Sydney Hobart – 53 Nautical Miles
by John Curnow, Editor, Sail-World AUS 26 Dec 2022 13:28 PST
Warrior Won - Start of the 2022 Sydney Hobart race © Bow Caddy Media
Say it quickly, and it almost doesn’t seem to count. Think about it for a minute, and it changes complexity a little. If you are out in the islands somewhere on charter, and able to do daylight hours only, it’s a huge haul. If you are andoo Comanche, you can dispose of it in around 90 minutes, weather dependant. And that’s the point…
Overnight, it was more like 25nm, and you can rack them up, but at some point you are going to have to dispose of them, if you are going to take on the record. That would seem unlikely. You’re still making 20-something knots now SOG (Speed Over Ground), but I dare say it has been a while since you have punched 30.
304nm in 14 hours is 21.7 knots, average. That’s up about a knot from last time we looked at this subject. Comanche’s own record from 2017 looks firmer by the minute.
Elsewhere, the Young 11, Pacman (Peter Elkington and Scott Cavanough), leads the Two-Handed fleet under IRC, with the S&S 34, Crux (Carlos Aydos and Peter Grayson), holding the same position under ORCi. Crux was reportedly seen heading back to the Heads just after making it to sea yesterday, but kept racing the whole time, so it is a doubly impressive effort to now be atop the board.
Just have to mention Ian and Annika Thomson on Ocean Crusaders, the converted TP, who are doing this with no Diesel on board. Currently in fifth position (IRC), they may be a paying a price for all that extra waterline over the other boats in the two-handed fleet, but being in 26th overall is a testament to the amount of miles out in the South Pacific this couple have racked up over the years. Their dedication to their project is marvellous.
Chris Sheehan’s Judel/Vrolijk TP52 Warrior Won from the USA has overtaken Sam Haynes’ Celestial for the IRC lead as of now. Great news for the Americans, a hard pill for the crew of Celestial no doubt. It does show how tough it all is, and just 9nm separates the top five from the village of the TPs, and the ones that are there are all super-capable. The 60-somethings and mini-maxis sit in behind them, so daylight arrives, and extracting the most from the boat remains paramount.
Stay safe, thanks for tuning into Sail-World.com, and all the best for 2023.