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It can be a cruel way to spend your Christmas holiday.
With the fastest few boats now finished and snug alongside, the rest of the Sydney-Hobart fleet can start worrying about when they’ll need to cross the line to score a podium place on handicap.
Sailing against the clock in the frustrating conditions down the Tasmanian coast, across Storm Bay and up the Derwent River can be a protracted agony.
The race website, which is accessed by all competitors within internet range, helpfully now includes a “time to beat” calculation for every yacht still at sea with winning ambitions. Often those targets can seem out of reach but in this year’s slow race the possibilities are tantalizing.
Some of the TP52s have already finished. Ichi Ban beat Celestial home by 17 minutes but ended up a frustrating 3 minutes behind on IRC corrected time. Skipper Matt Allen’s hopes of a ‘three peat’ Hobart victory will now have to wait until next year.
Pictured above, and currently leading on IRC is the S&S34 Azzurro, one of the smallest yachts in the fleet. To win they’ll need to finish before 07:00 on December 31. With 200nm to go that’s a distinct possibility…
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