Maritimo 11 wins prestigious Heemskerk Perpetual Trophy in 50^th Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race 

Maritimo 11 Winners of the Heemskerk Perpetual Trophy Image Jane Austin

Maritimo 11 has been through the highs and lows of racing over the last few weeks, but capped 2022 off perfectly by winning line honours and every handicap category in which they were entered, in the 50^th anniversary Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race. 

AdvantEDGE, skippered by Andrew Jones from the Port Dalrymple Yacht Club, was second across the line and Damien King’s MRV was third. 

Michael Spies, the skipper of Maritimo 11, accepted the prestigious Heemskerk Perpetual Trophy today which is awarded to first place overall on corrected time on AMS, the handicap category which had the largest number of entrants in this year’s race.  

Maritimo 11 was also awarded the Wrest Point Abel Tasman Trophy as line honours winner, took out Division 1 on ORC and overall, won on IRC overall, and was awarded the City of Melbourne Perpetual Trophy for first on corrected time on performance handicap. 

Skipper Michael Spies was full of praise for the event and the competitors and regards the race, which is affectionately known as the Westcoaster, as one of the world’s great ocean races. 

“Until you have actually competed in it, you don’t realise what a challenging race it is, the love that there is for the race, and the history of the race… it is truly one of the world’s great ocean races,” said Spies. 

Murray Spence winner of the Zeehan Trophy for navigator of the line honours winner Maritimo 11 Image Jane Austin

The Zeehan Trophy was awarded to Murray Spence as the navigator of the line honours winner, Maritimo 11. 

The Edward Henty Perpetual Trophy was awarded to Ginan, skippered by Cameron McKenzie from the Mornington Yacht Club, for second place overall on AMS. 

Patriot, skippered by Jason Close from the Sandringham Yacht Club and a first timer down the West Coast, was awarded the Batman Perpetual Trophy for third place overall on AMS and was happy with Patriot’s performance. 

“We had a really good race and had good fun. The race had its challenges, but it wasn’t as windy as forecast. I also don’t think I’ve ever sailed an offshore race on the one tack before…the wind just stayed with us from the same direction and followed us around the bottom of Tasmania; we two-sail reached up the coast and cracked sheets to the finish,” said Close.   

Close was full of praise for Maritimo 11, which he described as a ‘two-sailed reaching-machine’ and skipper Michael Spies. “Maritimo is narrow with a long waterline length, sailed by an extremely good yachtie. The two-sail reaching just suited them - if it had been a bit deeper, there would have been other boats in the play,” said Close. 

Close is keen to participate in another Westcoaster. 

Jason Close 3rd overall Photo ORCV Media

Alex Toomey and Andrew Hibbert from the Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron, co-skippers of Ryujin, were awarded the Double-Handed Perpetual Trophy for their win in that category with Unprecedented, skippered by Andrew McGrath, winning Division 2 Double Handed. 

In Division 2 of the Unrestricted Monohull group, Unprecedented had a terrific race winning on AMS and ORC, while How Bizarre, skippered by Peter Amarant from the Royal Melbourne Yacht Squadron, took out first place on performance handicap.  

Rob Date’s Scarlet Runner received the Port Phillip Sea Pilots Trophy for the first yacht to exit Port Phillip Heads. 

The Alan Collins “Rookie Skipper” prize was awarded to Clare Olding, who was selected by the Race Committee as the best performing ‘first-time’ skipper. 

Rookie Skipper Clare Olding wins the Alan Colins award

ORCV Commodore, Cyrus Allen, is delighted with this year’s event. 

“The 50^th Melbourne to Hobart has been a magnificent success, bringing together teams from across the country to compete in one of sailing’s iconic events. From the excitement of the race start at Portsea Pier to the cheers of the crowds lining the dock in Hobart, the Westcoaster continues to be a race that both challenges and rewards those prepared to give it a go. And we’re particularly happy on this 50^th anniversary to see an increasing number of talented young women amongst the crews and skippers and look forward to attracting even more sailors to this unique event in future years,” said Allen. 

The 435 nautical mile Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race, is organised by the ORCV with the cooperation of the Derwent Sailing Squadron.  

Full race results are here https://www.orcv.org.au/results/2022-23/2022M2h/series.htm?ty=63833

Skipper of Maritimo anoints Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race as one of the world’s great ocean races

As the 50^th anniversary race, hosted by the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria (ORCV), draws to a close and the handful of boats still to finish creep up the River Derwent, sailors are already discussing the success of the anniversary race and the global standing of the race.

Michael Spies skipper of Maritimo regards the Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race one of the worlds greatest ocean races Image Jane Austin

Michael Spies, skipper of line honours winner Maritimo 11, was full of praise for the race and the overall event, anointing the 435 nautical race from Portsea Pier in Melbourne to the River Derwent in Hobart as truly one of the world’s best ocean races.

“To be honest my life focus, having been raised in Sydney, has always been the Sydney to Hobart [ Yacht Race]. You were always aware that this [Melbourne to Hobart] race was there, you always respected it, but until you have actually competed in it, you don’t realise what a challenging race it is, the love that there is for the race, and the history of the race…it is truly one of the world’s great ocean races.

“Only two of the 12 crew on our Maritimo team had done the race before, one in 1973 and one in 1980. We went in with our eyes wide open but having come out the other side and having seen the calibre of the race, the organisation of the race, the acceptance of the competitors, the warm welcome in Hobart and the friendliness and understanding we received from the race committee when we entered the race.

“It is truly an iconic event and one that the ORCV and Australian yachting should be very proud of,” said Spies.

The Maritimo skipper’s sentiments have been echoed across the fleet with strong preparation a key to the event’s success.

Maritimo Line Honours Winner 50th Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race Image Jane Austin

Experienced ocean racer, skipper and naval architecture student Leah Hunter flew into Melbourne from the United Kingdom just days before the start of the race to join Hartbreaker for the race to Hobart.

“It wasn’t actually the anniversary of the race that drew me back to Australia but the challenge itself. I’ve done a Sydney [to Hobart Yacht Race] before, but the Westcoaster…while it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles, the prestige and the maxis, it is a much more challenging race. It’s a much harsher sea state, you’re going into the Southern Ocean, past the southern tip of Tassie, and for me, I thought that would be a much bigger challenge, so when the Hartbreaker team called me up to race, I said sign me up,” said Hunter.   

Hartbreaker had a solid race south, finishing in sixth place across the line.

Leah Hunter flew from the UK to compete in the race on Hartbreaker Image Jane Austin

“It was a short fast race; we knew that we were going to be looking at something slightly hairy. We did a lot of practice at the end of the Cock of the Bay which was a good shake-down as some of crew were new to the boat. We made sure we did a lot of drills, putting the storm sails up, we made a lot of last-minute modifications to make things easier, which meant that once we got out on the water, we were pretty confident,” said Hunter.

Hunter heads back to the UK in the next week to continue her studies and will compete in the Rolex Fastnet Race in July.

Ian Snape skipper of Sailient Image Jane Austin

Ian Snape, skipper of Sailient and a member of the Derwent Sailing Squadron, reflected upon his race down the West Coast of Tasmania.

“We did really well until we got to the top of Tasmania and the front hit. We saw it coming, but we were struggling to put some reefs in our main. We got hit sideways and put a big rip in our main which slowed us down. We spent an hour or two fitting a tri-sail and had to decide whether we would keep going or turn back.

“The most important part of the race was the communication through the incident. It was fantastic to have so much experience on the boat to talk through all the options and the risks, and to get a consensus opinion, which was to carry on. We have 300 years of experience on the boat. From there, we just kept pegging back boats,” said Snape.  

The Westcoaster was a big step up for the Sailient crew, who were sailing the relatively new Cookson 12 to Hobart.

“The biggest step up for us was the preparation. It was an unbelievable amount of work to get the boat ready, everyone on the boat pitched in and did things for months… safety equipment, training, testing things, fixing things – our list was just enormous. It’s a big jump between a Launceston to Hobart and a Westcoaster Category 2 race that’s for sure.

“Our biggest supporters were our wives and partners – they tolerated the unbelievable amount of time it took to get the boat together – we couldn’t have done it without their support, we wouldn’t have got close,” said Snape.

And on Sailient being part of the 50^th anniversary race?

“It was very special, it was such a big fleet, there were a lot of really hot boats competing, so we knew that to try and beat any of these guys, we had to be on our A game. It’s also been an incredibly well organised race. The ORCV in Victoria and the DSS here in Hobart couldn’t do enough to help,” said Snape.

Final results are expected to be known by early afternoon with prize presentations to commence at Race Village on the Elizabeth Street Pier in Hobart from 4pm.

Follow the race live on https://race.bluewatertracks.com/50th-melbourne-to-hobart-westcoaster-2022

The 435 nautical mile Melbourne to Hobart Yacht Race, is organised by the ORCV with the cooperation of the Derwent Sailing Squadron.

For Entry, Notice of Race and List of Entries, please visit: www.orcv.org.au

Jane Austin/ORCV media

9am, 31 December 2022