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A Roller Coaster of Life - Hayes Reflects on Challenge and Triumph

Home 2025 A Roller Coaster of Life - Hayes Reflects on Challenge and Triumph

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“It’s like a roller coaster of life,” that’s how Matt Hayes, owner/skipper of Veloce, sums up the 2025 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race — a race that delivered extremes of weather, emotion and endurance, before rewarding patience with a hard-earned finish in Hobart.

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 Time & Date: 30/12/2025 –1500 (98 hours after the start)  

“It starts off with all the fanfare and excitement of the start, after leaving the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia,” Hayes, from Sydney, said. “All the boats, all the activity, all the preparation — and then suddenly you’re into 220-odd nautical miles of slogging upwind.” 

For Veloce, an Italia 1298 and the only new boat in the fleet, that slog came quickly and brutally. Gale-force conditions greeted the crew early, with winds pushing into the 30–40 knot range and forcing the boat into survival mode. 

“We had to pull the mainsail down and put the storm jib up,” Hayes said. “You’re just trying to make your way into some sort of calmer water.” 

The physical challenge was matched by the emotional one. As the race crossed Bass Strait, the wild conditions gave way to calmer seas — and then no wind at all. 

“You’ve got to deal with those emotions,” Hayes said. “You go from surviving gales to dealing with the frustration of no wind.” 

Eventually, the breeze returned and so did the magic. Sunshine broke through, the boat stretched its legs, and the Tasmanian coast delivered some of the race’s most memorable sailing. 

“The sun came out, the wind came in — it was beautiful,” Hayes said. “Fast, straight-line sailing at its finest. Just magical conditions cruising down the coast.” 

Veloce thrived. She performed strongly, the crew stayed in good spirits, and confidence grew as Hobart edged closer. But the race wasn’t finished with them yet. 

After rounding Tasman Island, only a handful of miles from the finish, the wind shut down again. 

“There’s another frustration, another challenge,” Hayes said. “You get the wind, you take off, then you lose it again.” 

When the breeze finally filled in for the last time, Veloce surged home — and the sense of achievement ran deep. Now in his 60s, Hayes, an Olympian, sees the Sydney Hobart not just as a race, but as a personal test.  

“It’s a wonderful thing to do,” he said. “A great adventure. A great challenge. It’s good to push yourself and try to maintain your youth in some way.” 

This year’s race was especially meaningful, with Hayes sailing alongside his eldest son, Josh, who was competing in his first Hobart. 

“He’s heard all the tales of the past,” Hayes said. “He’s been down at Constitution Dock welcoming me home before — but this time he lived it.” 

For Hayes, this was his 20th Sydney Hobart, having first raced at just 18, later completing around 10 races with legendary yachtsman Syd Fischer aboard Ragamuffin. After a seven-year break — spent cruising, sailing long passages including to the Red Sea, and embracing sailing as a lifestyle — he returned to the race, feeling refreshed. 

“That’s the great thing about sailing,” he said. “It’s not just racing. It’s cruising, it’s adventure, it’s family. It’s a brotherhood.” 

He said Veloce never gave cause for concern, even in the worst conditions, praising the Italian-built yacht and its carbon mast, as well as the blend of youth and experience onboard. On the crew was 2000 Olympic 470 gold medallist, Jenny Armstrong. 

“The camaraderie was incredible,” Hayes said. “Some of the best I’ve experienced in this race.” 

For Hayes, that shared experience is what keeps drawing sailors back to events like the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race — no matter how many times they’ve crossed the line. 

“It’s a sport you can do from the age of four until you’re old,” he said. “That’s why I love it.” 

Steve Dettre/RSHYR media  

Top image - ROLEX/Andrea Francolini