Cable finishes his 47th Rolex Sydney Hobart

• NEWS
• 30 Dec, 2012 02:00:00 PM

Cable finishes his 47th Rolex Sydney Hobart

Race veteran Tony Cable’s record 47th Rolex Sydney Hobart was his chance to make amends after being forced to retire from last’s year race - and it was a success.

The 70-year-old Sydney yachtsman crossed the finish line on board Damien Parkes' Duende just after 1100hours AEDT, after three days, 22 hours, nine minutes at sea.

"It wasn't one of the easiest ones, but it wasn't one of the hardest by far,'' he said.

"We were working very hard - the conditions were over 30 knots - which makes it hard work, but everyone was more than capable."

Reaching Hobart is what has kept Cable returning to the race since he first competed as a 19-year-old in 1961 on board 33-foot yacht Tarni, racing bare-foot, under the steam of cotton sails.

When Cable was forced to retire to Eden last year when Duende had engine trouble, he booked a ticket to Tasmania so he wouldn't miss out on the revelry.

"I've definitely made amends now,'' said the man they call 'Glarke Cable', a play on famous actor Clark Gable. "You hate having to pull out. With all the work you put into doing a Hobart race, to pull out after half a day, a day, it's so disappointing."

While most are quick to say "never again" when they're docking at Hobart's Constitution Dock, with battle-wounds still raw from the 628 nautical mile ocean challenge, Cable says he'll likely be back.

Drying off dockside, after falling in to the harbour while unloading the yacht, he said he's leaving it in the lap of the gods.

"We'll see what Huey (the weather God) has in store," he said. "There's a year to go, so who know what will happen. It will be hard to give up Hobart."

By Danielle McKay, Rolex Sydney Hobart media team