Hobart races all wrapped up
The Melbourne to Hobart Races
The east coast and west coast races for 2012 presented entirely different weather conditions for competitors to cope with.
The line honours and IRC division winner in the Eastcoaster, Peter Blake and Kate Mitchell’s Goldfinger, pulled ahead right from the get-go, the first boat from the three M2H and M2L races to pass the heads. They stretched out their lead as the race progressed, with the rest of the fleet having to smash their way through head-on southerlies Goldy had managed to avoid.
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| Matrix |
Dry White, Matrix and Seven50 tussled for the minor line honour placings along the whole east coast, Simon Dryden and his crew arriving first just short of a day after Goldfinger, after making a gutsy team decision to take the inside route past Maria Island. Matrix and Seven50 crossed the line over the next two and a half hours, with Escapade and Dejavu fifth and sixth to arrive, Dejavu pipping Escapade at the post for top spot in the AMS division. The relieved faces of all Eastcoaster crews as they disembarked onto Elizabeth St Pier belied the tough race they had endured.
Full results for the Eastcoaster are on our results page: Melbourne to Hobart Eastcoaster results
Bandit was the first west coast boat to progress into Bass Strait, gusting winds contributing to heavy weather between Hunter and King Islands as the lead chopped and changed. Afrayed Knot were dismasted west of Hunter Island and Yoko and Turbulence went off their course to stand. Bruce Early’s crew motored to Stanley with no further damage to the boat and all crew safe and well.
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| eXtasea was first to arrive from the Westcoaster |
The final stages of the Westcoaster, from South West Cape until the northward turn towards the Derwent River, were an exercise in restraining boat speed. Most crews reported surfing past Maatsuyker Island – line honours winner eXtasea needed two helmsmen at some points to ride the waves, reaching speeds of almost 25 knots.
Line honours and handicap divisions were too close to call throughout, with the first three boats – eXtasea, Cadibarra 8 and Tevake II – crossing the line within the space of 16 minutes. Tevake held on to the top spot in AMS ahead of Bandit and Addiction.
Full results for the Westcoaster are available on the results page: Melbourne to Hobart Westcoaster results
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The Governor of Tasmania, the Honourable Peter Underwood, awarding |
Photos from the presentation are en route to Melbourne and will be put on the site as soon as possible. Congratulations to everyone who competed to make an exciting series!
