2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart

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2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart fleet set for downwind start

The maxi yachts should get off to a flying start in this year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, based on the NSW Bureau of Meteorology [BOM]’s long range weather forecast.



Northerly winds are expected for Monday's start, according to the forecast presented today at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, organisers of the 628 nautical mile race.

Gabrielle Woodhouse, forecaster at the NSW Bureau of Meteorology, said the light east-to-north-easterly winds forecast for Monday’s 1pm start should freshen later that afternoon.

Those winds are expected to continue into Tuesday, with a trough forecast on Wednesday and winds shifting to south-south easterly and light rain showers developing.

"For those boats that will take a little bit longer, it's still unclear as to the timing of another trough that could come through during the second half of next week," Woodhouse said.

"But for the most part, we are looking at northerly winds and having those northerly winds increase through the first half of the race with the trough coming through on Wednesday."

The forecast augurs well for the big boats in the 111-strong fleet, especially the four maxi yachts – Andoo Comanche, Black Jack, Hamilton Island Wild Oats and LawConnect.

It could see the maxis sail to Hobart in one assisting weather pattern, while the rest of the fleet, from the mid-to-small sized boats, will have to battle through two or more patterns.

"The forecast is generally good for us as we like going downwind," said Andoo Comanche navigator, Justin Shaffer, who is sailing in his second Rolex Sydney Hobart.

"We'll be a good chance of being ahead [after the start]… by how much we'll see," Shaffer said.

Stan Honey has navigated on all four maxis and this year, his eighth, will be on Hamilton Island Wild Oats.

He agrees the long-range forecast is made for a big boat start.

"At this point it looks like it could be a big boat race," Honey said.

“It looks like the big boats will get through most of the race in the north-easterly.”

For the mid-sized boats, like the TP52 Patrice, the forecast indicates they will have to sail through at least two weather patterns before reaching the finish in Hobart.




Patrice navigator, Michael Bellingham, who has sailed in 29 Sydney Hobarts, concurred with Honey, saying: "The big boats will probably do this in one weather pattern.

"How this changes and pans out on Wednesday will affect how the fleet do in this race.

"It will be interesting to see what sort of wind strengths and sea conditions we get across Bass Strait."

Bryan Northcote, navigator on the XP44 ToyBox 2 and with 17 Sydney Hobarts to his name, is open-minded about which boats will eventually be favoured by the forecast.

"I think it's too early to call at this stage," he said.

"The weather's changing daily, as it always does, moving into Hobart. This far out... Sure, the big boats look favoured. But I think the race conditions are going to change.

"As always, if you read every newspaper from Hobart, they're going to break the race record. When it comes to Boxing Day, I think that might change."

Duncan McCrae, navigator on the S&S 34 White Bay 6 Azzurro and a veteran of 18 Sydney Hobarts, says the crew members are once again bracing themselves for myriad conditions.

"We're probably going through three weather patterns," he said. "It will depend how that trough [on Wednesday] pans out on the second day. We'll still be in Bass Strait at that point."

The start of the race will be broadcast live on the Seven Network throughout Australia and live-and-on-demand on the 7Plus app, as well as on the official race website - rolexsydneyhobart.com - for viewers around the world.

For the full list of entries and more information about the race, visit rolexsydneyhobart.com.

By Rupert Guinness/RSHYR Media

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Race record may be for the taking in 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart



Start Wind


The Line Honours race record is there for the taking in this year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, so long as the forecast of downwind conditions prevail through to the finish.

That is the view of Mark Richards, skipper of the nine-time Line Honours-winning maxi, Hamilton Island Wild Oats.

Richards made the declaration today after Gabrielle Woodhouse from the NSW Bureau of Meteorology confirmed the forecast of north-easterly winds for Monday’s start onwards.

Woodhouse said the race start in Sydney Harbour at 1pm should see north to north-easterly winds of about 10-15 knots, with an increase to 20 knots as the fleet turns south out of Sydney Heads. The winds should strengthen on Tuesday and Wednesday, by which time the big boats should have finished in Hobart.

For the four maxis in the 628 nautical mile race, organised by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA), the forecast sets the scene for a lightning fast run down the coast.

The Line Honours record is 1 day, 9 hours, 15 minutes, 24 seconds, set by LDV Comanche (now Andoo Comanche) in 2017.


24 Hours in

Richards believes the record could be beatable, so long as the northerly winds continue at strength and that there is still a breeze down the Derwent River to the finish.

"It's a race that could definitely rack up a record, especially with Andoo Comanche [in the race]," said Richards today.

"It all depends on the actual conditions. But if it’s dead the whole way, I'd say not; but then it only has to change a couple of degrees and all of a sudden, it's all on.

"If there's breeze in the Derwent absolutely," the record-breaking skipper said.

Richards is certainly excited about the forecast and Hamilton Island Wild Oats’ suitability for it: "We put all our eggs in one basket this year and prepared the best we could for a downwind race.

"Someone shone down on us and we’ve got a fantastic forecast for exactly that."

Richards and the Hamilton Island Wild Oats crew are not alone in smiling about the forecast.

Spirits are high on board the three other maxis in the fleet that numbers 109 boats - Andoo Comanche, Black Jack and LawConnect.



48 Hours In



72 Hours In



96 Hours In

Mark Bradford, skipper of the Peter Harburg-owned Black Jack, which won Line Honours last year, predicts a nail-biting race between the maxis right up to the run down the Derwent River.

"The boats … should technically get from A to B – B being Tasman Island – at roughly the same time, but the journey along the way will be very different directions," Bradford said.

"We'll see everyone commit to their boats and their modes. Then we'll get to Tasman Light within eyesight of each other. It'll be light on the Derwent and we'll figure it out from there."

John Winning Jr, skipper of Andoo Comanche, was rubbing his hands over the forecast.

"We are pretty happy," he said. "I was down in Hobart last weekend, checking out the local area and the Derwent and the forecast was for a good breeze down the Derwent, so that should be good.

"It was windy last weekend. So, it should be windy on Tuesday or Wednesday whenever we're going to get there … hopefully sometime from Tuesday afternoon and we’ll go from there."

Chris Lewis, the American navigator on Christian Beck’s LawConnect, is thrilled about the prospect of a high-speed race south.

"It's just going to be so incredibly exciting to see all the boats - not just us - ripping down the coast. It's going to be quite a sleigh ride," said Lewis, for whom this will be a fourth start.

The start of the race will be broadcast live on the Seven Network throughout Australia and live-and-on-demand on the 7Plus app, as well as on the official race website - rolexsydneyhobart.com - for viewers around the world.

For the full list of entries and more information about the race, visit rolexsydneyhobart.com.

Rupert Guinness/RSHYR Media

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Fast and dramatic start to 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race



The 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race got off to a fast and dramatic start today.

The assisting downwind conditions once the boats turned right at the Heads could see the first boat cross the finish line as early as tomorrow night.

The 1pm start on Sydney Harbour got underway in north to north easterly 10-15 knot winds, under glorious sun and blue skies, belying the thick fog that blanketed Sydney at dawn.

Moments after the fleet of 109 boats began their 628 nautical mile race, the race between the four maxis was impacted by drama.

Three of the maxis took the western channel on Sydney Harbour – Andoo Comanche, Black Jack and LawConnect; while Hamilton Island Wild Oats immediately tacked for the eastern side. From there, the fleet regularly tacked up the Harbour to make their way out of the Heads.


all images copyright Rolex/Carlos Borlenghi



Amidst the action that also saw the mid to small size boats make the best of their starts, a standout sight was that of the John Winning Jr-skippered Andoo Comanche executing a 720-degree penalty turn due to a possible protest against them.

Hamilton Island Wild Oats, skippered by Mark Richards, also undertook a penalty turn, despite not knowing if it had been required to or not – perhaps they were remembering 2017 when a rule infringement cost them Line Honours and the race record to LDV Comanche.

By 3pm, the race also had its first drop out, with the Hick 40 Avalanche, a two-handed entry owned by James Murchison and co-skippered by James Francis, reporting a broken bowsprit, reducing the fleet to 108 boats and 19 two-handed entries.








The four maxis were so close in the race to the Heads, they looked set for a thrilling scenario towards the finish down the Derwent River in Hobart, with a couple of red protest flags seen fluttering. The honour of being first out went to LawConnect, ahead of Hamilton Island Wild Oats.

Black Jack, the Botin 80 Stefan Racing, the Reichel/Pugh 72 URM Group, Andoo Comanche and the Reichel/Pugh 69 Moneypenny were next out in that order. Following close behind were the dozen TP52s, led by Celestial.





The sight of the fleet heading south towards Tasmania was superb, especially amidst the heightened anticipation of whether or not the Line Honours record would be broken or not. LDV Comanche (then owned by Jim Cooney/Samantha Grant) currently holds the record of 1 day, 9 hours, 15 minutes, 24 seconds.

Today’s Rolex Sydney Hobart race start lived up to every expectation on so many fronts. The brilliant summer conditions aside, it attracted a huge spectator fleet, made up of boats of all sizes. Meanwhile, crowds flocked to the key vantage point on land, especially at South Head.

The race, in a fleet that included 20 two-handed entries, was as fast and spectacular as expected once the yachts turned right for Hobart, with the wind behind them.

At the 1pm start, the boats jockeyed for position from four designated start lines, assigned depending on their size and class.

https://rolexsydneyhobart.com/news/2...rt-yacht-race/

Rupert Guinness/RSHYR Media

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Andoo Comanche wins Line Honours in 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart

Andoo Comanche has taken Line Honours in the 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.


ANDOO COMANCHE, Sail No: CAY007, Owner: , Skipper: John Winning Jr, State: NSW, Design: VPLP 100, LOA: 30,5 Protected by copyright

The 100-ft maxi, skippered by John Winning Jr, crossed the line in 1 day, 11 hours, 56 minutes and 48 seconds.

This is a fourth Line Honours win for the boat, a Verdier/VPLP design, under a third different owner.

She first won as Comanche in 2015 for Jim and Kristy Clark.

The 2017 Line Honours win as LDV Comanche, when owned by Jim Cooney and Samantha Grant, was achieved in a time of 1 day, 9 hours, 15 minutes and 24 seconds, which still stands as the race record.

Cooney and Grant also won Line Honours with Comanche in the 75th anniversary race in 2019

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Maxis brace for nail biting finale to Rolex Sydney Hobart

The 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race fleet is revelling in the downwind run to Tasmania thanks to the north-to-north easterly winds of Monday’s action-packed start prevailing.



By mid-afternoon today, the four maxis were continuing to make their charge across Bass Strait in their bid for Line Honours victory in the early hours of tomorrow morning and outside the race record of time of 1 day, 9 hours, 15 minutes, 24 seconds, set by LDV Comanche in 2017.

At 3pm, Andoo Comanche (John Winning Jr) was still in the lead with 179 nautical miles to go to make the finish line in Hobart. It was 80 nautical miles east of St Helens Point and, like its main rivals, LawConnect, Black Jack and Hamilton Island Wild Oats, was well east of the rhumb line.

Andoo Comanche was still in the box seat, but all four 100-footers were in contention to finish first in the 628 nautical mile race, organised by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia.

Andoo Comanche’s navigator, Justin Shaffer, said it was hard to predict a finish time, but added that they might reach the Iron Pot at the mouth of the Derwent River at about 10pm.

Reporting 150 nautical miles from Tasman Island, Shaffer said: "It depends on the pressure between here and Tasman Light. We can’t see any of the other boats, but we believe LawConnect is around 20 miles behind.

"We’ve had a great night, a dream run. The crew is holding up well and so is the boat. We are in a 13 knot nor-easterly."

While Andoo Comanche was in the box seat 10 nautical miles ahead of her rivals, the other three were still well in the race. Only three nautical miles separates second, third and fourth placed boats.

The top four had spent all morning sailing at mid-20 knot speeds, but by lunch time they were averaging 16 to 17 knots. However, winds are expected to increase late this afternoon.

Anticipation remains high that by early morning the four boats will all find themselves on the 11 nautical mile run up the Derwent River, each vying for Line Honours.

Christian Beck, the owner and skipper of LawConnect, was in high spirits early this morning. While crossing Bass Strait at about 22 knots of boat speed, he projected a finish time of midnight. But that will no longer be the case.

"We track the competition pretty well. We know what they are doing on the tracker. We follow it religiously," he told Channel 7's Sunrise.

Asked if he felt LawConnect could claim Line Honours, he said: "We are going to try. You never know when you get into the Derwent. All the boats have a chance at the moment."

Earlier, LawConnect sailing master Tony Mutter was equally positive as they sailed with the other maxis in sight.

"We had a pretty decent morning coming across Bass Strait," he said.

Mutter was expecting the winds to strengthen later today, but was unsure if the crew would make any sail changes to optimise their chances.

"We’ll see what the timing is like," Mutter said. "Obviously, if you do a sail change you have a bit of down time so you’ll need to make up your miles lost.

"So, we’ll try and judge how long the 30-plus knot weather is, or if we just ride it out with what we’ve got which is a bit marginal; or we change down a gear and approach it that way."

Meanwhile, further back in the fleet, Steve Kemp, a veteran of 23 Sydney Hobarts and navigator on the David Gotze-owned and skippered Reichel Pugh 63, No Limit, was happy.

"Good running conditions this morning with low 20s now. Team had more freeze dried this morning – chicken is the favourite," reported Kemp.

On the first day at sea, only two boats retired from the fleet. The two-handed Avalanche (James Murchison/James Francis) retired with a broken bowsprit and Louis and Marc Ryckman’s Yeah Baby with rudder damage from a sunfish strike.

This afternoon, the fleet was reduced to 106 boats with the retirement of the TP52 Koa, co-owned by Peter Wrigley and Andy Kearnan, after losing its rudder and calling for assistance.

The Anthony Kirke and Andrew Nuttman-owned Botin/Carkeek GP42, Enterprise Next Generation from Western Australia, went to stand by Koa to offer any help. Meanwhile, NSW Water Police were dispatched to help the yacht.

All crew on Koa were reported as safe and sound. The Race Committee of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race has this afternoon lodged a Request for Redress for Enterprise Next Generation, which will be held at 1600 hours on Thursday 29 December.

Rupert Guinness/RSHYR Media

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Race updates | Tough conditions lead to multiple retirements

Updates from the 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.



Wednesday 28 December

• RETIREMENT: Navy One, the Royal Australian Navy's Beneteau First 40, retired with a broken boom.
• RETIREMENT: Sail Exchange, Carl and Bettina Crafoord's Cookson 12, retired after losing its rudder.
• RETIREMENT: Mondo, Lisa Callaghan and Stephen Teudt's Sydney 38, retired with a broken gooseneck.
• RETIREMENT: Huntress, Victoria Logan's Sydney 39 Cruiser, retired after losing its rudder.

Tuesday 27 December

• RETIREMENT: KOA, Andy Kearnan and Peter Wrigley's TP52, retired after losing its rudder.
• PROTEST: The protest below will be considered before an International Jury at the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania and via Zoom at 1100 hours on Friday 30 December 2022.
  Avalanche v Llama II

Monday 26 December

• RETIREMENT: Yeah Baby, the Akilaria RC2 owned by Louis and Marc Ryckmans, retired with rudder damage.
• RETIREMENT: The two-handed boat Avalanche, a Hick 40 owned by James Murchison and co-skippered by James Francis, was the first to retire around 90 minutes into the race due to a broken bowsprit.

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Race on for the Tattersall Cup

With Line Honours done and dusted, the focus of the 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race turns to contenders for the Tattersall Cup, awarded to the overall winner, and since the race began on Monday, four TP52s have lit up the top four places.





The TP52s have taken control of the race, with CYCA Vice Commodore Sam Haynes’ Celestial (NSW) constantly at the top of the standings, trying to keep all comers at bay.

Celestial has battled the US entry, Warrior Won, throughout the night, but Matt Donald/Chris Townsend’s Gweilo and the New Zealand entry, Caro, skippered by Max Klink have been knocking on the door this morning.

Quest (Craig Neil), Patrice (Tony Kirby), Smuggler (Sebastian Bohm) and Zen (Gordon Ketelbey) have all moved up to join the fray, filling fifth to eighth positions on the overall leaderboard. The race is on!


all images copyright Rolex/Carlo Borlenghi







Tony Kirby recently bought his latest Patrice and is still learning to sail her, but is pleased with their race thus far.

He reported at 8.05am this morning: "We’re about 3 miles from Tasman Light with around 50 miles to go. The breeze is at 25-35 knots, the sea state is not too bad. We have a few TPs in front of us and a few behind. We’re looking forward to turning the corner into calmer conditions.

"It was very windy last night – all night. Interesting – gale force conditions are always interesting," he said with a nervous laugh.

"There’s a trough line due through around 2pm, but thankfully we should be finished by then. The wind will go around to the south/east and there’s a gale warning in place."

The forecast means those with 100-plus miles to go will have been dealt two hands – one of hard running, the other, hard beating into the wind in the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s famous race.

The forecasted conditions favoured the TP52s from the outset and the race looks likely to go to one of them - but which one?






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Waiting in the wings though are two smaller boats who are in a battle of their own, sea-sawing in ninth and 10^th places respectively in the last 24 hours.

There is the credentialed UK entry, Sunrise, one of the successful JPK designs. This one is an 1180 model owned by Tom Kneen, winner of the 2021 Rolex Fastnet Race. Apart from his winning navigator, Tom Cheney, aboard is Australian Adrienne Cahalan, a decorated navigator doing her 30^th Hobart.

Then there are perennial favourites, the crew of Bruce Taylor’s Victorian yacht, Chutzpah. The Caprice 40 was designed for downwind racing and like Sunrise, was hoping the race would be tailor-made for them (pardon the pun). Taylor is on his 41^st Sydney Hobart, with son Drew, on his 29^th – all done with his father.









Up there mixing it with the fully crewed boats is Mistral, the Lombard 34 being sailed two-handed by her owner, Rupert Henry, and Greg O’Shea. The experienced friends are giving the fleet a run for their money and were sitting in 10^th place overall, between Chutzpah and Sunrise when we went to press.

Early this morning, Currawong, the second smallest boat in the fleet and a two-handed entry was sitting in Eden. The Currawong 30’s owner, Kathy Veel explained, "We were coming down the coast yesterday and we called into Eden because of tiredness – me in particular.

"We decided to take a rest after looking at the forecast 40 knots running into Bass Strait," the 70 year-old said. "We’ve (she and Bridget Canham) had our rest and we feel good. We’re just checking out the latest weather charts before deciding when to set off again."

In other news, Navy One, skippered by Tori Costello and Nick Greenhill, retired with a broken boom this morning. It leaves 101 at sea, with the four 100 footers finishing in the early hours of this morning.

Then came news of Carl Crafoord’s Sail Exchange retiring with a broken rudder and Lisa Callaghan’s Sydney 38, Mondo, out with a broken gooseneck.

Increasing winds are having an impact, the top four TP52s making boat speeds of 16-20 knots – a telling story. It is ‘hang on for a tough sleigh ride to Hobart’.

David Kellett reported from the Radio Relay Vessel, JBW, positioned off the bottom of Flinders Island, that winds were still hard from the north at 25-30 knots.

Di Pearson/RSHYR media

https://rolexsydneyhobart.com/news/2...attersall-cup/

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Celestial wins 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race





Celestial has been declared the overall winner of the 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.








It was never going to be anything but emotionally charged when Sam Haynes and his Celestial crew were crowned overall winners of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

Haynes and some of the same crew lost the race win last year after being penalised for an infraction of the rules, but accepted second place gracefully.

On winning the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s 628 nautical mile race, Haynes said, "I’m screaming loud and proud. It means everything, everything, especially after last year. We put together a program targeting this race.

"It’s like an elation – it’s huge for me and the crew. I can’t believe it; it’s a bit of a life changer," an excited Haynes said.

"This boat is a weapon. It’s up there with the best 52 foot IRC boats in the world.

"It was hard waiting (to be told one way or the other). It was extremely difficult waiting. We couldn’t really enjoy the experience until now. I’m so proud of the whole background - our program - and to sail against the best IRC fleet I’ve sailed in, ever.

"It was an outpouring of emotion when we finally got the result. We are so proud of our team."










This year, the competition was stiffer than ever with two top international TP52s in Caro, the Max Klink-skippered 2021-launched TP52, and Chris Sheehan’s Warrior Won from the US. Those two finished third and fourth respectively, behind Haynes’ TP52.

The Aussie competition was hot too, especially Gweilo, which has been sailing up a storm these past two seasons. Matt Donald and Chris Townsend's boat ultimately placed second overall. In all, there were a record 12 TP52s in the race playing cat and mouse, not to mention the rest of the field.

Maybe it was the competition from these TP52s driving each other hard, maybe it was the need to avenge what he lost last year, but Haynes was at the top of the leaderboard for the overall win from the moment the fleet of 109 left Sydney Heads, pointing south to Hobart.

"I knew they (Warrior Won, Caro and Gweilo) were all over us at the top of the division. It was ‘their turn our turn’ in areas of the current," he said.

"Warrior Won and us were close together for so long – 4 nautical miles separated us at some points – we could see each other. We were match racing the whole way before we got to Tasman Island."

Haynes acknowledged the TP52s, "it was a great fleet of them, pushing each other the whole time."








The Sydney sailor spoke of his passion for the sport of sailing: "Being involved in sailing, in ocean racing and to win the race for the Tattersall Cup is the ultimate. I’m from Sydney, where I am Vice Commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia and I have a close relationship with them and our sponsor, Rolex.

"I nearly gave it all away last year though…. then I went and did some racing overseas on my J/70 and came back and discussed it with the crew and we decided to give it another go."

On his crew, Haynes said, "I can’t speak more highly of them. This time Rob Greenhalgh (a British sailor) and Josh Junior (New Zealand) joined us," he said of the highly respected yachtsmen. "Lindsay Stead, Luke Payne and Frank O’Leary were good new additions this year too."

Those who were on Celestial last year and joined Haynes, a Sydney veterinarian, again this year, were: David Chapman, Wulf Wilkens, Callum Cecil, Lewis Brake, Harry West, James Dagge, Jack Macartney, Malcolm Parker and Tasmanian yachtsman, Troy Grafton.

After docking in Hobart yesterday, Haynes said while he waited for confirmation of his win, "we’ll do the usual," which is to pay a visit to Customs House Hotel, when every yachtie worth their salt goes. "And I’ll do lots of tracker watching," he said, with a laugh.

He will have worn out the refresh button waiting.

Haynes has an illustrious association with this race and other majors at the CYCA. In 2018, he sailed his former Celestial, to 17th overall in the Rolex Sydney Hobart (second best placed TP52 to Ichi Ban), to finish the Audi Centre Sydney Blue Water Pointscore (BWPS) second to Ichi Ban.

In 2017, he placed ninth overall in the Rolex Sydney Hobart to be runner-up in the BWPS. In 2016, he was 16th for a divisional third, and in 2015 placed 29th for divisional third.

Before that, with his Rogers 46, also named Celestial, Haynes was second in the 2012 BWPS and won all three (IRC/ORCi/PHS) crowns in the 2014 BWPS - one of the closest on record - including winning the 2014 Sydney Gold Coast race. He placed 11th overall for second in Division 2 in the 2014 Hobart, following on from third overall in the 2013 race.

These impressive results and persistence have culminated in winning the 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart.

Di Pearson, RSHYR Media

https://rolexsydneyhobart.com/news/2...rt-yacht-race/