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“It doesn’t matter about winning” - Philip Bell on Why He Races to Hobart

Home 2025 “It doesn’t matter about winning” - Philip Bell on Why He Races to Hobart

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For most skippers lining up for the start of the 2025 Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, the finish line is a measure of results and rankings, but for Philip Bell, skipper of the veteran boat She, the race represents something different.

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“It doesn’t matter about winning - that’s not even on our agenda, really,” Bell says candidly during a pre-race interview at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia. “What’s on the agenda is everyone testing their comfort zones and doing the best they can.”  

For the Queenslander and his crew, many of whom are returning from previous races, the Rolex Sydney Hobart is less about competing against the rest of the fleet and more about confronting the challenging elements themselves. It’s a grounded perspective in a sport where attention is usually on Line Honours and Overall results. 

"The Hobart is a test. Are you still up to it? Are you up to putting yourself on the edge and dealing with issues as they arise," Bell questions himself.  

This will be his fifth Sydney Hobart, but remarkably, it will be She’s 23rd entry into the prestigious event. That experienced perspective is reflected in how Bell speaks about finishing positions.  

"If we happen to get third place, well, fantastic - but if we end up 10th, that's good too," he says with an unbothered shrug of contentment.  

Clearly, what Bell values most is not a flashy podium finish, but rather those moments throughout the race itself when things go wrong, challenges are overcome, and his crew finds a way through.  

"One of the great joys is when we have a little disaster -and we invariably do - the guys pull together, and we get back in the saddle," he explains. It’s in those tougher moments - when equipment fails, or conditions turn unfavourable - that Bell believes his crew is truly tested. And meeting that challenge matters more to him than any result. 

Philip Bell ready to go on She - CYCA/Di Pearson pic.

But before She can even contemplate undertaking the race, there’s the mammoth task of getting her to the start line in the first place. As an interstate traveller located on the Gold Coast, Bell and his crew face a consistent logistical challenge.  

"I suppose the hardest part for us is we've got to do a 400-mile trip to get here. That's a big four-day undertaking," Bell notes. 

The journey down the New South Wales coast from home is no easy feat.  

"I think the East Coast here between the Gold Coast and Eden is some of the worst sailing conditions anywhere that I've ever been - and I think people probably underestimate that," he says emphatically.  

It’s a unique perspective derived from experience, having navigated such waters throughout multiple trips. The East Australian Current and the weather systems that sweep across it can create conditions that can be every bit as challenging as Bass Strait itself. 

"The way we look at it - it's kind of like three races," Bell explains. "We've got to make sure she gets here (to Sydney), then you do the race, then you've got to get her home, and it's 1,100 miles to get home. It's a big commitment." 

That 1,100-mile return journey - roughly double the distance of the Sydney to Hobart itself - emphasises the scale of the undertaking for interstate crews. By the time She returns home, the crew will have covered nearly 2,200 nautical miles. It's an odyssey that transforms the race from a two to three day sprint into a multi-week expedition. 

For Bell, that commitment is part of the appeal. The preparation, challenges, and the need to work through problems as a crew, are central to why he continues to enter the race. 

Starting on the fourth line when the fleet leaves Sydney on Boxing Day, She is not a contender for Line Honours and sailing under PHS, the Olsen 40 cannot win the Tattersall Cup. But Bell could win PHS Overall. That, he says, is not the measure he is working towards. 

"We're going to have to deal with the elements, and we have no say - so it's a good test of resilience for me and also the crew." 

It’s a view shaped by experience and an acceptance of the variables that define offshore racing. For the She crew, the focus is on managing the boat and responding effectively to conditions as they arise. 

As the fleet readies for the start, She represents a campaign built around preparation and crew cohesion - qualities that continue to underpin the Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. 

Jack Dibb/RSHYR