi Wild Oats XI, first to Hobart in five of the last six races and winner of the ‘triple’ (line and handicap honours, plus the course record) in 2005. Anticipating stiff competition this year from American George David’s Rambler 100 (until her keel snapped off in the Rolex Fastnet Race this August), so Wild Oats XI has over the last 18 months been significantly turboed, with twin daggerboards replacing her forward ‘canard’, a new keel, the canting angle of her keel increased and her mainsail and spinnakers enlarged, etc. But given the latest forecast, even with her increased horsepower, tactician Iain Murray says Wild Oats XI is still only going to get down to Hobart in two days four to five hours, some way outside of her one day 18 hour and 40 minute record.

“We will barrel out of Sydney, probably look for some leverage in the east so that we get some runway to land us back on the coast as the breeze starts to turn to the southwest,” says Murray. “Then we’ll go straight across Bass Straight and after that it is pretty sketchy how it is going to be off the east Tasmanian coast. It is always difficult there. You end up with patches of no wind and the breeze goes over the top of Tasmania.”
The last half is all up in the air and that could be good for us   Stan Honey – INVESTEC LOYAL

Sailing with the celebrity crew, including Australian rugby union internationals Phil Kearns and Phil Waugh, on Anthony Bell’s maxi Investec Loyal, American navigator Stan Honey does not see much opportunity for their 100 footer until the latter half of the race. “If it was really windy or really light it would be less of a difference. The last half is all up in the air and that could be good for us, but the dice will have to roll in our favour a few times.”

The general consensus is that if the varying forecast is likely to favour one size range this year, then it would be the mid-fleet, the 40-60 footers.

At the top end of this band falls Stephen Ainsworth’s three year old Reichel Pugh 63 Loki, one of Australia’s most successful race boats. Most recently Loki was winner of the 2010-11 Bluewater Pointscore Championship, the result of a spectacular season in which she regularly podiumed, and won line honours and her class in the Audi Sydney Offshore Newcastle Yacht Race.

Slightly down the size range are the eight 52 footers, including five former TP52s. One of the most successful of these is Ragamuffin, the Farr-designed former Pegasus/Morning Light, owned by one of the Australia’s most eminent yachtsmen Syd Fischer. Aged 84, Fischer this year sets off on his 43rd Rolex Sydney Hobart.

Having won the race in 1992, Fischer says the accuracy of the weather forecasts for the race are better these days than they used to be, but does not seem overly bullish in this year’s predictions favouring boats in Ragamuffin’s size range. “I will confirm that when I see it. I don’t trust the forecast and the weather is very volatile at the moment.”

Despite having a slightly shorter boat, Chris Bull, the British owner and skipper of Jazz, says that his Cookson 50 invariably beats the TP52s offshore on handicap, but even he is not confident of their prospects with the present weather forecast.

“We’d like it to be breezy upwind and breezy downwind. But we definitely need some breezy upwind. A couple of days ago it was looking good. Unfortunately the forecast seems to be backing off a bit in terms of the wind strength. It is not looking too bad for us, but not as good as last year when there were pretty gnarly conditions which suited us.”
In fact I would say no race of less
than 2,000 miles is as tough as this one
Chris Bull – JAZZ

Having this year competed in the Atlantic Ocean Racing Series, comprising races in the Caribbean, US east coast, a transatlantic race and then the Rolex Fastnet Race, Bull still believes the Rolex Sydney Hobart is the toughest of the ‘classic 600 milers’: “Conditions are generically tougher – you are in the Southern Ocean, generally you experience stronger winds and every year you get strong winds, which is not true of the others. The water is colder than it is for any of the other 600 mile races. In fact I would say no race of less than 2,000 miles is as tough as this one. I have done Round Britain and Ireland which is 1,760 miles – that’s not as tough as this race.”

At the bottom end of the favoured mid-fleet is a new boat in the hands the handicap winners of the 1998 race. The new AFR Midnight Rambler, owned by Ed Psaltis, Bob Thomas and Michael Bencsik, is a Ker 40 production race boat from British designer Jason Ker. The boat, with its massive flare aft, is unusual for being fast both upwind and downwind while also rating well under IRC.
It is going to be a brutal race for us and quite wet, but if you are going fast the discomfort is quite tolerable
“It is quite unique to have a boat that is strong on all points of sails,” says Psaltis. “We are very pleased with it so far. It is quite radical. It is going to be a brutal race for us and quite wet, but if you are going fast the discomfort is quite tolerable.” However he admits they are on a steep learning curve with the boat having only taken ownership in September.

As to the forecast, Psaltis says they were hoping to get more downwind sailing at the outset, but says they should also be strong when the wind backs into the south. “The first day and a half looks good for us. The Tasman coast is still a lottery. The report today was the different to the report we saw yesterday and it will change again tomorrow.”

A dark horse could be the all-French crew aboard Jacques Pelletier’s X-43 L’Ange de Milon. Among her crew of Pelletier’s family and friends are three sailors who normally compete in the singlehanded Figaro class, among them Nicolas Lunven, 2009 winner of the class’ premier event, La Solitaire du Figaro. While L’Ange de Milon competed in the Rolex Sydney Hobart last year, this is Lunven’s first time and he says he is looking forward to it. However he adds they may not see their ideal weather: “She likes lots of wind and upwind, which is good for the boat, but not very good for the crew!”

Unusually, the bottom end of the fleet is likely to get considerable attention locally as the Sydney 38 class includes Ella Bache. This is skippered by 18 year old, Jessica Watson, who famously sailed around the world singlehanded when she was just 16, becoming a media sensation in Australia in the process. Watson’s youth crew also includes Britain’s Michael Perham, 19, who sailed singlehanded around the world when he was 17.

“I have never sailed in the Rolex Sydney Hobart race, but as a navigator I’ve been studying it a lot recently, looking at the weather patterns and the current around here which are big factors for us small boats,” said Perham, who is down in Australia, after Watson competed with him in the UK this year in the Round the Island Race.

The Rolex Sydney Hobart sets sail at 13:00 local time from within Sydney Harbour.
Rolex Sydney Hobart Race 2011 Entries

	Accenture Yeah Baby	8362	NSW	GP42
	AFR Midnight Rambler	8338	NSW	Ker 40
	Alacrity	7447	QLD	Beneteau First 44.7
	Alchemy III	5976	TAS	Beneteau 57
	Aurora	N3	NSW	Farr 40 – One Off
	Bacardi	SM377	VIC	Peterson 44
	Balance	7771	NSW	Beneteau 45
	Brindabella	10000	NSW	Jutson 79
	Cadibarra 8	R420	VIC	Jones 42
	Calm	SM5252	VIC	TP52
	Carina	USA315	USA	McCurdy & Rhodes 48
	Celestial	G421	NSW	Rogers 46
	Chancellor	6834	NSW	Beneteau First 40
	Chutzpah	R33	VIC	IRC 40
	ColorTile	67	NSW	Sayer 44.9
	Copernicus	6689	NSW	Radford 12
	Cougar II	SM5200	TAS	TP52
	Deloitte As One	2005	NSW	Sydney 38
	Dodo	8488	NSW	Sydney 38
	Duende	ESP6100	NSW	JV52
	Dump Truck	A6	TAS	Ker 11.3
	Elektra	R2099	NSW	Beneteau 47.7
	Ella Bache	2004	NSW	Sydney 38
	Eressea	6590	QLD	Hanse
	Ffreefire 52	HKG2238	Hong Kong	TP52
	Flying Fish Arctos	7551	NSW	Radford 16.4
	Fullynpushing	M25	VIC	Sydney 38
	Hugo Boss	GBR8055	UK	Open 60
	Icefire	R6572	NSW	Mummery 45
	Ichi Ban	AUS 03	NSW	Jones 70
	Illusion	5356	NSW	Davidson 34
	Investec Loyal	SYD100	NSW	Maxi
	Jazz	5299	NSW	Cookson 50
	Jazz Player	S390	VIC	Bakewell – White 39
	Kioni	6146	NSW	Beneteau First 47.7
	Kiss Goodbye to MS	S37	VIC	Inglis 39
	Knee Deep	HY161	WA	Farr 49
	L’ange De Milon	FRA29999	France	X 43
	Lahana	10081	NSW	30m Maxi
	Last Tango	8975	NSW	Salona 44
	Living Doll	R55	VIC	Farr 55
	LMR Solar	M161	NSW	Sayer 40
	Loki	AUS60000	NSW	Reichel Pugh 63
	Lunchtime Legend	RQ14	QLD	Beneteau First 40
	Maluka Of Kermandie	A19	NSW
	Martela	7075	TAS	IMX 38
	Menace	M24	NSW	Phillips/Simpson 11.7
	Merit	8679	QLD	Volvo 60
	Mille Sabords	SM381	VIC	Sydney 38
	Minerva	6837	NSW	DK 43
	Mondo	5656	QLD	Sydney 38
	Natelle Two	2555	TAS	Peterson 41 2 Tonne
	Nemesis	USA69200	USA	C & C 41
	Not Negotiable	S521	TAS	UFO34
	NSC Mahligai	NZL1	NSW	Sydney 46
	Nutcracker	SM3500	VIC	X35
	Ocean Affinity	RQ64	QLD	Marten 49
	One For The Road	N40	NSW	A40
	Optimus Prime	CR1	WA	Marten 49
	Outrageous Fortune	NZ9138	New Zealand	Beneteau First 45
	Papillon	6841	NSW	Archambault 40RC
	Patrice IV	YC271	SA	Beneteau First 45
	Patrice Six	360	NSW	X41
	Pretty Fly III	10007	NSW	Cookson 50
	Quetzalcoatl	2001	NSW	Jones 40
	Ragamuffin	AUS 70	NSW	TP52
	Samurai Jack	88888	QLD	Farr39mlMOD
	Scarlet Runner	SM11	VIC	Reichel Pugh 52
	She	4924	NSW	Olsen 40
	Shepherd Centre	11407	NSW	Beneteau 40.7
	Shogun	6952	VIC	JV 52
	Southern Excellence	NOR2	NSW	Volvo 60
	St Jude	6686	NSW	Sydney 47
	Strewth	GBR5211L	Hong Kong	TP52
	Sweethart	RQ2001	QLD	Jutson 39
	The Banshee	4100	NSW	MBD41
	The Goat	7027	NSW	Sydney 38
	TSA Management	MH60	NSW	Sydney 38
	Two True	YC400	SA	Beneteau First 40
	Vamp	43218	NSW	Corby 49
	Victoire	1545	NSW	Beneteau First 45
	Wasabi	AUS 88	NSW	Sayer 12 MOD
	Wave Sweeper	7407	NSW	Beneteau First 40.7
	Whistler	L77	TAS	MBD36
	Wild Oats XI	10001	NSW	RP100
	Wild Rose	4343	NSW	Farr 43
	Wild Thing	M10	QLD	IRC Maxi 98
	Willyama	335	NSW	Beneteau First 40

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Solo teen sailor Jessica Watson says she’s not a hero, but just ‘‘an ordinary girl who had a dream’’.

The 16-year-old was welcomed by thousands of cheering people at the Opera House and on a flotilla of boats crowding Sydney Harbour just before 3pm this afternoon after a 210-day round-the-world voyage.

‘‘It’s completely overwhelming right now,’’ she said as thousands whistled and clapped while others chanted ‘‘Aussie, Aussie, Aussie … Oi, oi, oi!’’.

‘‘There was nothing out there … and there’s absolutely everything now.’’

The harbour was turned into a spectacular reception area, as hundreds of boats crammed into the narrow waters to greet the young adventurer on her small, pink yacht.

She had left Sydney in October, sailing in sometimes difficult conditions through the Pacific, across the equator, past Cape Horn in South America, across the Atlantic, past the Cape of Good Hope, through the Indian Ocean before returning to Australian waters.

Fellow solo sailors West Australian Jesse Martin and English teen Mike Perham helped Watson take her yacht in after she crossed the finish line, as an aeroplane wrote her name ‘‘Jessica’’ in white smoke in the sky.

Fears that Watson would struggle to walk after such a long time at sea were unfounded, as she made her way up a pink carpet to the Opera House forecourt with her family, wearing a broad grin and looking none the worse for her epic voyage.

She was met by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who hailed her as “Australia’s newest hero”.

“You do our nation proud,” he said. “You are a hero for young Australians … and young Australian women.”

But Watson said she had to disagree with Mr Rudd as “I don’t consider myself a hero”.

“I’m an ordinary girl who had a dream. You just have to have a dream and set your mind to it.’’

Confident and relaxed, Watson was even able to throw in a joke or two.  ‘‘It was tough,’’ she said when asked how it felt to leave her yacht.

‘‘Stepping off was so strange, because for the last seven months, I was doing everything to stay on board,’’ she said as the crowd laughed. ‘You can achieve anything’

The Queenslander was quick to emphasise how young people – especially girls – could achieve anything ‘‘if you want it enough’’. ‘‘People don’t realise … what girls are made of,’’ she said.

‘‘When you take away those expectations, it’s amazing what you can achieve.’’

She added at a press conference later that people ‘‘just need the passion to want something bad enough and a way to make it happen’’.

Thanks to Martin Pryor for waiting hours for Jessica’s arrival to get these photos.

 

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See Video Of Jessica Here

 She’s  been at sea for seven months, but Jessica Watson’s incredible journey has just a little longer to go.

After 210 days at sea, Jessica Watson’s boat Ella’s Pink Lady is almost at Sydney Heads, where she will be greeted by thousands of people on the city’s harbour, including Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, the NSW Premier and her family and friends.

 

 

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Tens of thousands of fans waving pink flags are expected to line Sydney Harbour’s foreshore on Saturday to welcome back round-the-world sailor Jessica Watson.

The 16-year-old’s homecoming is expected to rank among the biggest events in Sydney as the NSW Roads and Traffic Authority prepares for a huge crowd.

It has classified Watson’s arrival as a Class One event – the same rating it gives to New Year’s Eve celebrations and the Mardi Gras.

When Australian Kay Cottee, the first woman to complete a solo nonstop circumnavigation of the globe, returned to Sydney Harbour in 1988 she was greeted by a crowd of 100,000 people.

The crowd on Saturday could be even bigger, taking into account the popularity of Watson’s journey blog.

Watson is expected to complete her solo, nonstop voyage on Saturday, sailing through the official finish line at Sydney Heads about 11.30am (AEST).

One hour later, after her passport has been checked by Customs onboard her yacht, Ella’s Pink Lady, she will step on to land for the first time in almost seven months into the arms of her parents at the Opera House.

Watson’s managers are hoping Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and NSW Premier Kristina Keneally will also be there to welcome her.

Special event clearways will be in place in the Sydney central business district, Double Bay, Mosman and Watsons Bay from 9am to 4pm and roads may be closed by police if required.

NSW Transport Minister David Campbell said it was difficult to predict the size of Saturday’s crowd.

“It is not something that we have experience of,” he told reporters in Sydney on Monday.

“New Year’s Eve, Mardi Gras, we know what to expect … What we do know is that a lot of people are in awe of the achievement of this young woman.

“We’re planning for a very large event.”

Mr Campbell would not specify what the event was costing the state government and Events NSW, or whether Watson’s management, 5 Oceans Media, was paying some of the costs.

He said the cost to taxpayers would be evaluated “at the end of the process”.

“It’s part of governing. It’s part of providing services to our community and it’s one of the challenges that comes along from time to time,” Mr Campbell said.

The public relations company managing Saturday’s event, Janet Glover PR & Events, said it believed the recent controversy surrounding Watson’s voyage had galvanised local support for the young sailor.

Sail-world.com magazine claimed last week the teen’s route had cut corners, saying that she was more than 2000 nautical miles (about 3700 kilometres) short of a world record and has not travelled far enough north of the equator.

But Watson’s management said that wasn’t true.

“Jessica has adhered to every component of her chosen route and as of 3pm on Sunday, she had sailed a total of 22,808 nautical miles,” the teen’s project manager, Bruce Arms, wrote on Watson’s website.

In order to claim a World Sailing Speed Record Council record, a sailor must be aged over 18, must cover 21,600 nautical miles and fulfil a series of technical requirements.

Watson, who will be three days shy of her 17th birthday when she arrives in Sydney, may have not travelled far enough above the equator to meet those requirements as the record is not just about distance – it’s also about the route.

But Watson’s management said it’s a moot point as there’s no official body to recognise the under-18 sailor’s feat and, therefore, no official rules for the voyage.

Check out Jessica’s Arrival At http://www.jessicawatson.com.au/

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Jessica Watson Is  back in Australian Waters. 

 She had this to say about arriving in her country’s home waters. “The flyover with Mum, Dad, Tom and Hannah on Saturday was a great welcome to Australian waters and a lot of fun. Even though all I could see was a small plane way overhead, it was still really cool. Mum reckons that Ella’s Pink Lady and I looked really small between the swell, which seems strange to me because Ella’s Pink Lady is my whole world at the moment!

Things got pretty interesting for a while last night, when what I thought was just a light passing squall, turned into a full on electrical storm, the worst I’ve seen at sea yet. Even though I could hardly see it through the icy cold sideways rain, the lightning was striking the water nearby much too close for my liking. The wind gusted pretty high too.

Ella’s Pink Lady was already well reefed down at the time. But till I was able to furl almost all of the headsail away and pull the tiny third reef in, we were healed over pretty dramatically. But the wind soon dropped again and as it did, the rain really started. It was so heavy that you could hardly see where the water stopped and the sky began. A bit of thunder has never worried me, but alone at sea at 4 in the morning, it seems particularly menacing and it becomes a lot harder to keep your nerves in check!

Other than the lightning storm, the weather’s still been really unsettled with almost constant rain, squalls and a messy sea. Luckily the wind hasn’t been too strong though. Progress has been good and even with all this gloomy grey stuff, I’m happy as Larry and mostly staying dry thanks to my snug dodger.
Jessica was yesterday treated to a visit from some guests who dropped by. Her  Mum, Dad, brother Tom and sister Hannah flew overhead to give her a wave from a small plane.  “With the sun peaking out through the clouds and Ella’s Pink Lady surfing along in a big sea and lots of silly chatter over the VHF, it was a really, really special moment, “said Jessica”

“The plane couldn’t come in very close at all this time, which was a pity, because I’d made a special effort with my hair, painted my toe nails pink and shaved my legs especially. Strangely it felt a lot like a normal family get together which gives you an idea of what’s become normal for me.”

She is due in port in a couple of weeks.

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Jessica Watson has started her world record attempt after being bid farewell by family, friends and many spectators when she sailed out from Sydney Heads on Sunday morning.

Her spokesman Andrew Fraser said Jessica got off to a good start and many people came out in boats and lined the headland to cheer her on when she took off aboard her yacht, Ella’s Pink Lady, from the Spit in Middle Harbour.

‘There is probably about 100 boats out here (seeing her off),’ he said.

Mr Fraser said the weather conditions were good and that winds should pick up once she got past the heads.

NSW Maritime boats escorted Jessica out of the Heads.

The teenager from Queensland’s Sunshine Coast and her team spent Saturday ‘fine-tuning’ their preparations and planned to get a good night’s sleep.

Mr Fraser said she was relieved and upbeat to be finally beginning her voyage, after being delayed in Sydney by gusty winds last week.

‘I said: How are you feeling?’,’ Andrew Fraser told reporters in Sydney on Saturday.

‘She said: I wake up tomorrow and sail around the world’.’

Jessica is setting off on her quest despite calls for her to abandon the voyage from the likes of the Queensland government and some of Australia’s most experienced sailors.

Concerns were heightened when her yacht collided with a 63,000-tonne cargo vessel off North Stradbroke Island during an aborted journey to Sydney last month.

But Mr Fraser dismissed the doubters.

‘Let’s have this conversation in eight months,’ he said, referring to the time Jessica is expected to take to sail around the world.

‘It (the collision) may have been a blessing in disguise, to be honest,’ Mr Fraser said.

‘I think we’ve learnt a lot from that experience, (and) Jessica has learnt a lot.’

After leaving Sydney the 16-year-old will head towards northern New Zealand, then to Fiji, Samoa, South America and South Africa, then sail the final leg of 4,000 nautical miles back to Australia.

Her route will be similar to that taken by Australian Kay Cottee, who became the first woman to sail solo, unassisted and non-stop around the world in 1988.

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The 16-year-old Australian yachtswoman Jessica Watson, who is hoping to become the youngest person to sail around the world, will almost certainly have to delay the start of her voyage, after hitting a cargo ship on a test sail.
Jessica had started out on a 10-day test run from the sunshine coast in Queensland south to Sydney. Unfortunately, less than 24 hours into the trip, she hit the carrier – at about 02:00 local time on Wednesday morning, 17:00 BST on Tuesday evening.

Her yacht Ella’s Pink Lady has sustainded damage to its mast, and the starboard side of the deck and hull have been badly scraped. Jessica is unharmed, although a little shaken.
The teenage is still determined to carry on with her plans to circumnavigate the globe: “”All things considered, the boat did come up well. The big thing for me is I came through the whole thing feeling confident.” Ms Jiggins said Waston called her parents immediately after the crash, who then contacted maritime authorities for help. 

“Her parents contacted our rescue co-ordination centre which advised Watson to turn her motor back on and head to Stradbroke Island,” Ms Jiggins said. Watson, who is now 15 nautical miles from shore, later agreed to travel to Southport on the Gold Coast and is expected to arrive in the next two hours.  The Australian Transport Safety Bureau will also investigate the crash.   Watson left Mooloolaba Wharf yesterday on a week-long test run ahead of her world record attempt to be the youngest person to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around the world. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau will investigate the circumstances of the collision early this morning, but was unlikely to recommend a halt to the solo sail. ATSB spokesman Richard Batt said details about the crash were still sketchy.  “We know it was a foreign ship heading out of Australia,” Mr Batt said.  “We are still gathering some preliminary details.  “It is not our role to apportion blame. From our point of view it would be about seeing whether there could be any safety gains made. The question of whether it is reasonable for a young person to be doing this is not a matter for us.”   

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