Early boost for 2003 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race fleet

• NEWS
• 26 May, 2003 01:06:00 PM

Early boost for 2003 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race fleet

Andrew Short, a Sydney yachtsman with a passion for fast offshore racing yachts, has bought the two Danish 60-footers built for the last Volvo Ocean Race round the world.

Andrew Short, a Sydney yachtsman with a passion for fast offshore racing yachts, has bought the two Danish 60-footers built for the last Volvo Ocean Race round the world.

He will campaign one in the 2003 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race and other major races and regattas on the Australian East Coast this year, and already has had offers from local yacht owners to buy the second boat.

This will bring to five the number of Volvo 60s now owned in Australia, with at least three or four likely to contest the Rolex Sydney Hobart in December.

The two Danish VO60s, both named djuice dragons, have undergone a refit in Auckland where they were built in 2001 by Cooksons to the design of New Zealander Laurie Davidson.

The two boats set sail for Sydney last Saturday, Short skippering one and Richard Grimes the other.

Short, whose most recent ocean racing has been with his Sydney 38 One Design, Andrew Short Marine,  decided to go back to big boats after chartering another VO60,  illbruck,  for this year’s Pittwater to Coffs Harbour Race.

A week earlier he had skippered the Sydney 38 into first place in its division of the 2002 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

“The Sydney 38 is a great boat for round-the-buoys, one-design racing,  but in the long ocean races I always had that pang for more speed when I saw the bigger boats disappearing over the horizon,” he said today.

Most of Short’s ocean racing career has been in big fast boats – with Innkeeper, Bobsled, skippering the ill-fated Amazon, and crewing aboard the maxi Nicorette and the Whitbread 60,  Nokia,  in Sydney Hobart Races.

Short inspected the two djuice dragons on the hardstand in Norway with his original plan being to purchase one, but decided to buy both boats with all the equipment that went with the deal.

“We have spare carbon fibre rigs, halyards, sheets, blocks and 98 sails – and that was after they threw out 35 worn out sails,” he said.

“Designed by Laurie Davidson, they were built in New Zealand by Cooksons and rigged by Southern Spars, and back there in Auckland, Davidson,  Cooksons and Southern Spars have said that everything is in excellent condition.

“Whilst only one boat completed the 2001-2002 Volvo Ocean Race,  the other boat was shipped from port to port for corporate sailing.

Short said he already had received enquiries from Australian yachtsmen to buy one of the boats and was also looking for sponsorship of the one he plans to compaign extensively this coming season.

“My program is to race the boat, at this stage named Andrew Short Marine djuice,  in the Sydney-Gold Coast Race, Hamilton Island Race Week, the Gosford to Lord Howe Island Race and the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race,” he added.

With the arrival of the two Danish boats, there will now be five Volvo 60s in Australia – the others being illbruck, Merit and Magnavox 2UE.