New race record may have 'gone with the wind'

• NEWS
• 27 Dec, 2005 08:04:00 AM

New race record may have 'gone with the wind'

Light overnight winds have frustrated the competitors in the Rolex Sydney Hobart yacht race, with the fleet strung out along the NSW coast in listless, variable conditions as the sun rose on day two.

Light overnight winds have frustrated the competitors in the Rolex Sydney Hobart yacht race, with the fleet strung out along the NSW coast in listless, variable conditions as the sun rose on day two. 

The yachts have slowed right down and whereas day one was a drag race with all the boats clinging to the rhumbline, this morning the fleet is much more spread out.

Wild Oats XI has stayed close to the coast while Alfa Romeo and Skandia have gone further out to sea looking for wind.  The same tactical decisions are being reflected further back in the fleet, which is spreading out east to west as well as north to south. 

The frontrunners have entered Bass Strait with helicopter reports showing Alfa Romeo in the lead.

While there have been no official retirements, the German entry Conergy is reported to be heading back to Sydney with a leaking stern gland.

Frustrating overnight winds have put a record run in doubt.  The leading yachts have slipped behind Nokia’s 1999 record schedule and with each hour of fickle wind the prospects of them catching her again are fading. 

A 10 to 15 knot north-easter is forecast for this afternoon, freshening to 20 to 30 knots overnight, and if the breeze does pick up early it could be that the record hangs in the balance right up to the 9:08 deadline in Hobart tomorrow morning, but at the moment that is all wishful thinking. 

Right now, as Bret Filby on Tow Truck put it further back in the fleet: “we’ve got more current than wind.”

LATEST UPDATE:  Yacht Tracker at 08:00 hours indicated that Wild Oats XI, sailing down the rhumbline course, has been the first to pick up a freshening westerly breeze, accelerating to 18 knots and increasing her lead over Alfa Romeo. However,  Alfa Romeo has now picked up the breeze as the leaders head into Bass Strait, her speed currently just over 16 knots.