2013 Sydney-Hobart
Posted: Sat Dec 07, 2013 10:57 pm
Well we’re getting to that time of year when everyone in the sailing community starts looking south again and this year’s edition of the Sydney-Hobart is set to be a cracker.
With five 100 foot supermaxis, three 80 footers, fifteen 70 footers and some interesting new boats like Matt Allen’s new Ichi Ban, this year’s is a proper international event.
At the big end of the fleet, six times winner Wild Oats XI has had even more modifications to add to last year’s. With the addition of some lateral wings to keep the bow out of the water, she now has so many foils some wag nicknamed her “the Swiss Army knife”. Not all her changes have been successful. Her new mast fell down in one of her first outings, fortunately with no casualties. From my point of view these modifications are something of a tacit admission that she’s getting close to being out-designed.
Grant Wharrington’s Jones-designed 100 footer Wild Thing is due to be back, provided her owner can get the paperwork sorted out this time. Hopefully we’ll get to see how successful the modifications were after Wharro chopped 10 metres off the stern last year and rebuilt her in a quest for more downwind speed.
Another boat to watch is Syd Fischer’s Ragamuffin 100, the old Loyal which pipped Wild Oats XI at the finish in a dying wind on the Derwent in 2011. This Elliott 100 may not be the fastest in the race but she’s reliable and good in light stuff.
There’s a German-owned, Cyprus-based Farr 100 called Zafiro which has been cruising her way around the world and decided to do the race for a lark. She’s unlikely to be a factor unless it blows but all the same, she’s no slouch.
But the most interesting big boat this year is the new Loyal. Designed by Argentinian Juan Kouyoumdjian of Volvo Ocean Race fame, she was previously known as Rambler 100 which capsized after losing her keel in the 2011 Fastnet race. New owner Anthony Bell has had her completely rebuilt and strengthened and she should be good for Hobart.
Juan K’s designs proved themselves in the VOR with ABN AMRO 2 recording the fastest ever 24 hour passage for a monohull of 596 nautical miles (average 24.833 knots!), a record which still stands. The VO70s have been known to hit 40 knots and Loyal has a notional top speed of 45 knots off the wind. That’s about 80 km/h.
Of course it’s all academic once the weather is taken into account but this is the biggest threat to Wild Oats XI's supremacy yet and represents a newer generation of design.
Backing up the supermaxis are three 80 footers; the veteran Jutson 80 Brindabella and a Swan 82 from the UK called Nikata. But the interest here is Karl Kwok’s Botin-designed pocket Maxi, Beau Geste. This brand new Hong Kong-based boat is 2/3 the weight of a supermaxi but with ¾ of the sail area. We’ll see how the maths work out. Hopefully they will be better than they were for Kwok's Farr 80 of the same name. That boat all but broke in half in the Auckland-Noumea race and Kwok, after abandoning the Farr design group, has utilized all the components in his new boat.
Following the 80 footers is a veritable horde of Tony Castro designed Clipper 70 ‘round the world boats. Not as radical as the VO65 boats we’ll see in the next couple of years, they are nonetheless pretty quick and well capable of a very fast run to Hobart. Competition will be very tight and all the crews are internationals.
Backing them up are three VO70s including the new Black Jack (formerly Telefonica) and the New Zealand based Giacomo, formerly Groupama IV, winner of the 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race. Southern Excellence II, the Jones-designed VO70 and former Ichi Ban, will fill out this very large group. Don't discount this group. They may not have the waterline length but off the wind, Black Jack and Giacomo will be impossible to stop. Remember what Nokia did to the race record in 1999.
Another boat well worth watching is the new Ichi Ban. Designed by South African Shaun Carkeek and built in Dubai, this boat has yet to turn a hamster wheel in anger but all eyes will be on her. Carkeek is known for designing very fast TP52s and often works in close company with Spanish designer Marcelino Botin, who penned Beau Geste. expect to see some similarities but both boats will represent the latest in design trends.
I don’t know if your ARSE correspondent will be in Hobart – unlikely, in fact – but all the same, with the best fleet in 30 years, I can’t wait for this one.
With five 100 foot supermaxis, three 80 footers, fifteen 70 footers and some interesting new boats like Matt Allen’s new Ichi Ban, this year’s is a proper international event.
At the big end of the fleet, six times winner Wild Oats XI has had even more modifications to add to last year’s. With the addition of some lateral wings to keep the bow out of the water, she now has so many foils some wag nicknamed her “the Swiss Army knife”. Not all her changes have been successful. Her new mast fell down in one of her first outings, fortunately with no casualties. From my point of view these modifications are something of a tacit admission that she’s getting close to being out-designed.
Grant Wharrington’s Jones-designed 100 footer Wild Thing is due to be back, provided her owner can get the paperwork sorted out this time. Hopefully we’ll get to see how successful the modifications were after Wharro chopped 10 metres off the stern last year and rebuilt her in a quest for more downwind speed.
Another boat to watch is Syd Fischer’s Ragamuffin 100, the old Loyal which pipped Wild Oats XI at the finish in a dying wind on the Derwent in 2011. This Elliott 100 may not be the fastest in the race but she’s reliable and good in light stuff.
There’s a German-owned, Cyprus-based Farr 100 called Zafiro which has been cruising her way around the world and decided to do the race for a lark. She’s unlikely to be a factor unless it blows but all the same, she’s no slouch.
But the most interesting big boat this year is the new Loyal. Designed by Argentinian Juan Kouyoumdjian of Volvo Ocean Race fame, she was previously known as Rambler 100 which capsized after losing her keel in the 2011 Fastnet race. New owner Anthony Bell has had her completely rebuilt and strengthened and she should be good for Hobart.
Juan K’s designs proved themselves in the VOR with ABN AMRO 2 recording the fastest ever 24 hour passage for a monohull of 596 nautical miles (average 24.833 knots!), a record which still stands. The VO70s have been known to hit 40 knots and Loyal has a notional top speed of 45 knots off the wind. That’s about 80 km/h.
Of course it’s all academic once the weather is taken into account but this is the biggest threat to Wild Oats XI's supremacy yet and represents a newer generation of design.
Backing up the supermaxis are three 80 footers; the veteran Jutson 80 Brindabella and a Swan 82 from the UK called Nikata. But the interest here is Karl Kwok’s Botin-designed pocket Maxi, Beau Geste. This brand new Hong Kong-based boat is 2/3 the weight of a supermaxi but with ¾ of the sail area. We’ll see how the maths work out. Hopefully they will be better than they were for Kwok's Farr 80 of the same name. That boat all but broke in half in the Auckland-Noumea race and Kwok, after abandoning the Farr design group, has utilized all the components in his new boat.
Following the 80 footers is a veritable horde of Tony Castro designed Clipper 70 ‘round the world boats. Not as radical as the VO65 boats we’ll see in the next couple of years, they are nonetheless pretty quick and well capable of a very fast run to Hobart. Competition will be very tight and all the crews are internationals.
Backing them up are three VO70s including the new Black Jack (formerly Telefonica) and the New Zealand based Giacomo, formerly Groupama IV, winner of the 2011-12 Volvo Ocean Race. Southern Excellence II, the Jones-designed VO70 and former Ichi Ban, will fill out this very large group. Don't discount this group. They may not have the waterline length but off the wind, Black Jack and Giacomo will be impossible to stop. Remember what Nokia did to the race record in 1999.
Another boat well worth watching is the new Ichi Ban. Designed by South African Shaun Carkeek and built in Dubai, this boat has yet to turn a hamster wheel in anger but all eyes will be on her. Carkeek is known for designing very fast TP52s and often works in close company with Spanish designer Marcelino Botin, who penned Beau Geste. expect to see some similarities but both boats will represent the latest in design trends.
I don’t know if your ARSE correspondent will be in Hobart – unlikely, in fact – but all the same, with the best fleet in 30 years, I can’t wait for this one.