Thank heavens the wait is over

• NEWS
• 12 Dec, 2005 09:46:00 AM

Thank heavens the wait is over

Originally built for well known Sydney yachtsman Warren Johns, Heaven Can Wait was conceived with one aim in mind - to win the 2000 Rolex Sydney Hobart.

Former Dinghy World Champion Prepares For Rolex Sydney Hobart

It has been five long years but at last Queensland yacht Heaven Can Wait is on her way south. The boat is due to arrive in Sydney today to begin preparations for its first Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

Originally built for well known Sydney yachtsman Warren Johns, Heaven Can Wait was conceived with one aim in mind - to win the 2000 Rolex Sydney Hobart. He had taken the deck off his 1994 50 footer and had UK designer Hugh Welbourne design a modern, fast hull to go under it.  But in the end, ill health forced Johns to abandon his dream. After surviving a heart attack Johns named his new pride Heaven Can Wait and moved to Hamilton Island. For years he refused to part with her, but his health remained too much of a concern for a comeback.

This year, though, Queenslander Peter Hollis talked Johns into selling, and now he is determined Heaven Can Wait will wait no longer.

Since acquiring the boat midyear Hollis has embarked on a major program to modernise her, with a new rig and modified keel.  A former world champion in the Contender single-handed dinghy class who was awarded the Yachtsman of the Year in 1974, Hollis has assembled a hugely experienced crew with more than a hundred Rolex Sydney Hobart races between them.  Penny Haire, a Fastnet veteran from the UK will navigate.

“It’s a serious event so you have got to be serious,” Hollis says. 

“It is a daunting race and it takes an enormous amount of work to meet the standards the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia sets for competing boats.”

Hollis is a very competitive sailor. He is in it to win. So far he has favoured the warmer waters of Queensland, so this will be his first Rolex Sydney Hobart. 

“I’ve followed this race for fifty years and I finally got sick of people saying you have to do a Hobart,” said Hollis.

He says the big maxis are the biggest threat to Heaven Can Wait fulfilling Warren Johns winning ambitions.

“I reckon they have a 5% advantage on handicap, so we need at least 24 hours of tough conditions that will force them to slow down,” he said.

That is up to the gods, but if they do favour the mid-sized yachts this year Hollis is confident that, despite the delay, Heaven Can Wait is ready to deliver.

“We’ve brought together guys from Queensland and New South Wales who have had a long association with the boat over the years, so it is all really coming together,” he said.