Ocean-Yachting - Hobart Race 2004 www.rolexsydneyhobart.com - zur Übersicht 28. Dezember 2004 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 60th Anniversary Sydney/Hobart, AUS INGVALL NURSES NICORETTE TOWARDS HOBART AS DAMAGE TOLL MOUNTS Sixty-two yachts still battling the southerly gale off Tasmania Harsh weather continues to take a fearsome toll on the fleet in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race. After leaping on to a life raft this morning with the rest of his crew, skipper Grant Wharington is mounting a rescue operation for his super maxi yacht Skandia. No sooner had he made it ashore aboard a police launch, but Wharington took a flight over the yacht this afternoon to see that the boat had capsized, after the damaged canting keel finally broke away from the hull. Wharington fronted up to the media in Hobart this evening. He was remarkably composed, relieved that he and his 15 crew members had escaped alive and unscathed. "It wasn't what we planned for the day," he said, with typical Aussie understatement. "Canting keels are at the cutting edge of technology," he added, "and ocean racing is a dangerous sport. We are like test pilots in Formula One and at this level things can break. We are fortunate to get away with our lives, and to be able to sail another race." Helmsman Gavin Brady was similarly thankful to have got away unharmed from the structural breakdown of Konica Minolta. With a westerly chop riding on top of a southerly swell, he said the seas were desperately confused. "Unfortunately we got one wave with the chop and the swell coming together, and our bow stuck in the middle - and that was it - all over. I thought when I heard the bang, and the boat came down off that wave, I thought I was looking at OneAustralia [the America's Cup boat which snapped in half and sank during the Cup in San Diego 1995]. I thought the crack was going to go down the side of the boat, and it was going to break in half. It was pretty scary. Luckily it stopped where the windows are. We were definitely going to snap the boat in half if we carried on." With those twin retirements, the sole reindexing super maxi Nicorette is making slow and careful progress towards Hobart where she could take a classic double win of line honours and IRC handicap. The co-designers of this brand new and untested Maxi are waiting nervously in Hobart. "I hope to see them coming round the corner here," said Maarten Voogd. "We just hope to get the boat in one piece into Hobart. I think it's fair to say we have the same chance of structural damage as they've got. The boats are really highly loaded. There is no give in carbon, so if it gives, it breaks. There is no margin for error." Die Skandia kieloben Foto: Daniel Forster While many have wondered if Nicorette's lack of proven sailing miles would be her undoing, Voogd's co-designing colleague Alex Simonis offered an alternative theory. "It may be to their benefit that the boat is so new, because the guys didn't know how hard to push the boat, so they were not going as hard as the others. That may be what has saved them so far." At current progress, and with around 80 miles to the finish, Nicorette is expected into Hobart early tomorrow morning (29th December). Of the 116 entries, 53 skippers have now confirmed their retirement to the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia. With little sign of the fierce wind and waves relenting, there will be more retirements. Sailors are beginning to realise that simply getting to Hobart in one piece is likely to bring them a good overall result. The race has become a test of seamanship above all else. Keel failure has been the theme of the past 24 hours, but the steep seas also brought the first dismasting of the race. Veteran skipper Syd Fischer, who was competing in his 35th race to Hobart, reported to the Race Committee that his Farr 50 Ragamuffin had been dismasted due east of Flinders Island. Another experienced campaigner, Geoff Ross, pulled Yendys out of the race when lying in 8th place after tearing her indexsail. While a number of the leading boats are following Nicorette's philosophy of tacking close to the Tasmanian coastline to avoid the worst of the waves, two notable exceptions are the Farr 52 Ichi Ban and the 55-footer Aera. Nick Lykiardopulo and his team of experienced Brits on Aera are lying in sixth place overall. In these conditions Lykiardopulo will be thankful that he can rely on some round-the-world racing veterans such as skipper Jez Fanstone to give Aera its best chance of reaching Hobart intact. Despite the brutal conditions, few sailors have a bad word to say about this race. Asked if he'd be back next year, Stewart Thwaites replied: "Every year I say it's my last one, but probably I'll be back." Even for Grant Wharington, with his boat capsized and uninsured many miles out to sea, his enthusiasm for the Rolex Sydney Hobart reindexs undiminished. "I'll be back," he promised. "This is a great race, isn't it?" Provisional Line Honours standings recorded at 2150 (AEDT) local time, 28 December 2004 1. Nicorette 2. AAPT 3. Brindabella 4. Aera 5. Nokia 6. Seriously Ten Rolex Sydney Hobart Race Record: Nokia DEN/AUS 1 day 19 hrs 48 mins 02 secs in 1999 (Expired 8.58AM AEDT on Tuesday 28th December) 28. Dezember 2004 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 60th Anniversary Sydney/Hobart, AUS Pole position for Nicorette as Skandia and Konica suffer break downs The police launch Van Dieman has safely rescued the crew of Maxi yacht Skandia after keel problems forced last year's winner out of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race. The 98-foot Maxi retired from the race when the hydraulic ram that controls the canting keel snapped, leaving the lead bulb jammed hard over to starboard. Initially it appeared that Grant Wharington and his crew would be able to limp back to shore, but the skipper decided the safer option would be to deploy two life rafts and wait alongside the stricken yacht. While the Skandia crisis unfolded, her arch rival for line honours Konica Minolta was also forced out of the race after falling badly off a freak wave. Skipper Stewart Thwaites said: "We barrelled off a ginormous (sic) wave, crashed down the other side of it. I was down below, I heard the boat crash, and it came to a stop. The boys said it was twice as big as any other wave." So severe was the landing that it creased the cabin top, but the most serious damage was to the keel attachment point. Thwaites was worried that if they continued into the adverse southerly swell, the keel would break away from the yacht or that the yacht would even fold in half at the crease point. Retirement to the shelter of the Tasmanian fishing village, Binnalong Bay, was the only option. These retirements have handed the race lead to Nicorette, a brand new Maxi competing in her first race. Launched from a Sydney boat yard just a few weeks ago, this was the yacht that many sailors and media pundits were predicting would fail to last the distance. And it could yet happen, as the fleet crashes and bangs its way to Hobart in southerly headwinds gusting to 40 knots. The race committee of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia is receiving more retirements by the hour, with 42 of the 116-boat fleet having pulled out and another 11 waiting in the haven of Twofold Bay at Eden before deciding whether to continue. But so far so good for Ludde Ingvall's new 90-footer, which seems to be coping with the rough stuff better than most. The skipper was sounding very relaxed when he spoke on satellite phone from Nicorette this morning. He explained his strategy of heading inshore to finding less severe winds in the lee of Tasmania's eastern seaboard. "As soon as we go out it gets rougher, and it gets calmer as you come inshore. We try to keep ourselves in the 35-knot band. But I think it's going to get worse before it gets better. The forecast seems to be for more breeze today. The seaway is not too bad. We're just trying not to break anything." Ingvall is aware that luck will play a strong part in the outcome. "It's not the way you want to win a yacht race, although we haven't won anything yet. It just takes one bad wave and you're in trouble," he said, adding his sympathies for the stricken yachts. "It's bad luck, I'm sorry for the other guys, but that's the game I guess. I guess it's a bit ironic about being people saying our boat was not being prepared or not being tested enough, but as it is we're quite comfortable, or as comfortable as you can be under the circumstances." Provisional standings, recorded at 0850 (AEDT) local time, 28 December 2004 Line honours 1. Nicorette 2. AAPT 3. Brindabella 4. Seriously Ten 5. Nokia 6. Ichi Ban Rolex Sydney Hobart Race Record: Nokia DEN/AUS 1 day 19 hrs 48 mins 02 secs in 1999 (Expired 8.58AM AEDT on Tuesday 28th December) POSITION REPORTING Website: www.rolexsydneyhobart.com featuring Yacht Tracker which charts 10 minute position updates from each competing yacht. 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