Howling wind puts Sydney Hobart skippers on alert

Two skippers on the main supermaxi from Sydney to Hobart have warned of possible damage from strong northerly winds, which could also threaten their race record.

The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting predominantly easterly winds to pick up from strong to strong winds on Tuesday and Wednesday.

This will support four Supermaxis, which Line Honors winners must finish by 10:15pm on Tuesday if they are to break LDV Comanche’s 2017 record of 9:15:24 in a day. there is.

The record holder returning to the race as Andoo Comanche is a strong favorite to record her fourth line honors victory in her first attempt at the great race since 2019.

Record or shipwreck?

“It’s definitely a record-breaking race, especially for Comanche,” said Mark Richards, skipper for the Wild Oats on Hamilton Island. His boat saw him finish ahead of LDV Comanche in 2017, although he was later handed a one-hour penalty.

Admiral Arthur Lane of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia and Kingsley Pies, navigator of the 40-foot Footspar, also think the race record could be broken.

High winds increase the risk of boat damage, and Mark Bradford, skipper of last year’s Line Honors winner Black Jack, said damage could retire the boat, including one of the four Supermaxxis. I warned you that there is.

“Some of these assets have been dormant for several years and we find them worn out every day,” Bradford told AAP.

“As we have continued to sail, our boats have been maintained to a much higher standard.

“I hope it’s not us, it’s nobody, but I wouldn’t be surprised if someone walks out with a gear failure.”

His Ando Comanche counterpart John Winning Jr. has already experienced damage since chartering the boat earlier this year and it may not take long to retire the mighty vessel. emphasized.

“There are a lot of things that go wrong”

“Just pressing the wrong winch button or trying to move too many winches at once can break it,” Winning told AAP.

“We use a lot of things that can go wrong. Since then we have had two race breakages and more non-race breakages in training.”

Winning said his supermaxi predictions are good, but Richards is also bullish about his boat’s prospects, returning to racing three years later with a nine-time Line Honors Champion at the Wild Oats XI. .

“This year we put all our eggs in one basket and prepared the boat as best we could for the downwind race. Told.

Conditions are set to be more varied and challenging for small to medium sized boats that don’t get to the finish as fast as the Supermaxxis.

The cold front shifts to the southwest on Wednesday, with southerly winds expected by Thursday morning.

A gale warning is likely to occur later Tuesday, with a possible gale warning on Wednesday.

This prediction could help the ever-strong TP52 contingent and 60- to 70-foot boats contend for overall honors.

-AAP