Nicorette set for sunrise finish

• NEWS
• 29 Dec, 2004 03:56:00 AM

Nicorette set for sunrise finish

Ludde Ingvall’s Nicorette looks set to take line honours in the 60th anniversary Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race soon after sunrise today as the 90-footer powers across Storm Bay towards the Derwent River and the finish line off Hobart’s Castray Esplanade.

Ludde Ingvall’s Nicorette looks set to take line honours in the 60th anniversary Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race soon after sunrise today as the 90-footer powers across Storm Bay towards the Derwent River and the finish line off Hobart’s Castray Esplanade.

Nicorette,  the sole surviving supermaxi in the gale-decimated fleet,  had a 50 nautical mile lead over her nearest rival, Sean Langman’s AAPT when she rounded Tasman Island at 1.38 this morning.     Third in the fleet is George Snow’s Brindabella followed the British yacht Aera, skippered by Jez Fenstone.

Ingvall gave an ETA of four hours later but since passing the towering Cape Raoul he has revised that to 6am, promising a spectacular daylight finish as the big boat runs under spinnaker up the Derwent River.

With the crew able to spring sheets and go onto a broad reach after 24 hours of hard beating into headwinds that reached galeforce,  her boatspeed jumped from 9.5 knots to almost 20 knots.  As she neared the Iron Pot at the entrance to the Derwent River,  her speed dropped to 13 knots, but then increased.

At 3.45am, Ingvall revised his ETA again to 4.30am – heading to his second Line Honours win.