60th anniversary fleet reaches 124 boats

• NEWS
• 17 Nov, 2004 03:47:00 PM

60th anniversary fleet reaches 124 boats

The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia has received seven late applications to enter yachts in the 60th anniversary Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia has received seven late applications to enter yachts in the 60th anniversary Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

With four withdrawals from the original fleet announced last week, the fleet stands at 123 boats for the 628 nautical mile ocean-racing classic.

It is the largest fleet in a decade and more than double those of the past two years, with the club extending the closing time by a week until last Friday, 12 November, to allow owners to complete the documentation required for an application to enter.

Among the final nominations were Bright Morning Star, the much travelled Peterson 61 owned by Randal Wilson and Hugh O’Neill from Sydney Amateur Sailing Club, Inner Circle, a Bruce Farr designed 40-footer owned by Michael Graham from the Lake Macquarie Yacht Club, and Game Set, the well-performed Bavaria Match 38 only recently purchased by Sydney yachtsman Stephen Roach.

David Gotze’s Indec from Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron has brought to five the number of Volvo 60s – former round-the-world racers – in the fleet.

Sydney yachtsman Chris Way’s Easy Tiger, was the 13th Sydney 38 nominated, more than double the number of these Australian designed and built, one-design offshore racing boats that have competed previously.

The final applications to enter the 60th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race were the Victorian boat, Outlaw, a Sayer 44 to be skippered by Ray Semmens, a Cruising division entry Ropabull, and a 12.95m Beneteau owned by Michael Roper.

Four yachts have withdrawn from the 120 boat fleet announced earlier in the week, the Gosford yacht Grasshopper, Plumb Crazy from Sydney, a un-named boat still under construction for a Queensland yachtsman, and the veteran Reprieve from Adelaide, leaving a net total of 124 boats from all Australian States and overseas.

The fleet representation is now:  NSW 69, Victoria 28, Tasmania 8, Queensland 2, South Australia 2, ACT 3, Overseas 9 (UK 4,  Germany 1, Spain 1, New Zealand 1, Hong Kong 1, USA 1).