Ocean-Yachting - Hobart Race 2004 http://rolexsydneyhobart.com - zur Übersicht 24. Dezember 2004 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 60th Anniversary Sydney/Hobart, AUS A fearsome forecast for the battle to Hobart The organisers of the 60th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race have left competitors in no doubt of the severe conditions that stand in their way when they leave Sydney Harbour this Sunday, Boxing Day. Chairman of the race committee Tim Cox stressed that the onus for each yacht's safety lay squarely on the shoulders of the skipper. "For anyone who was thinking there might be a postponement, that is not my intention," he said. While the first 24 hours offer a rapid downwind ride down the coast of indexland Australia, conditions could turn very nasty soon afterwards, according to Peter Dunda from the Bureau of Meteorology. Speaking to representatives of each of the 117 boats on Christmas Eve at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, Dunda warned that Monday would bring south-westerly winds averaging 35-45 knots, combined with temperatures in the low teens. By Tuesday he predicted the winds would be averaging 40-50 knots, with waves reaching heights of 6-9 metres. The nervous silence in the room turned to nervous laughter when Dunda added: "It looks like there will be hail showers embedded in there." Few sailors would contemplate heading out into such a forecast were it not for the prestige of a classic ocean race driving them on. One of Australia's best-known sailors and yacht designers is at the helm of Targé, the Reichel/Pugh 60 that won the Rolex Trophy in Sydney just a few days ago. Targé is a high-tech yacht that has suffered some worrisome breakdowns in recent months. "We retired in the Flinders Island Race with front rudder problems," Murray admitted. "It's a computer controlled boat, and when the computer's not computing, things aren't good. I think we've learned to live with operating this electronic gadgetry. We understand how to use it. But the boat is very light ...so it's not a dream forecast for us." Murray, and indeed most sailors, say the forecast looks set to favour the 'big three' - last year's line honours winner Skandia, last year's runner-up Konica Minolta, and the newly-launched Nicorette. Despite such a big test so early in the life of Nicorette, her skipper Ludde Ingvall reindexs confident: "We're absolutely ready. I'd rather have a new boat than an old boat. We've completed our tests. We've been checking our crew manoeuvres. If the boat is correctly engineered it should be able to take anything the Bass Strait throws at us." Measurement issues have swirled around Skandia these past days, but skipper Grant Wharington claimed to be unbothered by all the fuss. "Same bun fight, different year," he quipped. "There's always something going on in relation to measurement. The eyes of the world are upon us, but we produced our measurement certificate and nothing changed really. We were ready to answer any questions that were out there and we didn't have anything to hide. Our weight now is published as slightly different from what it was, but no one knows if the load cell is different from the one in Melbourne. Our preparations have been fantastic." Wharington has left no stone unturned in his quest to defend last year's line honours victory. "We've just put a new indexsail up yesterday for the first time. The rule when you're going to Hobart is that to get there with the same indexsail you need to put up a brand new one." AAPT has been trialling a new sail of a very different kind - a high-flying kite to be used instead of a more traditional spinnaker - but skipper Sean Langman said he would be leaving it in Sydney. "Given the forecast, I think my wife is at home rigging it up as a canopy for Christmas lunch. We'll go with what we know works, and we'll save the kite for another day." Langman said that after a couple of retirements in recent years, he was keen to finish the race. "I want to get to Tasmania, that's the first goal, I've got a holiday booked down there afterwards." British sailor Jakki Moores on Sydney 38 Lexar is another who would be happy just to make it to Hobart in the face of such a foreboding forecast. "We're going to have a tough time, but we're well prepared and we've been practising our reefing manoeuvres," she said. "You don't come here not expecting to see big waves." The Rolex Sydney Hobart starts from Sydney Harbour, off Nielson Park, at 1310 AEDT/local time (0210 GMT) on Boxing Day, Sunday 26th December 2004. A live telecast on Network Ten (Australia) will screen from 1300 until 1400 AEDT. POSITION REPORTING Website: www.rolexsydneyhobart.com featuring Yacht Tracker which charts 10 minute position updates from each competing yacht. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION & HIGH RESOLUTION IMAGES CONTACT: KEY PARTNERS (KPMS) M. +61 424496941 info@regattanews.com www.regattanews.com Copyright © 1996-2016 - SEGEL.DE