With a chest-clogging cold snap of soul-sapping frozen fogs likely to be replaced here this weekend by roof-lifting wet and windy gales, the very thought of sun-dappled Sydney Harbour and its sublime sailing will be a spirit-raiser for yotties throughout the northern hemisphere. And nowhere more so than in Ireland, where we never have to go very far through the entry list to find some close, semi-close or distant sailing member of the diaspora, who will be giving the 628 nautical miles dash to Hobart his or her very best.

They’ll be cheered on by our numerous race-tracking brigade at home as we achieve an enchanted if temporary screen-led escape from the ferocious demands of the traditional family festive mindset, and we’ve been feeding that escapism already with the recent Solas Big Boat Challenge on Sydney Harbour on YouTube

THE PEAK OF THE PADDY PYRAMID

As it has been for more than thirty years in the Hobart Race, at the top of the “Paddy Pyramid” is expat sailing superstar Gordon Maguire. He’s originally from Howth, but for quite a few years now his official World Sailing Number, with its indication of nationality status, has been AUSGM1. This would seem to suggest that he has no immediate plans to return to share the hilly Howth peninsula with its recently-added flock of Old Irish Goats, recruited from far Mayo complete with comely goatherd. But either way, for now we can be sure he is focusing on augmenting his unrivalled record of Hobart race overall wins.

When it all started – Atara in perfect trim on Sydney Harbour, December 1991

This began in 1991 when he and Harry Cudmore combined to provide the dream team and overall victory for John Storey with his very attractive Farr 43 Atara. That provides us with yet another excuse – were it needed – for again displaying the cover of the relevant edition of the old paper-printed Afloat magazine, which not only says everything about what sailing can be like in Sydney Harbour at this time of the year, but also reinforces our crusty viewpoint that racing boats were rather better looking in them days.

Since then, Maguire has logged the big win so many times with owners of the calibre of Stephen Ainsworth of the Loki range, and Matt Allen of the Ichi Ban fleet, that now instead of straining the synapses to recall the exact number, it’s more effective simply to say: “A lot”. 

MAGUIRE TO LINK WITH THE LANGMAN LEGEND

A noted multi-tasker both afloat and ashore and a huge force in Australian sailing, Matt Allen is giving the Hobart contest a rest this year as an owner. The result is that the Maguire challenge is the greenest green is has ever been since 1991, as he has teamed up for his 22nd Hobart Race with Sean Langman to race the Reichel Pugh 69 Moneypenny.

To describe Sean Langman as “the legendary Australian sailor of exceptional versatility” is only starting to get to grips with an impressive nautical polymath. He’s a pillar of the famous Sydney Harbour 18ft skiff class, yet in recent years he has raced to Hobart in a gaff-rigged restored traditional fishing boat with the same enthusiasm as he has thundered down the same course in a succession of biggies. And in 2018, he acquired a newish but under-optimised Reichel Pugh 65 from the US, and as an experiment re-named her Naval Group and campaigned her with a crew of rookies made up of cadets from the Australian navy. Now that is sail training with an edge, and then some.

In 2019 the boat was lengthened to become an RP69 (Australians are doing this sort of thing all the time with boats large and small), and 2022 has been Langman’s year of total big boat full-on campaigning, with the name Moneypenny restored, and the sleek black hull an increasingly familiar sight on the leaderboard and at the front of many fleets.

Langman already had a crew of formidable talents, with the pace being set by ace international soothsayer navigator Matt Humphreys. But six weeks ago, it was all moved up a step or three by bringing Gordon Maguire onto the strength, and it has been a busy and industrious time afloat and ashore for everyone ever since, as all Langman projects tend to be Work in Progress.

Gordon Maguire taking the reality of being one of the tall poppies comfortably in his stride

The results have been showing even more in the right direction, such that Moneypenny is now rated as one of the favourites for the Sydney-Hobart Race 2022 when it starts in nine days’ times. It’s the kind of attention that most crews – even the most exceptional such as we have here – will have mixed feelings about, for there’s an element in Australian society of schradenfreuders who are as gruesomely pleased as their fellow-thinkers elsewhere of seeing the tall poppies fall. But it goes with the territory, and Gordon Maguire is such a gracious winner that his fans worldwide will be rooting for Moneypenny with added fervour.

The swift one…..Bow Caddy Media record Moneypenny (above) showing ahead

OFFALY’S CAHALANE TEAMS WITH FASTNET WINNER SUNRISE

One of the most popular visitors to the Irish sailing community since the pandemic restrictions were lifted was Tom Kneen, who sails out of Plymouth to such good effect that his JPK 11.80 Sunrise won the August 2021 Fastnet Race overall, and as far as all right-thinking people are concerned, he was also a clear winner of the Middle Sea Race in October as well.

Tom Kneen (the surname is of Manx origins, so you might say he’s half-Irish) proved a star turn at the ICRA Conference in the National YC in March this year, providing a pep talk and answers session of such unassuming modesty that it made everyone think they could go out and win the Fastnet Race.

Fastnet Race overall winner Tom Kneen at the ICRA Conference in the National YC in March. Photo: Brian Turvey

With the Middle Sea victory then added on, the question has been where the Kneen Team will strike next. The answer came this week when Sunrise arrived in to the Sydney-Hobart-organising Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s marina in Rushcutters Bay on Sydney Harbour, and set about preparing for the big one.

There’s a precedent for this JPK campaigning at a distance. Some years ago, just after Gery Trentesaux had recorded the first of his two wins in the Fastnet Race with a JPK 10.80, it was recalled that a JPK 10.80 was cruising the Pacific. The owners were persuaded to divert to Sydney where Gery and his crew turned up with a complete set of new sails and raced the boat to Hobart so well that the won their class and were right in the frame overall, leaving the cruising owner and his crew to go on their way rejoicing, with thousands of Euros’ worth of new sails added to their inventory.

The Sunrise Secret of Success….at the optimal angle of heel, the JPK 11.80 has greatly reduced her wetted area, yet if the wind freshens further there is plenty of spare hull power available to make the best use of it.

Since then the Aussies have been trying – like everyone else – to get as many JPK boats of all kinds into their fleet as the production line will allow, but now the current top JPK in the world has arrived in to take them on in their home waters. And the affable Tom Kneen is some operator under his amiable exterior, for Sunrise will be navigated by Adrienne Cahalane, Australia’s top female sailor in all departments, who is definitely one of ours as she was born in Offaly and is a cousin of the renowned Nenagh ILCA ace Aisling Keller. But as this is Cahalane’s 30th Hobart Race, she is now a long way from Lough Derg.

BALLIVOR’S JIM COONEY DOWN-SIZES – TO A VOLVO 70 – WHILE SLATTERY STAYS WITH COMANCHE

When you’ve been successfully campaigning a hundred footer, any down-sizing move can still leave you with a lot of boat to sail. Jim Cooney – whose people come from Ballivor in County Meath – currently holds the Sydney-Hobart course record which he and Samantha Grant (and maybe two dozen others) achieved with the almost-mythical JK 100 Comanche.

Comanche is still on the scene, having been sold to John Winning who is very much up for the 2022 Hobart dash, and there’s still an Irish link as Justin Slattery of Wexford and Kinsale is at the heart of her crew.

No room for error…..in the confined space of Sydney’s Inner Harbour, the 100ft Comanche (with Justin Slattery in the crew) powers towards the finish at the Opera House to take line honours in this month’s Solas Big Boat Challenge

They’ve been having a great time of it this month, as Comanche made a brilliant job of taking line honours in convincing style in the Solas Challenge, making it look almost easy to see off the challenge of four other hundred footers, and it emphatically isn’t easy when you’re down at sea level with all that heavy metal and acres of sail thrashing around in a very limited space.

But in the midst of it, Jim Cooney and Samantha Grant were making an even cooler job of it racing their alternative “handy little boat” – the Volvo 70 Willow ex-Ericsson 3 ex-Groupama. And after all the numbers were crunched at the end of the Solas race, Willow was the CT winner, adding to her prospects as yet another favourite for the race to Hobart.

LEE CONDELL OF LIMERICK TAKES ON THE HOBART TWO-HANDED DIVISION WITH SUNFAST 3300

You can take the boy out of Limerick and Ireland, but you can’t take Ireland and Limerick out of the boy. For many years now, Lee Condell of Limerick has been building a successful career in the performance boat end of the Australian marine industry. But he keeps well in touch with the old country, and it was he who alerted us to the continuing presence of the Mamie Doyle-designed, J E Doyle of Dun Laoghaire-built (in 1905) 54-footer Granuaille in Tasmania.

More recently he’s been in touch about a restored vintage boat built to the Dublin Bay 25 design which was originally constructed in Australia around 1900, using ready-made frames shipped out from Fife’s own boatyard in Fairlie in Scotland.

But we’ll have more about that another time. For, this week, Lee has been busy finalising Hobart Race preparations on a new Sun Fast 3300 (she’ll be a sister-ship of Cian McCarthy of Kinsale’s successful Cinnamon Girl) that Lee and Lincoln Dews will be racing in the Two-Handed Division, which will have an element of One-Design competition about it, as the attractive Sun Fast 3300 is well-represented.

Lee Condell of Limerick and shipmate Lincoln Dews aboard the Sun Fast 3300 they’ll be racing two-handed to Hobart

SALUTE TO THE MEMORY OF ALAN CONDELL

This is all to the good for Lee Condell, as he is – among other things - a Jeanneau agent in Australia, so the boat will have the no-nonsense name of Sun Fast Racing. But there’s much more to it than that, as “young” Lee is facing being sixty, so showing that you can still hack it in the Hobart race two-handed in a 33-footer with six decades on the clock is a matter of putting down a significant marker.

And it goes deeper than that again, for one of those who slipped away in the depths of the Pandemic was Lee’s own father Alan, and Alan Condell and the development of sailing in the greater Limerick area were synonymous. Yet although his funeral was in Limerick’s St Mary’s Cathedral – linked forever with Conor O’Brien whose global circumnavigation with the Saoirse centenary comes up next year – the farewell to Alan Condell had to be a very muted affair. So for Lee Condell, racing a Sun Fast 3300 two-handed over the 628 miles to Hobart is very much a salute to the memory of Alan Condell, a gesture which will be widely shared.

Lee Condell’s Sun Fast Sailing in training on Sydney Harbour. He has multiple reasons for racing the two-handed division to Hobart, not least being in memory of his late father Alan Condell of Limerick, whose mid-pandemic funeral in St Mary’s Cathedral had to be a restricted ceremony

IRISH INPUT ON AMERICAN CHALLENGE

Although the famous American classic S&S yawl Kialoa II (originally built for California’s Jim Kilroy, who claimed close links with Cork) is going again, she’s very much under Australian ownership these days, and the timing of the Sydney-Hobart Race generally seems to have been a bit of a dampener for serious American interest in recent years.

But now there’s some turbo-power going into US participation with the February 2022 RORC Caribbean 600 winner, the TP52 Warrior Won ex-Bad Pak, well into the mix. Warrior’s successful northern summer went on to include being mono-hull line honours class winner in the Cruising Club of America’s Centenary Year Bermuda Race in which - more importantly - she won the Gibbs Hill Trophy for tops on Corrected Time.

Howth’s Shane Diviney is on the strength of American challenger Warrior Won, seen here on her way to winning the RORC Caribbean 600 in February 2022. Photo: Robert Hajduk

Warrior Won is being brought to the Sydney line in serious style by Chris Sheehan with his internationally-flavoured Connecticut-based team, which includes ace Canadian tactician Richard Clarke (four Olympics and a Volvo overall win, how about that then?) and the special talents of Howth’s much-travelled man on the action end of many successful boats, Shane Diviney. He has scored successes at the top level in multis and a range of mono-hulls from the very newest to the demanding restored classics of the International 15 Metre Class, which are definitely not a sailing environment for the faint-hearted. 

KIWIS CALL ON DUN LAOGHAIRE TALENT

While Americans may seem like exotic aliens from another planet, the sailing rivalry between Australia and New Zealand is up close and personal, and any Kiwi boat on the Sydney starting line can expect no favours at all, though of course we wouldn’t dream of suggesting that the crew are marked men in any way.

Nevertheless, it takes something special to get invited into this particular maelstrom, yet Cian Guilfoyle of Dun Laoghaire has done that very thing, as he is doing his first Sydney-Hobart Race aboard Max Klink’s Auckland-based but internationally-raced 2021-commissioned Botin 52 Caro. She’s a notably attractive TP52 boat which has already proven herself up to the challenge of upsetting Australian expectations at Hamilton Island back in August, so the stakes are extra-high racing to Hobart.

An upsetter of Aussie applecarts? The handsome Botin 52 Caro – racing for New Zealand – includes Dun Laoghaire’s Cian Guilfoyle in her multi-talented crew

Time was – and it wasn’t so long ago - when a fleet of 112-plus would have been thought very good going for the Sydney-Hobart Race. But even with the occasional meteorological extremities during the past year or so, the good times are rolling Down Under, and the Sydney-Hobart Race 2022 is capturing the mood of the moment. Doubtless we’ll hear of other Irish sailors involved at some level during the next week, but for now the atmosphere around Sydney Harbour is pure magic mixed with tense anticipation – it has all the makings of a classic.

Multiple former winners, international entrants and a record number of two-handed competitors headline a strong contingent of 120 boats entered for the 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

Entries closed on Friday, 28 October, for the 77th edition of the Rolex Sydney Hobart, with the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, the race organiser, welcoming a truly international fleet for the first time since 2019.

Four 100-foot maxis will lead the battle for Line Honours. John Winning Jr has chartered the VPLP 100 Andoo Comanche, which has won Line Honours on three occasions, including a current race record in 2017 for Jim Cooney and Samantha Grant.

Mark Bradford will skipper Peter Harburg’s Reichel/Pugh 100 Black Jack, the 2021 Line Honours winner. Hamilton Island Wild Oats, which holds the record for most Line Honours wins (9), returns to the race for the first time since 2019, with Mark Richards again at the helm of the Oatley family’s Reichel/Pugh 100, formerly named Wild Oats XI.

Christian Beck’s Juan-K 100 LawConnect – a Line Honours winner for Anthony Bell as Perpetual LOYAL in 2016 – will look to go one better, having finished second over the line last year.

A highly competitive field of mini maxis features the 2018 Tattersall Cup winner, Alive, as well as Moneypenny, No Limit, Stefan Racing, URM Group, Whisper and Willow.

Duncan Hine, who skippered Philip Turner’s Reichel/Pugh 66 Alive to the overall win four years ago, says the Tasmanian boat is ready to reclaim one of ocean racing’s most coveted trophies.

"We’re going great guns really," Hine said. "The boat is going well and all of our maintenance seems to be up to date.

"We’ve got a good crew. We get along well and that’s how we run the boat. We want to enjoy the sailing.

"It’s not all about the outcome, because the outcome comes down to the weather, provided you’ve sailed it well."

Boats will travel from around the world to take on the 628 nautical mile race, including from Germany (Orione), Great Britain (Sunrise), Hungary (Cassiopeia 68), New Caledonia (Eye Candy and Poulpito), New Zealand (Caro) and USA (Warrior Won).

Caro and Warrior Won are part of what will be a highly-anticipated tussle between the 52-footers, including Matt Allen’s Botin 52 Ichi Ban, which won a record-equalling third Tattersall Cup in 2021, and another former winner, Craig Neil’s TP52 Quest (winner as Quest in 2008 and Balance in 2015).

Other 52s to watch include Sam Haynes’ TP52 Celestial (second overall in 2021), Gweilo, KOA, Maritimo, Patrice, Smuggler and Zen.

The Farr 43 Wild Oats, overall winner for Roger Hickman in 2014 as Wild Rose, will be skippered by Brett Eagle.

Chutzpah, Midnight Rambler, Sail Exchange and White Bay 6 Azzurro are some of the strong contenders in the 30-40-foot range.

Sean Langman’s 9-metre Ranger Maluka, skippered by his son Peter, is the smallest boat in the fleet. She is one of six boats under 10-metres in length.

Following a successful introduction to the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart, the Two-Handed Division has grown to 21 boats for this year’s race.

Two-handed entrants will this year be able to compete for the Tattersall Cup.

Carlos Aydos’ S&S 34 Crux (co-skippered by Peter Grayson) was one of the standout competitors in 2021, finishing second in the Two-Handed Division.

Crux is in good form, recently finishing fourth overall behind Andoo Comanche, URM Group and Moneypenny in the Tollgate Islands Race.

"It’s really cool to see we have increased the number of two-handers," Aydos said. "I’d love to see the two-handed fleet continue to grow.

"It’s a lot less hectic for us this year. Last year there was so much preparation to get the boat ready. It was our first Hobart together, so we had so many boxes to tick and equipment to buy.

"This year we are able to focus a lot more on the racing side of things rather than preparation.

"Peter and I have stayed together as a team so we know each other well. We don’t need to talk to each other too much; we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses.

"This year has been nice in that regard – we’re feeling more comfortable with the boat and with each other."

Tasmanians Rob Gough and John Saul were the first two-handed competitors to finish the Rolex Sydney Hobart, on Gough’s Akilaria RC2 Sidewinder (now entered fully-crewed by Louis Ryckmans as Yeah Baby). Gough and Saul are back in the fleet but this time on Rob’s Jeanneau Sun Fast 3300 Kraken.

Kraken is one of five Jeanneau Sun Fast 3300s racing two-handed, alongside Hip-Nautic, Sun Fast Racing, Transcendence Crento and Tumbleweed.

Kathy Veel and Bridget Canham will race together on the Currawong 30 Currawong, while Campbell Geeves and Wendy Tuck are again teaming up on Speedwell.

The entries are here

More than 100 yachts are set to compete in the 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, with just over two weeks still to go until entries close.

The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, the organiser of the race, has welcomed entrants from around Australia and across the world, with a high calibre and diverse fleet assembling for the historic race.

Boats range from the smallest boat in the line-up, Sean Langman’s 9-metre Ranger, Maluka, skippered by his son Peter, to the four 100-foot maxis – Andoo Comanche, Black Jack, Hamilton Island Wild Oats and LawConnect.

Black Jack, LawConnect, Stefan Racing and SHK Scallywag 100 at the start of the 2021 Sydney Hobart Race Photo: Andrea Francolini

With 18 two-handed boats already entered, more than the total number of two-handed starters in the 2021 race, the 77th edition of the Sydney Hobart promises to deliver plenty of entertainment.

"The CYCA is excited to see such a competitive fleet building for the 2022 Sydney Hobart Yacht Race," said CYCA Commodore Arthur Lane.

"This year’s race is on track to be one of the biggest this century, and it is pleasing to see such a wide variety of yachts on the entry list."

The 100-boat milestone was reached as Tony Levett entered his Sydney 38, TSA Management (previously known as Eleni).

Levett has campaigned TSA Management in every Sydney Hobart since 2004, barring the 2016 race, winning the Sydney 38 division in 2010 and 2011.

The boat was one of many to succumb to the conditions in the 2021 race, and Levett is eager to get back on the race track.

"We didn't have a good race last year, so we're hoping for a better race this time," he said.

"We got hit by a 40-knot squall off Wollongong and ripped a main when we were trying to reef it, so that was the end of the race for us.

"It was the first time we'd gone out that early. After all that preparation, it was only a few hours of sailing, so we look forward to getting further down the track this time."

This will be Levett’s 18th Sydney Hobart, and he will likely have a new-look crew on board, with many of those who raced last year now unavailable.

TSA Management is currently one of four Sydney 38s in the fleet, alongside Kim Jaggar’s Sydney-based Cinquante and two entrants from New Caledonia – Eye Candy (Thierry Leseigneur) and Poulpito (David Treguier).

"The boat is the same as it always was," Levett said. "Back in 2004, we were a middle-of-the-road boat in terms of length.

"Now we're one of the smallest! Everyone else got bigger, and we stayed the same.

"Having four or five Sydney 38s will make it a good fleet to compete against."

Entries for the 2022 Sydney Hobart close at 1700hrs on Friday, 28 October 2022.

An international and star-studded fleet is building for the 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, with just 100 days to go until the 77th edition of the historic race.

The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, organiser of the race, has welcomed 89 entrants to date.

The fleet features eight international boats – from Germany (Orione), Great Britain (Sunrise), Hungary (Cassiopeia), New Caledonia (Eye Candy and Poulpito), New Zealand (Caro) and USA (Ocean Freeway and Warrior Won).

Matt Allen’s Botin 52 Ichi Ban, the Overall winner in the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart, is back to chase more history with Howth ex-pat Gordon Maguire onboard as Sailing Master. Ichi Ban is looking to become just the second boat to win the Tattersall Cup in three consecutive races and the first to win Overall honours four times.

Peter Harburg’s Reichel/Pugh 100 Black Jack – Line Honours winner in 2021 – is one of four 100-foot maxis entered in the 2022 race, alongside race record holder Andoo Comanche (three-times Line Honours winner), Hamilton Island Wild Oats (record nine-times Line Honours winner) and Christian Beck’s Juan-K 100 LawConnect (Line Honours winner as Perpetual LOYAL in 2016).

There will be another strong contingent of short-handed sailors, with Crux (Carlos Aydos’s S&S 34) and Speedwell (Campbell Geeves and Wendy Tuck) among 13 two-handed entrants.

Arthur Lane, Commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, said: "The fleet for the 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart is set to be one of the race’s biggest over the last decade, outside of the 75th anniversary race in 2019.

"We are delighted to see so many international and interstate entrants returning to take part in the race after the challenges of the last few years. There are many former winners, as well as a large number of first-timers, taking on what is one of ocean racing’s greatest challenges.

"The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia thanks Rolex for its ongoing support of the Rolex Sydney Hobart and sailing worldwide, as the Club celebrates 20 years of partnership with its Race Sponsor."

Of the 81 Australian entrants to date, 52 are from NSW, 13 from Queensland, six from Victoria, four from Tasmania, four from South Australia and two from Western Australia.

Some of the notable boats competing in the 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart are:

• Alive: Philip Turner’s Reichel/Pugh 66, skippered by Duncan Hine, won the Tattersall Cup in 2018.
• Andoo Comanche: John Winning Jr has chartered the famous VPLP 100, which has won Line Honours three times (2015/2017/2019) and holds the race record.
• Black Jack: Peter Harburg’s Reichel/Pugh 100, skippered by Mark Bradford, won Line Honours for the first time in 2021.
• Caro: Justin Ferris’ Botin 52, skippered by Maximilian Klink, is expected to be among the frontrunners in a competitive group of 52-foot boats.
• Celestial: Sam Haynes’ TP52 was second overall in the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart.
• Crux: Carlos Aydos’ S&S 34 was second on all handicaps in the inaugural Two-Handed Division last year.
• Hamilton Island Wild Oats: The Oatley Family’s Reichel/Pugh 100 – formerly Wild Oats XI – returns to the race. She holds the record for most Line Honours wins (nine), also winning Overall honours twice.
• Ichi Ban: Matt Allen’s Botin 52 has back-to-back Overall wins to her name and a joint-record three in total.
• Kialoa II: Patrick and Keith Broughton are the proud owners of the 1971 Line Honours winner.
• LawConnect: Christian Beck’s 100-footer won Line Honours for Anthony Bell as Perpetual LOYAL in 2016.
• Maluka: Peter Langman will be at the helm of the smallest boat in the fleet, the 9-metre Ranger.
• Moneypenny: Sean Langman’s Reichel/Pugh 69 won Overall honours in the 2022 Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race.
• Quest: Craig Neil’s TP52 has twice won the Tattersall Cup, as Quest for Bob Steel in 2008 and as Balance for Paul Clitheroe in 2015.
• Sunrise: Tom Kneen’s JPK 1180 won the 2021 Rolex Fastnet Race, was second in the 2021 Rolex Middle Sea Race and won divisional honours in the 2022 RORC Caribbean 600.
• Warrior Won: American Chris Sheehan will race his highly-fancied TP52 in Australia for the first time, having made headlines by winning the 2022 RORC Caribbean 600.

Entries for the 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart close at 1700hrs on Friday 28 October 2022.

Without doubt, the 76th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race delivered on the event’s formidable reputation. It was a race of two decidedly different halves. The first was a punishing test of physical endurance and perseverance. The second questioned mental resilience and tactical judgment. Organised since 1945 by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, with the support of the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania, the race has been partnered by Rolex since 2002.

The lead up to the 2021 race was overshadowed by the prospect of a brutal first 24 to 48 hours of strong southerly wind combining with opposing current to build a threatening sea state. The exacting conditions probed for weakness in equipment and mindset. Despite all the intense and detailed preparation within the 88-boat fleet, so unrelenting was the scrutiny that over a third would be forced to retire.

Smuggler off Tasman Island during the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race

For those that made it through, any sense of relief was short-lived with the final stages of the race setting a more cerebral challenge. A shifting weather pattern required crews to piece together a complex three-dimensional on-the-water jigsaw puzzle. When sailing, the shortest course between two points is rarely a straight line. This was never more true than during this year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart.

The three 100 foot (30.5 metre) maxis lead the fleet out of Sydney Harbour

The overall win on time correction was eventually secured by Matt Allen’s 52 foot (15.85 metre) Ichi Ban. The win had a special Irish dimension to it with Gordon Maguire of Howth as Sailing Master and Sean O’Rourke and Dublin-born Noel Drennan.

Previously winners in 2017 and 2019, the Australian crew joined two other yachts within the legend of the race to achieve three victories and is the first, since Freya in the 1960s, to lift the Tattersall Cup in back-to-back races. According to the winning owner, Matt Allen:

“It is amazing to be part of the history and fabric of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.”

With 31 races under his belt, the first back in 1980 aged 17, Allen has plenty of experience to draw upon. He felt this edition had provided a full and extensive examination of seamanship:

“Most races to Hobart do test the entire boat and crew, but I think this year’s probably more than ever. The wave conditions we saw through the first 24 hours really caused big issues for the boats. Then to have that very complicated tactical situation for the rest of the race really [meant] decision-making was absolutely critical.”

Tasman Island is the southernmost point on the 628nm course

The contest to be first to finish was no less enthralling, with three 100ft (30.5m) maxis dogfighting virtually the length of the 628 nautical mile racecourse. SHK Scallywag 100 led out of the harbour, but a sail-handling issue let her rivals slip past. LawConnect then traded the lead with Black Jack, until Peter Harburg’s Monegasque flagged and Australian-crewed entry acted decisively in the light winds to build an advantage that survived a nail-biting drift up the Derwent River to Hobart.

Matt Allen (L), owner of the overall winning yacht Ichi Ban, and Benoit Falletti (R), Rolex Australia

Moneypenny, Blink and Mako are early casualties of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht race this evening, a strong southerly of up to 30 knots on a heavy seaway has taken its toll in the opening hours of the race.

All on board the three yachts are well and the teams are returning to Sydney, leaving 85 boats racing.

Sean Langman’s Moneypenny, a Reichel/Pugh 69, suffered a broken forestay. She was an overall contender for the Tattersall Cup and was nicely placed in 10th on the water, so Langman and the crew will be hugely disappointed.

Blink, owned by Mark Gorbatov and Mark Siebert, retired with a torn main. She was one of seven competitive Beneteau 40s in the fleet. Mako, a Sydney 40 owned by a syndicate from Newcastle and skippered by Tim Dodds, is yet to advise their reason for retiring.

CYCA Rear Commodore Bradshaw Kellett, the navigator on Christian Beck’s line honours leader, LawConnect, described the conditions that led to the retirements. “It’s pretty miserable out here. It’s horrible. I’m hiding in the hatch putting on my wet weather jacket. You can’t see,” he said from south-east of Kiama at around 1820hrs.

“We’re about 3 nautical miles ahead of Black Jack (owned by Peter Harburg and skippered by Mark Bradford). They’re heading inshore for the first time. Scallywag (owned by Seng Huang Lee and skippered by David Witt) is catching us up a bit.

“Offshore is our route of choice, so we’re heading out there now. It’s lumpy – a 3-metre seaway, swell running one way - sea another. We’re currently in the process of slowing down a bit. We’re in 28 to 30 knots. We were doing 13.5 knots but slowed to 8 knots. Big waves. It's seasick weather for those who are prone.

“Tony Mutter is at the helm. All the professionals are on deck,” Kellett said.

The Sydney yachtsman told how they were buried at the start of the 628 nautical mile race. “We couldn’t accelerate, but it wasn’t too bad. Once we got out of the Heads, we were OK and in clear air.

“While we are uncomfortable at the moment, we are happy with our progress. We just have to get through these next few hours,” he ended.

Race tracker here

As the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race fleet settles into its first night at sea after the start, don't be surprised if some of the smaller boats like White Bay 6 Azzurro are well in the frame.

Based on Monday's long-range weather forecast for the race that starts at 1 pm on St. Stephen's Day, predictions set up a tight race with a forecast for early southerlies, possible rain and thunderstorms, a high-pressure ridge on days one, two or three that could see winds turn easterly, and numerous transitions.

The 100-footers should still lead, but their margin may not be as great as usual. The smaller boats like Shane Kearns' White Bay 6 Azzurro might be able to use the shifting conditions, minimise their losses, and set up their bids to win the Tattersall Cup.

Kearns' S&S 34-footer, built-in 1981, has been a regular overall challenger in recent years. However, there are other yachts in the 2021 fleet that fall into the same frame. These include Simon Kurts' S&S 47, Love & War, and Bruce Taylor's Caprice 40 Chutzpah.

Still, there is something about White Bay 6 Azzurro, registered with the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, which indicates this may be her standout year.

After first being sailed by Kearns in the 2014 Rolex Sydney Hobart to 33rd overall, she has continued to rise as a threat. In 2015 as Quikpoint Azzurro, she almost took the overall victory from Balance.

The stage is set for the return of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, with a fleet of 112 boats confirmed for the 2021 edition of the prestigious race. There's Irish interest too in the race as hopes are raised COVID entry restrictions to Australia will be lifted in time for the St. Stephen's Day race.

Afloat is aware of several crews lining up for duty in the 628-miler despite the fact Australia's borders are currently closed to everyone except citizens.

Among the hot entries is Matt Allen's Botin 52 Ichi Ban, (with regular sailing master Gordon Maguire, originally of Howth Yacht Club on board), the 2017 and 2019 winner of the Tattersall Cup, which honours the overall winner on handicap.

Three super maxis are tipped to battle for the John H Illingworth Challenge Cup as line honours winner, with Peter Harburg's RP100 Black Jack, Seng Huang Lee's Dovell 100 SHK Scallywag and Christian Beck's Juan-K 100 which will soon be rebranded (formerly Infotrack and winner of line honours in 2016 as Perpetual Loyal) part of the line-up.

The introduction of shorthanded racing for the 2021 race has proved popular as 24 crews of two look to be crowned as the inaugural winner of the Two-Handed Division.

Excitement is building for the return of the historic Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, with entries now open for the 77th edition of ocean racing’s ‘Everest’.

The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) has launched the Notice of Race and is now welcoming eligible crews from across Australia and abroad to secure their place in the fleet.

The eyes of the world will once again turn to Sydney Harbour on Sunday 26 December.

Following the disappointing cancellation of the 2020 Rolex Sydney Hobart due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CYCA Commodore Noel Cornish AM is looking forward to the Great Race.

“It is my great pleasure to announce the 2021 Notice of Race as the first step in our build-up to the 77th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race,” said Commodore Cornish.

“It is our hope that the Great Race will once again bring together a large group of dedicated and passionate sailors from across Australia and around the world.

“We look forward to working with our many long-term partners to bring the race to life this year and extend special thanks to our close friends at Rolex and The Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania in particular for their extraordinary contributions.

“Thank you to everyone who supported the CYCA during 2020.”

The Sydney Hobart Yacht Race was first conducted from the CYCA in Rushcutters Bay in 1945 and has become an icon of summer sport in Australia.

The CYCA has enjoyed a rich partnership with naming rights sponsor Rolex since 2002 and is pleased to again be supported by the Swiss luxury watch manufacturer.

For the first time in its history, the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart will feature two-handed crews. The increasingly popular division joined the CYCA’s sailing calendar in 2019 and was due to be included in the 2020 Race.

The Notice of Race and online entry are now available, and entries will remain open until Thursday 29 October.

While the 2020 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race has unfortunately been cancelled, sailors and fans alike can still take part in the Great Race through Virtual Regatta.

The Official Game of the Rolex Sydney Hobart is forging on which means you can take on the epic journey from the comfort of your own home. Virtual Regatta is an engaging, online sailing simulation game which replicates the 628-nautical-mile racecourse in real-time, experiencing current weather and sea conditions.

Last year, the 2019 Sydney Hobart Yacht Race Virtual Regatta attracted more than 41,000 competitors playing across PC, Mac or from their mobile device via the app.

This year, the highest-placed 2020 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race competitor will win a wonderful prize pack including an RSHYR20 Sardinia BR1 Jacket, Race Map tee and Fast Dry Brim Hat worth over $460. Additionally, the highest placed Cruising Yacht Club of Australia Member will receive a great prize pack of an RSHYR20 Corsica Microfleece, Boat Map Tee and Fast Dry Crew Cap worth over $260 (view prizes here).

Getting involved is easy, simply head to virtualregatta.com or your favourite app store, sign up for free, then set up your boat and select your sails.

The race commences 1300hrs Saturday 26 December – see you on the start line!

The successful partnership between Virtual Regatta and the CYCA has made the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race increasingly popular with the online sailing community as well as making it more accessible for the public to join the fun.