# Sydney to Hobart 2010



## tdw

An unsurprising start to this year's classic. Wild Oats XI first out the heads and rhumb lining it to Hobart.

What a boat. Four time line honours, just pipped by Alfa Romeo last year, two times Line Honours and holder of the race record.

Moving south with a nor westerly hustling them on but a plus thirty knot southerly due to give the fleet a smack across the chops late tonight early tomorrow.

Depending on how much south is in it the race record looks safe and the whole thing should turn into a race for survival. Not predicted to be on the scale of 1998 but slamming across BassStrait into the teeth of a southerly gale is not for me or the equally faint hearted.

On form and of it turns into an on the nose slog current second place Loyal should give WOXI a run for her money.

Give an eye out for Ragamuffin. Skippered by the legendary Syd Fisher she may be a shot at handicap. Fisher is 83 years old and is competing in his 42nd Hobart. One of his earliest Rags won the 1971 Fastnet. Another once Rags now named Spirit of Koomooloo is also competing.

http://rolexsydneyhobart.com/default.asp?key=521


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## smackdaddy

Oh man! I'm IN!


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## SimonV

Hi Andy, did you see the maxi ram the rear of the Officals boat at the first turnning mark. LOL. realy shoved them out of the way.


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## smackdaddy

The "premier rough ocean passage of the circuit" {Hubbards - _"Dawn Star"_]. Okay, I wanna do this race some day. Crikey. This is what it's all about.


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## tdw

SimonV said:


> Hi Andy, did you see the maxi ram the rear of the Officals boat at the first turnning mark. LOL. realy shoved them out of the way.


Simon,
Unbelievable eh ? How on earth they got themselves into that position beggars belief. Thankfully there doesn't appear to have been any damage done.
Trust all is well with you.
Rain has stopped down here, off to boat tomorrow to finish off a couple of things and then heading down to Jervis I hope. Would like to get down to Batemans and Eden but weather will dictate that.
Cheers to you.
Andrew



> The "premier rough ocean passage of the circuit" {Hubbards - _"Dawn Star"_]. Okay, I wanna do this race some day. Crikey. This is what it's all about.


Smack,
I've never done it, in fact never done any offshore racing and to be honest don't have the inclination nor probably the cajones. If you search youtube you'll find footage of the '98 Hobart, Just looking at it scares the hell out of me. Out of my league. I'm more one for staying in port and hoping to dodge the weather. Maybe one day these kind of seas will find me but I sure as hell am not going looking for them.

Update

According to website Lahana (30m maxi, older boat owned by Peter Millard and winner of this years's Brisbane to Great Kepell Island race by 22 seconds over WildOatsXI) is currently leading the field. She's a fixed keel and could be expected to shine if conditions turn ugly as predicted. Her lead may be due to WOXI heading out to sea while Lahana is taking the rhumb line.

edit..I'm suspecting that Lahana's position may not be correct and that WOXI is out in front. The tracking map is not making a lot of sense.

edit - positions just posted now showing WOXI, two nms ahead of Loyal with Lahana a further two nms back. That makes a bit more sense.


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## blt2ski

How can you folks down under be starting a race on boxer day, still have 2 some odd hrs of christmas day left!LOL so some of us are a bit behind the times eh?!?!?!

now to go look at the phun!

Marty


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## tdw

blt2ski said:


> How can you folks down under be starting a race on boxer day, still have 2 some odd hrs of christmas day left!LOL so some of us are a bit behind the times eh?!?!?!
> 
> now to go look at the phun!
> 
> Marty


That's it Marty. Xmas done and dusted. Hooray. Woohoo !!.

Mind you I celebrated in my own quiet way ... I celebrate the Feats of the Baby Cheeses.


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## mhalchemy

Watched the start - very odd ramming of the news boat. Poor form by someone there.

Just re the roughness - Tasman can be very nasty. Did the trip on a very large ferry two years ago and we were pitching too hard to walk. Couldn't imagine it in a small yacht.

Indeed I believe the great Joshua Slocum remarked that the Tasman had terrible seas with little warning, worse than anywhere else he had experiences.


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## tdw

Can be an ugly stretch of water the Tasman. Nothing between it and the Antarctic so the weather can get quite a run up. Comes charging in like Dennis Lillee in his prime.

The change went over Sydney in the last hour. Blew like snot and now its bucketing down.

Oooohhh 'eck .. glad its not me out there.

Hey Smack, you still up for it ?


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## chall03

A few years ago, in my 6 pack days, pre wife, pre inpending parenthood, I sailed/hung out at CYCA( the club that runs Sydney to Hobart) my dream was Hobart....I raced several times a week..... winter series on a boat at CYCA leads to summer series, summer series leads to short offshore, short offshore leads to a few ocean races and a few ocean races leads to getting a ride to Hobart. 

The guys that do this race are seriously finatical.....they eat BFS for breakfast with there cornflakes.......

It was one of the veteran skippers,(maybe even Syd???) who turned to me one boozy night after I had announced my intention to do Hobart and said with a look that chilled "if your not honestly prepared to die for your sport you don't go to Hobart"

A few weeks later I had a gig on one of the big boats. It was a summer series race so not life and death but certainly everyone was treating it as serious business. The sailing master on this boat was one of the most abusive, offensive sailors I had ever sailed with....we nearly lost the Bowman over the side before we had even crossed the start line, he ended up with a completely sprained ankle, and by the end of the race I had been smacked in the mouth with a winch handle and was bleeding all over the deck.....(the injury later required orthodontic surgery)..........all the while being subjected to the shrieking abuse of a sailing master for whom every tack was too slow.......every sail change unacceptable.

It was at about this time that I decided Hobart was not for me


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## tdw

Chall,

Many moons back when they still did the old Southern Cross Cup I happened to be having a pre Christmas dinner with a bunch of mates and one of the guests was captain of the US team. During dinner I mentioned that I'd always wanted to do a Hobart. No idea why cos I'd never raced anything at all and my most daring adventure at the time being a slog in my old Compass 28 up to Broken Bay. No problem he said, if you can get your gear together and be at the CYCA Boxing Day you can come with us. Imagine that happening today ? Not bloody likely.

Reality was I didn't even own anything better than an El Cheapo spray jacket and little hope of redressing that situation in the time at hand so I begged off. Looking back on it , probably an attack of the wuss to be honest but there you go. Horrid weather at the start, straight into a screaming southerly and they lost their stick south of Port Hacking. You know I could have used the time at hand to race around Sydney trying to scrounge gear so I guess I was never all that keen, or else just a coward.

I'd probably wanted to do a Hobart cos old family friends had raced in Hobarts back to 1952 and I was wrapped up in the romance of it all. Now I understand the reality is somewhat different to my romantic fantasy and I don't really regret not having done that race.

But names like Morna, Kurrewa, Astor, Winston Churchill, Caprice of Huon and Solo are the names that conjour up Hobart magic for me.

Astor


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## tdw

So WOXI still in front closely tailed by Loyal and Wild Thing though WOXI and Loyal seem to be putting a bit of a gap on WT.

We shall see what the morning brings.

Weather has calmed down in Sydney but another front is predicted for tomorrow evening.


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## Trilogy77

Anybody interested in the Sydney to Hobart should read "The Proving Ground" by G. Bruce Knecht. It tells the story of the 1998 race, a tragic story I couldn't put down. Much like "Fastnet Force 10" I see the boat "Brindabella" which was in the 98 race entered and running in this years race.


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## tdw

There was a Wild Thing in the '98 race but she was predecessor to the one racing now but there are a number of boats from that year still going round including Midnight Rambler, Bacardi and Spirit of Koomoolloo (ex Margaret Rintoul II ex Ragamuffin) . 

WOXI still in front followed by Wild Thing and Loyal. Ragamuffin leading on handicap.


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## smackdaddy

tdw said:


> Smack,
> I've never done it, in fact never done any offshore racing and to be honest don't have the inclination nor probably the cajones. If you search youtube you'll find footage of the '98 Hobart, Just looking at it scares the hell out of me. Out of my league. I'm more one for staying in port and hoping to dodge the weather. Maybe one day these kind of seas will find me but I sure as hell am not going looking for them.


Okay - in all honesty I have no idea what I'm talking about. But I'd still love to do it. I've read all the books and seen all the videos on the '98 Hobart, the Fastnet, '78 TransPac (I think it was), etc. So I know it can be far worse than anything I could possibly imagine. And I know that I'd probably end up a ball of puke and tears. But holy moly what an accomplishment that would be!


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## PCP

It seems that without Alfa Romeo, Wild Oats just has no competition.

You guys should do something to attract to this great race the best racing boats.

From the 6 ones that lead the race, Ram, a 70ft is the only one that is a recent design, while most of the other are just old boats (by racing standards), 5 to seven year's old boats.

Wild Oates is a 2005 design, modified in 2009 (to take advantage of the new rule). If we compare the racing boat park with the one from the Route du Rhum, a 2005 boat would just be a two generation old boat without any chances to win the race.

Don't take me wrong, I love this race, but if this race wants to maintain its place in the world ranking and not be only a glorious peace of history, it is necessary to change something.

For example, why not make arrangements for this race to be part of the Barcelona World race (or Vendee Clobe) and part of the Volvo Ocean race. On this particular leg the boats could be raced with extra crew members.

Can you Imagine what animation would be provided by 20 Open 60's and 10 top Volvos. An of course you could also join the Big cats, and then you would have a hell of a race, a professional one with some amateurs, not an amateur one with some professionals 

Regards

Paulo


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## tdw

Hard to say Paulo. The VOR would seem to be the best fit but to incorporate into the STH would require a complete rescheduling. In late December the VOR fleet is in Cape Town. Would the BWR/VG boats, specifically designed for short handed crews be capable of doing a plus 600nm race with a dozen crew ? 

To my mind the STH will always be somewhat unique because of the distance Sydney is from any of the other major sailing centres. Even a boat from NZ has to bash its way across the Tasman to get here yet each year something pops up to make it interesting. 

I guess to keep it in context the STH began life as a cruise in company that became a race. While today it is far from a cruise there is still something of that remaining and for me it would be a shame for that to change, inevitable as it would seem. Time marches on and even the 'quiet little drink', the traditional end of race party in Hobart loses some of its importance as the years go by. WOXI e.g. turned around last year after crossing the line and charged back up to Sydney to make the start of the Coffs Harbour race on January 2nd. Quite a few of the other top boats have done the same with a delivery crew taking over as they cross the line in Hobart while the A Team fly back to Sydney.

Mulithulls ? Why not I suppose. The only reason to exclude them would seem to be political but quite honestly I couldn't care less whether they were in or out. 

Me, I loath the overt commercialism of the sport and the obscene amounts of money being spent. Again using WOXI as an example their Internet bill for the race is in excess of AUD10.000. FFS. 

More often than not these days, I am content that the world has passed me by and I have no need or desire to try and keep up.


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## PCP

tdw said:


> ..
> Me, I loath the overt commercialism of the sport and the obscene amounts of money being spent. Again using WOXI as an example their Internet bill for the race is in excess of AUD10.000. FFS.
> 
> ...


Not commercialism, but professionalism. The money that is spent (if they are professionals) come from investment in publicity. That's the way to warrant that the best can become professionals and that can race in the best boats, for our pleasure, to enjoy great races.

If it is not like that, sail races are an exclusive of rich people, that have the money to buy fast boats. Not the best sailors, just wealthy sailors.

There is an interesting sail blog from Rán, the boat that is on 6th place at 37nm from the leader. They are on a 70ft boat and with the exception of Ichi Ban (that is also a 70fter) they are fighting against 100fter boats.

"Good morning - just after 6am monday am 27th december. Since 5.30pm on the 26th the wind started building and the rain came along to join in the fun. Drops felt like ice at some point. We kept our 11 knots of speed approximately. The wind peaked at 25 knots or so at times. We followed the coast under a very dark sky. No stars to be seen last night. Thanks to the stern light we did manage to distinguish dolphins swimming around the boat - that was the entertainment for the night after dinner on deck (curry - yumm!) 
Down below is wet! We have to crawl on wet sails to get around, hanging wet weather gear and life jacket on a hook before hitting the first bunk available to rest for the 3 hour-watch. 
As for the fleet, we could see a few boats afar once at dawn (just before 5 am). We believe Wild Thing is on our starboard ahead of us. In a few hours, the real fun will start with heavy winds during the crossing of the Bass Straights. Rumours on deck talk about 40 knots. The good news is the sun is slowly rising behind those big clouds and we will face the high winds in day light - always better than in the dark!"

RÃ¡n Racing - Posts from the RÃ¡n yacht racing team

It seems that the next 24 hours are going to be interesting .

Ichi Ban is making a great race and is 5th at 31nm from the leader. Ichi Ban is just an old modified Volvo 70ft (2005) and I would like to see what could make on this race the new ones. Probably they would be disputing the victory with the 100ft wild Oats .

Regards

Paulo


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## tdw

Paulo,

I can handle professionalism but my point was that the commercialism has gotten out of hand. Reality is however that all the lead boats , while sponsored, are still owned by the wealthy. WOXI itself is just a floating billboard for the owners winery.

Yes, i'd love to see a bunch of V70s in the mix. Maybe once the race is over some of them may end up down under like Ichi Ban. 

btw .. I've never even seen a bottle of WO wine let alone drunk the stuff. Maybe its one of those strange Oz brands that are for export only. 

WOXI is now out into Bass Strait, Ran and Ichi Ban are only very marginally faster at the moment (less than half a knot), 20nms astern , so unless something very dramatic occurs I doubt they'll catch up crossing the paddock. Storm Bay however is an altogether different story, anything can and often does happen.

whoa... having just said that Ichi Ban is now reported as bein 30nms astern but doing 14knots compared to WOXI's 11.9, ... interesting.

Cheers

Andrew


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## tdw

Bit of mayhem out there at the moment.
Nine withdrawals now including the eighty footer Brindabella, 90' maxi Yuuzoo and veteran racer Bacardi that lost her mast. 
Also Dodo, Shamrock, WotEva, Southern Excellence and the early retirement Jazz Player. Not sure of the ninth.

WOXI seems to be pretty much in control at the moment with a twenty odd nm lead over Loyal. The lead boats apparently through the worst of the weather.

edit .. 9th withdrawal was Exile, out with steering problems.

edit .. now 12 withdrawals. From the Rolex Syd Hob website

Scarlet Ribbon - cruising division boat
Onelife - cruising division boat
Alchemy III - boom damage - proceeding Sydney 
Bacardi - broken mast - proceeding to Ulladulla ETA 2225
Brindabella - damaged mainsail - proceeding to Sydney
Exile - steering damage - proceeding to Sydney ETA 1100 Tues 28 December
Jazz Player - damaged mainsail - returned to Sydney
Shamrock - damage to rudder bearing - eta sydney 8am 28th December
Southern Excellence - returning to Sydney ETA Midnight 28th Dec.
Swish - radio damage - heading to Sydney
Wot Eva - engine problem - ETA Sydney Midnight Tues 28th Dec
Yuuzoo - torn headsail - heading to Eden


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## PCP

"The forecast gale-force conditions made good today for the bulk of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race fleet with yachts experiencing 40-50 knots of gale to storm-force winds from the west-southwest -- together with massive seas. The toll today was nine yachts retired, some with severe damage, but all crews were reported in good shape.
.....
the Volvo 60 Southern Excellence and the Nelson Marek 52 Wot Eva abandoned the difficult race due to damage in the unbelievably rough seas and extreme wind conditions.
....
Rolex photographer Carlo Borlenghi flew over the fleet at lunchtime today and reported seeing yachts with triple-reefed mains, some with storm headsails or racing bare-headed (no sails). He said that in a decade of covering the race he'd never seen seas like those today."

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2010.. Gale force conditions take out five yachts within an hour

That's what I like on this race. It is not enough to have a fast boat, you have to bring it home in one piece...and that is not easy. They have to depower boats otherwise they will break. That's why this race deserved to be raced with the best racing boats around.

Great sailors and great race. The 70ft old Volvo Ichi Ban is making an incredible race, he is now 3th winning distance over everybody, including the race leader (and they all have more 30ft of boat length).

Something wrong with Ran. They don't show the boat speed. Last I have heard of them they were trying not to break the boat.

Regards

Paulo


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## PCP

Some side thoughts:

There is a lot of guys on this forum that think that big production inexpensive boats are fragile and not seaworthy.

Well, take a look at the previous post :"Rolex photographer Carlo Borlenghi flew over the fleet at lunchtime today and reported seeing yachts with triple-reefed mains, some with storm headsails or racing bare-headed (no sails). He said that in a decade of covering the race he’d never seen seas like those today."

And in those conditions the most inexpensive boats out there, the Beneteau First are making an outstanding job: Not breaking, but winning 

My I point out that the First 45 Victoire is first on its division and on overall position holds an amazing 19th place and that the First 40 Two True, also a class winner, holds an even more amazing 24th place?

Both boats have cored hulls, considered fragile for many. Another meas-conception. They have their disadvantages but they are stronger than a solid fiberglass hull.

Note that on those conditions the average sailor would be taking defensive tactics and trying to manage not to break the boat. Those guys are racing and pushing the limits with 50K winds and huge seas...and all big production boats out there are staying in one piece.

I am talking about the First because they are the more inexpensive, but there are out there several Sydneys, a Salona, an Archimbault a J133 a Pogo, all doing well, in what regards seaworthiness. And I am sure that if there was there some Elans and Dufours they would also have performed adequately.

Regards

Paulo


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## blt2ski

Gee, do not get on the web in 30 hrs, lots goes on in this race! 

Not sure I would want to do one of these races in a WOXI or equal, but a 40'ish foot B40.7 or equal, now that might be fun! But the speed of a WOXI for a day or so, that could be fun.

The S38 fleet is pretty small this year with about 6 boats. usually a dozen or so.

Marty


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## blt2ski

altho probably old news now, the "sailors with disabilities" have pulled out, they were one of the few boats to make in 98. I saw a pic in one of the books about that race, with crew on the rail in the height of that storm. 

Off to work, as it is finally light out!

Marty


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## tdw

WOXI still out in front, 180nm to finish.
Ragamuffin currently first on handicap.

More withdrawals overnight.

Calm - Retired - in Eden
Nemesis - Retired - Heading to Eden
Pirelli Celestial - Sail damage - heading to Eden
Salona II - Steering Problems - Proceeding to Eden
Scarlet Runner - Sail damage - in Eden
Two True - Engine problems - heading Eden

OneLife still listed as a retirement but that seems to be incorrect.


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## Faster

blt2ski said:


> altho probably old news now, the "sailors with disabilities" have pulled out, they were one of the few boats to make in 98. I saw a pic in one of the books about that race, with crew on the rail in the height of that storm.
> 
> Off to work, as it is finally light out!
> 
> Marty


Last winter we were in the Caribbean for the Caribbean 600, and were able to attend the afterparty at the Antigua YC. This was an interesting race in that the trades actually shut down within 24 hrs of the start, so few boats finished. In the fleet was a chartered Farr 68 crewed entirely by British servicemen amputees - quite something to see them all stumping around on deck with various (occasionally multiple) prostheses.

This current SH looks to be another legendary boat buster.. pretty high attrition so far, and from Race Tracker not exactly a favourable wind direction either.... Cruise to Jervis, TD???? maybe not today?


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## tdw

Fast,
Looking more likely we'll be heading north but time will tell. Thats why I'm a cruiser not a racer. Don't need the aggravation, go with the flow. 

Wednesday/Thursday for Sydney coastal predicting light NE going SE in the evening. Given that I expect we'll be off on Thursday or Friday then north is probable as another Southerly change is predicted for the weekend. If that does not eventuate we may still head south. If we can pick up a late morning N/Easter, allowing 16 hours to Jervis we could get in early morning with a couple of hours motoring each end. Best we could hope for would be 1000 NE coming through but dead around midnight, but if southerly change came through we'd end up bashing to wind and arriving Jervis at night. don't fancy that. No southerly and we arrive Jervis in dead calm so going in not a worry. Thursday Jervis is 10 - 20 knot North tending SW. That could be OK if we make a fast(ish) run from Sydney.

Back on topic .. 

Paulo,
Last year's race was won by a First 40.7 though they are the latest retirement this year. Engine trouble, not a broken boat however.


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## PCP

tdw said:


> ...
> Paulo,
> Last year's race was won by a First 40.7 though they are the latest retirement this year. Engine trouble, not a broken boat however.


Andrew, it was not one of the new First 40?

Regards

Paulo


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## tdw

PCP said:


> Andrew, it was not one of the new First 40?
> 
> Regards
> 
> Paulo


Paulo,
She was launched in 2009.

"_Two True_ is one of the new Beneteau First 40's to hit Australian waters and is owned by Andrews Saies, representing the Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia. In the boat's first event, Saies scored a 3rd in IRC Grand Prix Division 2 at Audi Hamilton Island Race Week 2009 and Two True was named the CYCSA's Boat of the Year, having won 1st place in the club's Musto Offshore Series. In the boat's first Rolex Sydney Hobart last year, Saies and his crew were declared the overall winners of the race, surviving a protest for an incident at the first rounding mark in Sydney Harbour. Saies continued on to Audi Victoria Week in January this year, where he collected second in IRC Division 2; and followed this up with a third at Lincoln Race Week in February. " Rolex SydHob Site.

Cheers

Andrew


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## blt2ski

Andrew,

Boat in question would be a fisrt 40, not a first 40.7 if I am reading correctly the name. Both are beneteau designs about 40' long, but different hulls etc.

Wave sweeper as a comparison, is a 40.7

Marty


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## tdw

Marty,
You could be right but I thought I saw her referred to as a 40.7 but maybe not.
A


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## blt2ski

Time for bed here on the left cost of NA< suspect WOXI will finish by the time I wake up, with a current speed of 21knots!!!!! that would be fun. Heck it was fun doing 11 in my 30'r! could one imagine 20+!!! yeehaw!

Andrew, look at the drop down "the yachts" clicky at the top of the SH home page, two true is listed as a first 40. not a 40.7.

Nite all you down unders,

marty


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## tdw

*Breaking News*

SailWorld.com has just reported that ...

Sydney Hobart Sensation - Wild Oats XI, RAN protested by Race Commitee

*Sail-World.com is streaming the 1705 Sydney Hobart Radio sked and Radio relay traffic on 6516kHz.

At the beginning of this afternoon sked, the Rolex Sydney Hobart Radio Relay vessel's David Kellett announced to the fleet that the Race Committee was protesting both Wild Oats XI and RAN under Sailing Instructions 44.1A and 44.2 which pertain to the Mandatory Reporting of Declaration of Ability to continue at Green Cape. * (Latest advice is that the protest relates to signal strength).

Race Committee Chairman Tim Cox reports that there was no declaration report from either vessel.

The Protest will be hears at 1330 tomorrow.

In the 2001 Sydney Hobart race, the Volvo 60 Tyco was disqualified fro failing to make the Mandatory report.

More news as it comes to hand. Wild Oats XI was at latitude 43 02 longitude 148 25 at the radio sked.

http://www.sail-world.com/Australia/Sydney-Hobart-Sensation--Wild-Oats-XI,-RAN-protested-by-Race-Committee/78525

ps - Marty, Paulo .. Two True is a First 40 ..


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## tdw

These are yachts who have retired. At one stage I'd listed both Scarlet Ribbon and One Life as having withdrawn. Not so, both still racing. 

Alchemy III - boom damage 
Bacardi - broken mast 
Brindabella - damaged mainsail 
Calm - Retired
Exile - steering damage 
Jazz Player - damaged mainsail
Nemesis - Retired - Heading to Eden
Pirelli Celestial - Sail damage
Salona II - Steering Problems - Proceeding to Eden
Scarlet Runner - Sail damage - in Eden
Shamrock - damage to rudder bearing - 
Southern Excellence - At Sydney
Swish - radio damage - heading to Sydney
Two True - Engine problems - heading Eden
Wot Eva - engine problem
Yuuzoo - torn headsail - heading to Eden


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## tdw

Well WOXI has crossed the line to take provisional line honours but she is expected to be disqualified due to failure to meet a required radio sched off Green Cape.

MySailing web site reports that due to equipment failure the check in was done by mobile phone which is not allowable according to the race rules.

Ran is in the same situation.

My Sailing: Wild Oats XI and Ran face disqualification from Rolex Sydney Hobart


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## chall03

Would be a fairly petty way to lose the Sydney to Hobart!


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## tdw

Interesting to see how it all pans out. Richards and Oatley are claiming its all a mistake. 

Nonetheless quite a feat, five times first across the line.

Now to see who takes the outright handicap win.


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## blt2ski

I was wondering what the rule 44.x were about. I can understand the rule, but outright dq! They at least attempted to contact per the rules, while not the way one was supposed to............

DQ for a temp equipment failure if that is and was the issue, does seem rather harsh. 

Marty


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## PCP

tdw said:


> Marty,
> You could be right but I thought I saw her referred to as a 40.7 but maybe not.
> A


That's the same boat, I mean Two True ( a First 40). It is the one that won last year and it was leading its class this year.

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2010.. Two True - she's won the Rolex Sydney Hobart

I cannot believe they have given up just because they could not recharge the batteries. They should be able to maintain a minimum consumption program (lights only and I believe the ones on the First are led low consumption) and be able to finish the race.

My (big) consideration for them went down when they declared to the press:

"With the problem finally fixed, sailing master Brett Young said they could have legally got back into the race but it was first or nothing for the crew and they opted to withdraw to Eden on the far south coast of NSW".

That's not the right spirit in any race, worse in a sailboat race.

About the problem:

'As we got to Green Cape we went to recharge our batteries and we couldn't restart the engine,' Young told AAP on Tuesday.

'We had a similar problem in the Southport race. The water's got up the exhaust and flooded the engine. It's obviously some kind of fault with the engine installation. A bit unlucky really.'

Delay costly for Syd-Hob race champion - News - BigPond Sport

And now wild Oats and Ran faces a protest over the strength of the radio signal? I hope they have the good sense of not considering it.

It seems that the conditions were really bad, even if the guys from the First 40 Two True had considered them no worse than usual (big balls ). The guys from Wild Oats said about it:

"Earlier, Cahalan had described this year's race as one of the worst she had sailed in, highlighting that the yacht was constantly submerged by waves washing over its deck.

Cahalan said when Wild Oats crashed off waves it was like "a truck hitting a wall".

Wild Oats XI claims line honours, faces disqualification in Sydney-Hobart | Perth Now

And with the leading First 40 out (Two True) it seems that the victory on compensated time will go for another First, this time a new 45ft, that will make its name true "Victoire". She is making a fantastic race, running now in 22th position, a big production inexpensive cruiser racer that is racing against pure expensive racing boats like a DK 46 or even more expensive all carbon cruiser racers like the Marten 49.

Regards

Paulo


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## smackdaddy

Jeez some of those blokes are fast! Looks like a nice deep reach for the laggards at this point. Better than the bashing the leaders had to endure I'm sure.

To the laggards!


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## tdw

Victoire has done incredibly well no doubt, but note the Derwent River Conditions. Despite being close on WOXI's tail for the entire race Loyal ended up nearly becalmed and finished three hours adrift, Ichi Ban ten hours. 

It may be that conditions later on may favour the bigger boats. For instance Ragamuffin could gain if they get a good breeze up the Derwent while Victoire could fall into a similar hole as did Ichi Ban. Of course, it could go the other way and Victoire will stroll across the line for a good win.


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## PCP

Yes, you are right, of course. What happened to Ichi Ban after such a great race was not fair 

After Ichi Ban the ones that were impressing me most were the two Firsts. With the 40 out, I hope the 45 will make it even if rating racing does not mean much to me. They are making a great race, fighting with Shogun a theoretically much faster boat, a racing JV 52.

Regards

Paulo


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## tdw

PCP said:


> Yes, you are right, of course. What happened to Ichi Ban after such a great race was not fair
> 
> After Ichi Ban the ones that were impressing me most were the two Firsts. With the 40 out, I hope the 45 will make it even if rating racing does not mean much to me. They are making a great race, fighting with Shogun a theoretically much faster boat, a racing JV 52.
> 
> Regards
> 
> Paulo


The Hobart is always thought of as two races in one. The first down the coast, across the Strait and down the Tasmanian coast, the second from Tasman Light, across Storm Bay and up the Derwent.

Andrew

ps - Nice NewYear card .... where did you take the pic ?


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## smackdaddy

Where are some good videos from the race? The ones on the Rolex site play back horribly.


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## PCP

tdw said:


> ...
> 
> ps - Nice NewYear card .... where did you take the pic ?


This summer in Croatia. Croatia is just such a good cruising ground that I am thinking in buying there my boat and leave it there for a year or two. On the photo you can see a quay belonging to a very small restaurant ( almost a ruin really) were I had an wonderful meal, a delightful grilled fish.


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## tdw

PCP said:


> This summer in Croatia. Croatia is just such a good cruising ground that I am thinking in buying there my boat and leave it there for a year or two. On the photo you can see a quay belonging to a very small restaurant ( almost a ruin really) were I had an wonderful meal, a delightful grilled fish.


Paulo,
I remember when we stayed on Formentera a few years back and going to a wonderful fish restaurant that was perched on rocks overlooking the water. The place was a wreck, the chairs and tables sometimes had to be moved out of the water but the fish was amazing. A very European thing. In Australian all the waterfron restaurants are expensive or disappointing, sometimes both.

Smack,
Try You Tube I guess. Rolex have the exclusive media rights but you could search Oz Media channels like Networth Seven or ABC.


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## chall03

blt2ski said:


> I was wondering what the rule 44.x were about. I can understand the rule, but outright dq! They at least attempted to contact per the rules, while not the way one was supposed to............
> 
> DQ for a temp equipment failure if that is and was the issue, does seem rather harsh.
> 
> Marty


I do essentially agree, but if I can play Devil's advocate for a second.....

The situation appears that there radio was 'inoperative' or faulty......temporarily.........if this is the case then that opens an interesting can of worms as the yacht 'Swish' quit the race because of a failing radio.... Should Swish have sailed on in the hope that their radio started working?? What would of happened to either Swish or Wild Oats if a freak shift in weather like an east coast low had developed and they had missed this info delivered via HF??

If I understand correctly, the principle that came out of the 1998 disaster is essentially NO HF radio then NO Play.....

Poor Communication was one of the biggest identifying contributors to the issues in 1998. CYCA take this pretty seriously, their rule is that all the fleet is always available on HF.......period.

Poor reception sounds like a dubious reason.....Poor recpetion on HF off the coast of Tasmania???

And who is to say whether poor reception is a symptom of a faulty radio/antenna, or just poor reception? If it is a temporary fault then when do you make the call that the radio that isn't working.... is REALLY not working.....is this a call a skipper can make??

After 1998 CYCA believe not, this is one of their unbreakable rules....NO HF radio then NO Play.....


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## smackdaddy

Cool. I had to search "Sydney Hobart Crash" to find anything worth watching. And when you see a sailboat giving a stinkpot the poke up the chute - that's classic.


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## blt2ski

Chall.

I have to agree with your statements too. I knew the radio part was out of the 98 race. Just did not know what rule 44.x was until reading here. 

Some part of me is, was the weather the issue? or a boat issue, ie broken frazzed wires, radio etc. If the latter, I could be a bit more on the DQ or equal part of the rule. If the weather was the issue, say an electric storm cell or just plain too much rain or equal coming out of the sky or equal caused the issue.....now what? That is not the boats/crews issue. Then they did attempt to contact the RC in the spirit of the rule. In the end, there may not be a sound or good out come. 

Marty


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## chall03

Yeah I agree. I guess however CYCA feel that it could be a dangerous precedent..... for example if you are a skipper on say a less professional boat than Wild Oats and your radio stops working, are you allowed to make the call that it is a weather related issue and therefore it is ok to sail on and try again in an hour??

There was a huge paradigm change in sailing is this country after the 1998 Sydney to Hobart. After this tragedy, the greater public and surprisingly also to a degree the sailing community turned viciously on CYCA and demanded to know why they let it happen. Why did they let this race go ahead??? Why didn't they make sure everyone knew about the conditions? Why didn't they make sure everyone was equipped and trained for such horrendous conditions and knew what to do?"

In the fallout the concept of "skipper's responsibility", ie. that the skipper is ultimately responsible for the safety of his/her vessel and crew and all decision making to do with the veseel has been somewhat eroded. After such loss of life it was decided that changes has to be made.

So not surprisingly Australia did what Australian's do best and we legislated, complicated and bureaucratized....Yachting Australia and in the case of the Sydney to Hobart, CYCA have now given us what we demanded, less freedom, less individual responsibility, more bureacracy, more red tape and more Big Brother....

I think this is why they feel they can't back down on this, there is no longer any room for consideration of circumstances, they have to be seen to be being rigid and conservative on all things safety related.
Whether the international jury agrees will be interesting to see.


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## SailingStNick

smackdaddy said:


> Where are some good videos from the race? The ones on the Rolex site play back horribly.


Yahoo 7 Sports in Australia have had some decent reports. Here's a link to video summaries from down under.


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## blt2ski

Chall,

Not sure that there are a LOT of international folks doing the race. I know a few do, but most are from OZ/NZ are they not? So the rest of us, could only say agree, or disagree. 

In the end, If I come down there from the states to race, I follow CYCA's rules. Hopefully if it is weather conditions that caused the issue, then a good precedent will occur from this protest/challenge, and racers will know what to do in the future. If they just plain throw out results due to low radio ability.....no matter the cause.......not sure where that will put any ones opinion. 

Hopefully the correct ruling comes out for all

Marty


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## chall03

Sorry Marty,

What I mean't is that the decision re the protest is actually to be made today by an objective "International Jury of sailing officials".


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## blt2ski

OH!!!!!

I guess that is good, or bad, then again, it is still yesterday here where I am on the left coast of US! LOL

Again, hopefully a GOOD ruling precedence will come out of this, especially if the issue of a weak signal was weather related. 

I'll find out yesterday, or today when I wake up eh! errr, I guess today for me now, or tomorrow in morning or some such craziness. ie it is tuesday Dec 28 about 6:30 pm as I type this!

Marty


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## smackdaddy

SailingStNick said:


> Yahoo 7 Sports in Australia have had some decent reports. Here's a link to video summaries from down under.


Sweet! Thanks Sail Claus.


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## tdw

Well all's well that ends well. Protest was dismissed.


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## chrism33

Oh man. 
I've just upgraded my headsails to use foils instead of the old hanks.
Footage of this race shows that the fast maxis have gone back to using hanks with furling along the foot. 
Bugger.


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## St Anna

chrism33 said:


> Oh man.
> I've just upgraded my headsails to use foils instead of the old hanks.
> Footage of this race shows that the fast maxis have gone back to using hanks with furling along the foot.
> Bugger.


Is this an official protest?


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## blt2ski

Good to see this protest over, and hoepfully cool heads prevailed. 

Marty


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## SailingStNick

smackdaddy said:


> Sweet! Thanks Sail Claus.


Hah! That's a good one. I'll store it for future use.


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## tdw

Handicap win went to Secret Mens Business 3.5 ... Reichel Pugh 51'.


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## PCP

Too bad for the First 45 Victoire that has also made a great race.

Now that this one is over, tomorrow starts the "Barcelona World race":

Barcelona World Race

Guys, I hope it will be a great race. You can follow it here:

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/racing/63937-solo-duo-transatlantic-races-21.html

Regards

Paulo


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## OsmundL

PCP said:


> Too bad for the First 45 Victoire that has also made a great race.
> Paulo


After this year's Sydney-Hobart ocean race, I cannot help reflecting on the performance of Beneteaus in rough conditions (I don't own one, I just like to be fair). A few members of these forums appear disparaging about Beneteau, but it doesn't compute?

Sydney to Hobart is no Sunday race. This year, the contestants met gale force winds and rough seas, some boats reporting winds of 45-50 knots. 69 boats finished, 18 retired.

The winners, the first dozen or so, can barely rate with the rest of the fleet; they are supermaxis up to 100ft and dedicated race machines with carbon, canting keels and whatnot. Nr.16 is Ragamuffin, a legend in ocean racing history. She is a 62ft maxi who has completed 42 Sydney-Hobarts and won Line Honours twice.

9 Beneteaus competed, by far the largest and almost lone contingent of production yachts. You could in a pinch identify a sole X-43 (finishing 40th) and one X-41 (finishing 31st) as "production yachts", but that's pretty much it. I think the photo below tells the story: The best Beneteau finished 21st overall; in 20th place came Chutzpah, pictured below.

*Line 
Honours - IRC* 
21 - 5	Victoire Beneteau First 45 (won it's class)
36 - 22	Paca Beneteau First 40 (won it's class)
49 - 33	Shepherd Centre	Beneteau 40.7 (4th in class, 3rd on ORCI)
52 - 37	Chancellor Beneteau First 40 (4th in class ORCI)
59 - 45	Crossbow Beneteau First 36.7 (5th in class ORCI)
61 - 50	Blunderbuss	Beneteau First 40.7
69 - 52	Wave Sweeper	Beneteau 40.7
_(Wave Sweeper went to port along the way to put ashore a sailor with a broken ancle)
_DNF Two True	Beneteau First 40 Retired, engine problems
DNF Alchemy	Beneteau 57 Retired, boom damage

After some disastrous previous Syd-Hobarts rules have been tight and it is no mean feat just to be permitted to the starting line. Beneteau owners must be proud just to have 9 boats entered?


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## smackdaddy

Go the Benes!

Good to see you around Os.


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## PCP

smackdaddy said:


> Go the Benes!
> 
> ..


You guys (Americans) call the Oceanis, Benetau and the First you call...First

We are talking about the First that many think it is a racing boat. It is not, in the standard version it is a performance cruiser, that you can upgrade (with a lot of money) to a very high specification. Performance cruiser means a sailboat that sails well and in most cases the same attributes that make it a good sailing boat make it also a seaworthy boat, with a big reserve stability and a good LPS.

First (and similar boats) are good bluewater boats, but let's not confuse it with Benetaus (Oceanis) and similar boats, that if rightly equipped can also safely make passages, but we are talking about completely different boats .

Regards

Paulo


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## Faster

PCP said:


> You guys (Americans) call the Oceanis, Benetau and the First you call...First
> 
> Regards
> 
> Paulo


Paulo.. in North America they are all marketed under the Beneteau name.. that is you can buy a Bene Oceanis or a Bene First. Also lately it seems the Oceanis label is being dropped here, and they are using the model designations (461; 373; 362 etc) to differentiate between the cruising series' of boats they build. But you're correct in that the two series' are remarkably different boats, and chances are the Firsts that are performing well in these prestigious events are a far cry from the out-of-the-box models from the factory.


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## PCP

Faster said:


> Paulo.. in North America they are all marketed under the Beneteau name.. that is you can buy a Bene Oceanis or a Bene First. Also lately it seems the Oceanis label is being dropped here, and they are using the model designations (461; 373; 362 etc) to differentiate between the cruising series' of boats they build. But you're correct in that the two series' are remarkably different boats, and chances are the Firsts that are performing well in these prestigious events are a far cry from the out-of-the-box models from the factory.


They are both Benetau but on Europe when you refer to an Oceanis you call it an Oceanis, the same with the First. The Beneteau name is rarely used when you are referring to recent boats.

Regarding Paca, the First the 40ft that won it's class, it is not even brought to its max specification. The boat has not a carbon mast that is offered as an option by Benetau. A carbon mast makes for more righting moment and that means more sail power. Faster, it is not that expensive to put a 40 First on racing top specifications.

A Standard boat costs about 140 000 euros, a top racing boat would cost 230/250 000 euros and that includes racing sails and a carbon mast ( I am deducing a normal 12% discount) . A true racing 40ft costs a lot more than that, even a cruiser racer like an X-Yacht, or a Grand Soleil would cost almost the double.

Regards

Paulo


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## PCP

OsmundL said:


> After this year's Sydney-Hobart ocean race, I cannot help reflecting on the performance of Beneteaus in rough conditions (I don't own one, I just like to be fair). A few members of these forums appear disparaging about Beneteau, but it doesn't compute?
> 
> Sydney to Hobart is no Sunday race. This year, the contestants met gale force winds and rough seas, some boats reporting winds of 45-50 knots. 69 boats finished, 18 retired.
> 
> The winners, the first dozen or so, can barely rate with the rest of the fleet; they are supermaxis up to 100ft and dedicated race machines with carbon, canting keels and whatnot. Nr.16 is Ragamuffin, a legend in ocean racing history. She is a 62ft maxi who has completed 42 Sydney-Hobarts and won Line Honours twice.
> 
> 9 Beneteaus competed, by far the largest and almost lone contingent of production yachts. You could in a pinch identify a sole X-43 (finishing 40th) and one X-41 (finishing 31st) as "production yachts", but that's pretty much it. I think the photo below tells the story: The best Beneteau finished 21st overall; in 20th place came Chutzpah, pictured below.
> 
> *Line
> Honours - IRC*
> 21 - 5	Victoire Beneteau First 45 (won it's class)
> 36 - 22	Paca Beneteau First 40 (won it's class)
> 49 - 33	Shepherd Centre	Beneteau 40.7 (4th in class, 3rd on ORCI)
> 52 - 37	Chancellor Beneteau First 40 (4th in class ORCI)
> 59 - 45	Crossbow Beneteau First 36.7 (5th in class ORCI)
> 61 - 50	Blunderbuss	Beneteau First 40.7
> 69 - 52	Wave Sweeper	Beneteau 40.7
> _(Wave Sweeper went to port along the way to put ashore a sailor with a broken ancle)
> _DNF Two True	Beneteau First 40 Retired, engine problems
> DNF Alchemy	Beneteau 57 Retired, boom damage
> 
> After some disastrous previous Syd-Hobarts rules have been tight and it is no mean feat just to be permitted to the starting line. Beneteau owners must be proud just to have 9 boats entered?


I am sure you know that (you say it is a proto), but just to make it clear to all, the boat on the photo is not a Benetau. As you say it is Chutzpah, a true and pure racing boat, a Reichel and Puig 40ft proto, that finished only 1m30s ahead of Victorie, a 45ft First.

Bruce Taylor talks about his new Reichel Pugh 40 footer and Rolex Sydney Hobart pretentions | The Daily Sail

Regards

Paulo


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## OsmundL

PCP said:


> I am sure you know that (you say it is a proto), but just to make it clear to all, the boat on the photo is not a Benetau. As you say it is Chutzpah, a true and pure racing boat, a Reichel and Puig 40ft proto, that finished only 1m30s ahead of Victorie, a 45ft First.
> 
> Bruce Taylor talks about his new Reichel Pugh 40 footer and Rolex Sydney Hobart pretentions | The Daily Sail
> 
> Regards
> 
> Paulo


I certainly did know  
I just wasn't clear enough. What I intended with the text was to say "look at Chutzpah, the boat that _beat_ the Beneteau" - in other words "is it any wonder it did? Just look at it!"

I agree with all that is said about prepping beyond the standard. Of course most of these contestants are "Brand X" only in name, just as a Ford rally car would scare the bejeezus out of grandpa buying a Focus.

Anyway, generalisation borders on meaningless with companies like the Beneteau Group; it is like saying that all GM cars are good (or bad). Beneteau is not only a huge builder in its own brand name - where the Oceanis and First series were recently supplemented with the Sense models (I'd like to hear people's take on those - pretty radical). Beneteau also owns Lagoon, Jeanneau and Wauquiez, obviously to cover most mainstream niches. Call me simple, but I'd assume I'd get what I pay for, with one caveat: It is pretty doubtful that such a large vendor could get away with selling sub-standard stuff. You may recall Bavaria's travails when a yacht of theirs lost the keel; the scandal and hearsay was so damaging that one might have thought _all_ of their yachts had sunk. Guess who's treading carefully now?

To my original thought: you find every boat known to man taking part in harbour regattas, rallies like the ARC and so forth, but to find 9 boats from the same maker in a Sydney-Hobart is quite unusual.


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## chall03

Beneteau from a brand point of view is very strong here in Sydney, and particularly around the CYCA that runs the Sydney to Hobart.......

This may be good marketing, there is a superbly run sales/brokerage network out here, or it may be that they(and I am predominantly referring to the firsts) are a great boat. I tend to believe it is probably a combination of both.

I agree with PCP, you would be surprised how little the Bene Firsts doing Hobart have been 'pimped'. They are essentially just good boats sent out of the factory with the appropriate selected options, with a good suit of North sails and other necessary/expected safety bits and pieces. 

For us out here, now with a pretty dismal local yacht building scene, the firsts have just become the default cruiser/racer by which we judge all others. 

Personally I actually prefer the old .7 series to the current designs. The Farr designed boats just seemed faster and more solid.


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## PCP

chall03 said:


> ..
> Personally I actually prefer the old .7 series to the current designs. The Farr designed boats just seemed faster and more solid.


Chall,
the new 40 is also a Farr design. About being stronger I don't know but I don't think there is a significant difference. The new ones have the advantage of being made with monolitic or cored hulls (Cr and Std) at your choice. The old one had bigger storage on the cockpit. On this one you can remove the cockpit lockers for racing, but that makes them smaller. The anchor locker was also bigger on the previous version.

About speed to a rating I don't know. About absolute speed the new ones are faster. Its rating is substantially higher and even so they manage to win, even on overall compensated time as was the case on the previous edition of the Sydney Hobart.

regards

Paulo


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## blt2ski

The F30 is not a Farr design, nor are some of the larger First's IIRC, just the 35 and 40 IIRC. 

I know when I go to the local dealer, they will show a first if one is in stock, but they usually have a 6 or 8-1 ratio of Oceanus to First's. I would take a first over an Oceanus personally. 

Over the years, the First boats have done well racing, no matte where they seem to race at. Altho locally, the 10R/34.7 seems to have taken a major rating hit and the one or two have not done well. Then again, it could also be the crew/owner is not sailing them properly. 

Marty


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## chall03

PCP said:


> Chall,
> the new 40 is also a Farr design. About being stronger I don't know but I don't think there is a significant difference. The new ones have the advantage of being made with monolitic or cored hulls (Cr and Std) at your choice. The old one had bigger storage on the cockpit. On this one you can remove the cockpit lockers for racing, but that makes them smaller. The anchor locker was also bigger on the previous version.
> 
> About speed to a rating I don't know. About absolute speed the new ones are faster. Its rating is substantially higher and even so they manage to win, even on overall compensated time as was the case on the previous edition of the Sydney Hobart.
> 
> regards
> 
> Paulo


Ok Paulo I stand corrected!

I have only sailed twice on a (new) first 40. I have however sailed/raced extensively on the the 40.7, as well as a few of the others in the .7 series.

My comments re speed were just my 2 cents.... Purely a subjective opinion based on a couple of sails on the harbour nothing more.

I was indeed wrong in regards specifically to the First 40. it was Farr designed. The First 35/40 are the two Farr designs in the new First range IIRC.


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## PCP

chall03 said:


> Ok Paulo I stand corrected!
> 
> I have only sailed twice on a (new) first 40. I have however sailed/raced extensively on the the 40.7, as well as a few of the others in the .7 series.
> 
> My comments re speed were just my 2 cents.... Purely a subjective opinion based on a couple of sails on the harbour nothing more.
> 
> I was indeed wrong in regards specifically to the First 40. it was Farr designed. The First 35/40 are the two Farr designs in the new First range IIRC.


I am sorry if I give you the impression of trying to "correct" you. It was not my intention. You obviously have a lot more experience sailing the First 40.7 and the First 40 than I do. I never sailed the First 40, possibly I will have a test sail on April. What I was said was based exclusively on the ORC rating files. I know that each boat can have a different file but I check it out and there are several First 40 with this rating:

Triple number - medium - offshore = *1,3341*

http://www.dsv.org/fileadmin/user_u...umente/download/orc-international/GER6222.PDF

The only ORC certificate that I can find in the internet gives to the the First 40.7:

Triple number - medium - offshore = *1,2713*

And that means that the 40,7 is a slower boat

Sometimes some boats are fast but just don't give that impression.

http://www.avomeripurjehtijat.fi/mittakirjat/L62911C.pdf

Regards Paulo


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## PCP

Finally some images of the race. This is a great race but its coverage sucks

YouTube - DesTopNews 1-2011 English


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## chall03

Couldn't agree more PCP!


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## chrism33

PCP said:


> Finally some images of the race. This is a great race but its coverage sucks


Here is some great "feel good" footage from the race .... 
You Tube Sydney-Hobart 2010

It makes me want to get out there!


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## PCP

Nice

On this one you have great photos!

YouTube - Sydney to Hobart 2010


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## TimofBlindSquirrel

SimonV said:


> Hi Andy, did you see the maxi ram the rear of the Officals boat at the first turnning mark. LOL. realy shoved them out of the way.


I think it was a media boat. A great video of it on Youtube. You can see their sprit bend when it hooked their boat. Crazy stuff.


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## tdw

CYC sold the media rights to the Seven Network and its been downhill ever since. Same boring coverage year after year, as predictable as Straya Day on Sydney Harbour....dreary. At least they finally got shot of that knobhead Mundle. 

The Rolex STH website gives precious little in the way of decent video, even their text updates are often way behind other media. 

btw...it was a media boat and of course the coverage in the Daily Terror was all about the possibility of injury to the trucking journos. No mention of them nearly ending one of the race favourite's chances.


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## Classic30

FWIW, there was some reasonable video coverage of Geelong Week (same boats, different puddle) so if only someone else can take over, there is hope yet. Have a look:

::: Audi Victoria Week :::


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## Crossbow142

Faster said:


> Paulo.. in North America they are all marketed under the Beneteau name.. that is you can buy a Bene Oceanis or a Bene First. Also lately it seems the Oceanis label is being dropped here, and they are using the model designations (461; 373; 362 etc) to differentiate between the cruising series' of boats they build. But you're correct in that the two series' are remarkably different boats, and chances are the Firsts that are performing well in these prestigious events are a far cry from the out-of-the-box models from the factory.


Crossbow only had the mast spreaders reinforced. Had we had not done so I think it would be unlikley that the rig would have survived the 2nd night out. Other than that it was pretty much out-of-the-box other than the very heavy liferafe and HF SSB Radio. We rolled on antifoul. BIG seas and 40-50knot winds. We damaged our #3 on the first night and were down to a storm jib, #2 and #1 for the remainder of the race. We were very pleased to have made it to Hobart ;-)


----------

