Tasmanian Government to recognise Rolex Sydney Hobart milestones

• NEWS
• 23 Dec, 2006 11:53:00 AM

Tasmanian Government to recognise Rolex Sydney Hobart milestones

A medallion will also be awarded to Mary Holley, who is racing to Hobart for the 10th time, this year with husband Jim on their Farr 40 Aurora.

The Tasmanian Government is to present specially struck medallions to four sailors at the completion of the 2006 Rolex Sydney Hobart in recognition of their achievements in reaching personal milestones in Australian ocean racing.

Tasmania's Tourism Minister Paula Wriedt has announced that once again specially struck medallions, mounted on bases of Tasmanian timber, will be presented to the yachtsmen and women at the conclusion of the 2006 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

The Minister said the Tasmanian Government has always appreciated how much the national and international status of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race contributes to the promotion of Hobart and indeed the entire state.

“These medallions recognise the great seamanship of these sailors who have contributed so much to making this bluewater classic an icon of Australia’s summer activities,” said the Minister.

“This is a fine gesture by the Government of Tasmania which recognises the dedication of these yachtsmen and women and their great sailing skills in ocean racing, which has contributed so much to the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race,” said Cruising Yacht Club of Australia Commodore Geoff Lavis.

These sentiments have been echoed by Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania Commodore Marion Cooper.

“The Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania is delighted that the state government will acknowledge the magnificent achievement yachtsman Tony Ellis, competing in his 40th Rolex Sydney Hobart,” said the Commodore.

“As has happened for many years, medallions will also be presented to yachtsmen who, in the coming race, will have personally raced to Hobart 25 times and to the one yachtswoman lining up for her 10th race.

Heading the list of individual medal recipients is Tony Ellis who will be competing in his 40th Rolex Sydney Hobart.

Tony Ellis did his first race in 1963, aboard Syd Fischer's first Ragamuffin. The pair has sailed together to Hobart more than 30 times, including a memorable outright win in 1992. Fittingly, Ellis will again be with Fischer on the latest Ragamuffin for his 40th race.

Tony has done just about every type of competitive sailing possible, including the America’s Cup, but says that ocean racing is his greatest love, and that the camaraderie that grows between crews as they meet the challenges thrown up by the sea is what draws him back. He suspects, though, that if you asked his wife why he is doing his 40th the word "certifiable" might get a run.

David Ellis and Bill Riley will each compete in their 25th Rolex Sydney Hobart this year. Dave Ellis, who will join the crew of Wot Yot this year, nominates 1993 as his most memorable voyage. He was aboard Ninety Seven when she won line honours after all the big boats had been forced to retire in the rough conditions.

"It was harder than in 1998 and the achievement, in such a new boat, is something I will never forget," he says.

Bill Riley, who will sail aboard Graeme Wood's Wot's Next, still vividly recalls his first ever race, on board the famous Ballandra in 1978.

"We had 36 hours of 35-45 knots, there were just three of us still functioning out of the crew and I just pumped the boat every 20 minutes. That was my job. That's when I learned that yachts have a lot in common with submarines,” he says.

He keeps coming back, he says, because no race is ever the same as any other.

"That's the fascination that draws you back - this race is never just another race,” says Riley.

A medallion will also be awarded to Mary Holley, who is racing to Hobart for the 10th time, this year with husband Jim on their Farr 40 Aurora. The awarding of medallions to women who have completed 10 races recognises the growing involvement and significance of women in the event.

Mary Holley concedes that it can still be harder for women to get into ocean racing, but says that if they persevere they will succeed.

"What gets you to Hobart is seamanship, not physical strength and charging up and down the foredeck," she says.

Mary says that husband Jim has been very encouraging, but she was determined that her very first Rolex Sydney Hobart in 1997 would not be on board his boat.

"I wanted to get a ride on my own merits, not because I was the skipper's wife," she said.

Her first race was pretty benign and Mary reached Hobart thinking it wasn't that difficult after all, a view she quickly revised the following year - 1998. But by then she had come to love the challenge and the great feeling of accomplishment.

Over the years the Tasmanian Government has recognised 73 yachtsmen and 10 yachtswomen who have reached these extraordinary milestones in ocean racing.

The medallions will be presented at the trophy presentation for the 2006 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht race at the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania on January 1, 2007.