Melbourne to Hobart crews mingle before presentations
The day is warm, the breeze is gentle and the beer is cool in Hobart today. The weary eyes of sailors are being lit up as they walk along the street, running into members of other crews, with myths and legends being shared at every corner.
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| Spirit of Downunder, Tevake II, Cadibarra 8 and Goldfinger take a rest |
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| The fleet docked at Elizabeth St Pier |
Crews from the Eastcoaster tell of standing at the helm, willing the boat to move forward against unabaiting 20 knot southerlies. Crews from the Westcoaster tell of straining to slow their pace against westerlies, gusting to 60 knots, that pushed boats forward - faster and faster - over the six metre swells.
The conditions crews experienced in the west and east races were in stark contrast. As the west coast fleet rounded South West Cape, they had the wind at their backs pushing them all the way to Bruny Island, while Goldfinger was the only boat to get out ahead and escape the 20-knot winds that were straight on the nose for the rest of the east coast boats.
Dry White was in a constant tussle with Matrix and Seven50, and skipper Simon Dryden reported that the going was tough. “You might be going seven knots, but you can’t go directly into the wind, so you pound and smash your way through the wind in one four hour shift. And you might get four miles. When you’ve got another hundred to go, it feels like an eternity that’s never going to end.”
Magazan 53 and XLR8 were early retirees in the Westcoaster, with equipment damage to both boats. XLR8 skipper Ray Shaw reported that while he was confident the damage to the boat’s rudder would not result in any further issues, the slight chance of any problem left him with no choice. With heavy weather looking probable between King and Hunter Islands, he had to turn back.
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XLR8 doing some preparations before they to retire |
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| Kerry Watt on XLR8 Photo credit: Kerry Watt |
Some of our west coast crews reported special attention from ABC choppers, whose cameramen spent some time hovering over the fleet as it passed Maatsuyker Island, capturing footage for the evening news reports. All crews that took time to speak to the crowds of TV, radio and newspaper reporters collecting quotes, pictures and interviews – on the water and off – did a stellar job of representing the ORCV M2H and M2L races.
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| The ABC jumps on board Goldfinger after cross the finish line |
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| Goldfinger steps into a media storm as they arrive |
Now to the presentation at the Derwent Sailing Squadron this afternoon.
Results for M2L: http://bit.ly/10AvqyS
Results for M2H Westcoaster: http://bit.ly/WSZdOr
Results for M2H Eastcoaster: http://bit.ly/UcfFsk
