A cold, miserable night as fleet regroups

• NEWS
• 28 Dec, 2010 02:15:00 PM

A cold, miserable night as fleet regroups

Pain and pleasure are all about perspective. Even when you are cold, tired, and the boat beneath you is slamming off six metre waves, there can be plusses as well as minuses as the Rolex Sydney Hobart fleet is finding out.

Pain and pleasure are all about perspective.  Even when you are cold, tired, and the boat beneath you is slamming off six metre waves, there can be plusses as well as minuses as the Rolex Sydney Hobart fleet is finding out.
 
Modern maxi yachts need very little wind to reach incredible speeds.  But in big seas and gale force winds the order of business quickly shifts to boat preservation, shedding those acres of sail and trying to steer through waves rather than launching into the void off the top of them at speed.  So after more than a day of this, spirits soar with the return of the sun and a moderate breeze.
 
"We are in full race mode now," Lahana trimmer and helmsman Geoff Cropley reported late this morning as his yacht left Bass Strait to skirt wide round the north Tasmanian coast. 

"Everybody is pumped and we're going very hard.  The sky is clear, we're in a breeze from the south west, we have a full mainsail up and a Code 2 headsail." 

The relief in his voice is palpable.  For so much of this Rolex Sydney Hobart it has all been about self preservation.

"I'd be lying to say it wasn't tough," Cropley says.

"It was a tough day, bloody miserable and cold.  This particular boat spent a fair amount of time in the air, slamming off waves which made life pretty uncomfortable."
 
"We had to be pretty conservative.  Reduce sail.  Steer through the waves, not slam off them.  Slamming is how you break the boat," Cropley added.
 

"We're pretty up now," said Investec Loyal skipper Sean Langman at 11am today.  "We had some seasickness in the crew but everyone's up in the sun now.
 
"The water/electronics problem on these boats is constant.  We've been working round the clock to keep the systems going.

“We are in reasonably good shape though we didn't realise until this morning that we had a substantial leak in the bow and took on a ton and a half of water. When we opened the watertight bulkhead the water came gushing out."
 
Both Investec Loyal and Peter Millard and John Honan’s 98 footer Lahana are drawing heart from the expected lightening of the breeze as they chase Wild Oats XI down the final stretch. 
 
"Our strategy is to be the most easterly boat (furthest out to sea) and stay quite deep for a number of hours before we start shunting up towards the Tasman light," Cropley says. 

"We do not want to get sucked into the coast too early."
 
"A lot of it (getting past Wild Oats XI) is the time of arrival.  We'll arrive at Tasman Island as the breeze fades, the sun goes down and the wind shuts down (in the Derwent River)." 

Variable breeze on the river just might offer the tactical opportunity that has eluded Wild Oats XI's challengers so far.

UK navigator Mike Broughton reports the water getting into the fuel tank on Chris Bull’s Cookson 50 Jazz almost cost them a chance to complete the great Aussie blue water classic.

“We’ve had some power problems with water getting into our diesel onboard, hence we have had to severely restrict use of power,” said Broughton.
 
“Morale onboard is good as we slowly sort out our engine. Anthony (Ski) Haines our boat captain has been up to his elbows in diesel trying to sort the problem out, not much fun in a seaway.

“He thinks we have so much water in the fuel that we will have to pump out the whole system when we get to Hobart.

“For a while this was nearly a turn back to Eden issue, we were so worried about it about half way across Bass Strait. The boat stank of diesel for most of yesterday, all good fun in 40 knots of wind!
 
“I am working hard to thread our way between what looks to be two areas of light wind ahead and so far this looks to be working and we are making good progress south with 210 miles to run to Tasman Island,” Broughton added.

Not everyone is pleased that the breeze has softened. Unlike the supermaxis, Matt Allen's Volvo 70 Ichi Ban was built for round the world racing. She has relished the big southerly and has sailed a great race, lying fourth behind Wild Oats XI, Lahana and Investec Loyal and ahead of bigger rivals. 
 
"We've been really pleased with how it's been going," Allen says, "the hardest part will be when we encounter light airs. Wild Oats XI is better than us in light airs so hopefully we can keep the (wind) pressure going.
 
"It's been pretty easy compared to the worst scenarios we've seen over the years. The boat handled it really well. We didn't have any issues apart from the wind gear at the top of the mast.  We are not confident yet of putting someone up to look at it.

"Certainly when you look at the worst years we've had, this was a long way short of those bad years."
 
For Rolex Sydney Hobart first-timer Matt Hayden the whole experience on Investec Loyal has been a baptism of fire, the former Australian Test Opener likening his debut race to a cricket boot camp.

"The last 28 hours have been pretty hectic; pretty big seas, a lot of people getting sick, lots of things not going to plan,” said Hayden.

“But it's been a great experience - there are enormous technical things that I don't understand but I have enjoyed watching as they’ve crafted out strategy and tactics.
 
"I'm not sorry I signed up.  Even last night at 3am in the morning it was a very surreal experience.  What it is like to be on the most remote part of the planet. The moon was out, the seas steady and 10 to 16 dolphins illuminating the water with the phosphorous from their noses, similar to fireworks going off in the water. They're experiences you never forget."
 
It has been an extraordinary initiation for an athlete more at home on a flat cricket pitch. 

"I'd be lying to say I'm not looking forward to the finishing line,” he said.

“Hopefully we'll have our noses in front." 

By Jim Gale, Rolex Sydney Hobart media team