Can Nicorette hang on to the double?

• NEWS
• 29 Dec, 2004 09:46:00 AM

Can Nicorette hang on to the double?

The British-registered 55-footer Aera, skippered by Jez Fanstone, is also pressing for handicap honours.

When Nicorette crossed the line at 5.10am this morning she held the two titles most yachties dream of – line honours and outright handicap for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

No-one can take the first away from her but there are some boats still at sea that could conceivably pip Nicorette on handicap and take the main prize – the prestigious Tattersalls Cup.

Stephen Ainsworth’s Swan 48 Loki is a threat. She is currently 12th in the fleet and more than 160 miles from the finish. She is also leading Division B and is lying in second place on Overall handicap. Because she’s a smaller boat, if she can finish by 7.42am tomorrow morning she will be calculated to have taken the same corrected time as Nicorette.

The British-registered 55-footer Aera, skippered by Jez Fanstone, is also pressing for handicap honours as it sails midway down the Tasmanian east coast with less than 90 miles to the finish. She has to finish by 7.05pm tonight, while NSW entry Matt Allen’s Ichi Ban needs to finish by 7.37pm. Ichi Ban has less than 100 miles to sail and is averaging 8 knots.

Another contender for the Overall trophy in this race is the 2003 Tattersalls Cup winner, Michael Spies with his new Beneteau 44.7 First National Real Estate, which is off Tasmania’s northeast coast with 200 miles to sail to the finish line of the 628 nautical mile race. She must finish by 10.05am tomorrow morning.

The next yacht to finish will be Sean Langman’s modified 66-footer AAPT, which is crossing Storm Bay averaging 14 knots with 25 nautical miles to go to the finish line off Battery Point. Her ETA is midday today.