The south-going East Australia Current off the coast of New South Wales can vary in its strength. But if there’s power in it at its strongest streams about ten miles and more offshore, even a moderate to fresh southerly wind can kick up steep enough seas to make the going decidedly rugged for boats and crew racing the annual 628-mile Rolex Sydney-Hobart Race.
All this is added to the strong possibility of Yuletide over-indulgence the day before the start and that - plus the fact that COVID-10 saw the race completely cancelled in 2020 – leads us to the feeling that a slight amount of personnel rustiness resulted in the description of the first stage as being “a wild night at sea”.
By comparison with the truly hairy first night of last August’s Fastnet Race, it was only a brisk thrash to windward. But if there hadn’t been some breakages and retirals, the conclusion would have been that the fleet is significantly over-strength – and therefore over-weight - in terms of hull build and rig configuration. So in the particular circumstances of the continuing 2021 race, the rate of retirement is more or less at the level you’d reasonably expect.
As a mainly straight line course, the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race may seem an uncomplicated affair……..
………but underlying factors like the varying East Australian Current add to its challenges
That said, the going was tough enough, and the tough got going, with Ireland well represented in the quality rather than the quantity stakes. Mark Mills designs - which have emanated from the rural depths of County Wicklow - have been having their moments at the front of the fleet, and aboard Matt Allen’s Botin 52 Ichi Ban – a sort of turbo-charged TP52 which is the lowest-rated boat in Class 0 and defending overall champion - Sailing Master Gordon Maguire was with a crew which sought out the best that the East Australian Current could offer, as they slugged further eastward than virtually all of the rest of the fleet.
They may have overdone it slightly in the earlier stages of the race, for as the boats came together again approaching Australia’s southeast corner of Cape Howe, the slightly lower-rated TP 52 Celestial (Sam Haynes) was marginally ahead after holding slightly more closely to the Australian coast. And another TP 52 – Sebastien Bohm’s Smuggler – is also close there in the mix. But in recent hours in crossing the Bass Strait and still going very much to windward - though in lighter breezes – Ichi Ban has been showing ahead on calculated places.
Christian Beck’s Juan K-designed super-maxi Law Connect is now vying with Peter Harburg’s Blackjack for the line honours lead. Photo: Andre Francolini
In fact, so intense is the continuing analysis of this race that the calculated leader changes almost by the minute, and though Ichi Ban has only got as far up the rankings as third overall in IRC, she has been comfortably in the lead in Class 0 for some time.
The race tracker reveals the changing situation as the slackening wind draws slightly more off the Tasmanian coast, with dawn coming up to reveal Peter Harburg’s 100ft Blackjack and Christian Beck’s super-maxi Law Connect in contention for the line honours lead, though with 200 miles still to sail. However, the combination of an offshore wind with slackening strength makes the likelihood of a lottery-style driftathon final leg up the Derwent River to the Hobart waterfront finish line all the more likely, and as it is, speeds have been right down at various stages through the Australian night.
There is still a long way to go, and plenty of time for the little boats to stake their claim as a new breeze finally settles in.
Clearing the tanks before the start…... As the defending champion, Ichi Ban received much attention before the start from the circling helicopters, and they weren’t even allowed a minute’s peace for essential business……..
