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There was a distinct crackle of tension in the air as the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia paraded some of the Sydney-Hobart overall handicap-winning hopefuls for the media yesterday.
On the surface, it was all sweetness and light between the five skippers on the panel as they fielded softball questions from the media. In truth, given half a chance, they’d all be secretly loosening each others’ keel bolts before the race start on Tuesday.
But in the interests of diplomacy, goodwill to all men (and they were all men), and respect for the sponsors the participants suppressed their competitive instincts and played nice for the cameras.
Standing in a neat row beneath the obligatory Rolex backdrop were 2022 winner Sam Haynes (Celestial), Max Klink (Swiss skipper of the hot TP52 Caro), Anthony Johnson (owner of the now-veteran RP72 URM Group), Simon Torvaldsen (skipper of the new JPK11.8 Atomic Blonde) and Marc Michel (campaigning the New Zealand Dehler 30 Niksen in the two-handed division).
Nobody was giving much away. Haynes confirmed that Celestial was sporting some new sails and had made modifications to their rig in an effort to improve the boat’s upwind performance. Klink just seemed happy to be having another tilt at Sydney-Hobart honours in a boat that has already won the Fastnet Race this year.
But the topic that now dominates dockside conversation in Sydney – the likely weather offshore next week – was largely set aside. There were the usual platitudes about how plenty of windward work would favour some boats, light downwind stuff might favour others. Indeed.
As ever, no one really knows anything until Boxing Day morning. Even then, tactics will be the usual lottery as the 105-strong fleet heads South. It’s the Hobart, after all.
Pictured above is the R/P 40 Chutzpah, from Carlo Borlenghi.
– anarchist David
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