Doyle-powered yachts continue to dominate offshore yachting in this year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, with Christian Beck’s LawConnect securing line honours for the second year in a row and Celestial V70, chartered by CYCA Commodore Sam Haynes claiming the prestigious Tattersall Cup, awarded to the overall winner of the race. Both yachts boast full Doyle Sails inventories. However, considering the circumstances where this year’s race devastatingly claimed two lives, celebrations are understandably muted. The thoughts of all sailors, teams and the wider sailing community continue to be with the families, friends and crew of those who lost their lives.
PHOTO CREDIT // SALTY DINGO & BOW CADDY MEDIA
A strong team performance by the crew was the foundation for the win, according to their Kiwi sailing master Tony Mutter, in what is being regarded as one of the toughest Sydney to Hobarts in recent times. The race forced the retirement of a significant number of yachts as they made their way south to Hobart; the first night out of Sydney saw an incredibly tough sea state and sustained 35 to 40 knots of wind from the North, making for fast but dangerous downwind sailing conditions. LawConnect, raced by a very high calibre of professional sailors, were able to push the boat to the limit in these conditions.
Tony Mutter commented, “There were big waves, there’s always a lot of counter currents down there, which change the direction of the waves. You’ve got to keep on your toes, and then afterwards, once the front rolled through, we obviously had a big push from the west, which added another challenge, where we had to basically slow down for about four or five hours.”
Gybing boats this size is no easy feat, with LawConnect successfully completing five during the race, however it wasn’t without its flaws, Mutter continues, “As you saw when we went out of the Heads, led out of there, we then made a rookie error with trying to unfurl the wrong side of the sail, which created a problem. But the rest of it after that, we had to re-evaluate, rethink, just think ahead and just double check everything, and go from there. And after that it went pretty well.”
PHOTO CREDIT // SALTY DINGO & BOW CADDY MEDIA
Sam Haynes, Commodore of race organiser, the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, onboard Celestial V70 finished at 0510hrs, after 1 day, 16 hours, 10 minutes and 20 seconds of racing. The yacht has previously completed four Sydney Hobarts, making it fifth time lucky with the win. Commodore Haynes has proved time and again his worth as a skipper who possesses a good eye for the right boat and crew. And as it turns out, his chartered boat, a Volvo Open 70, was just the right vessel for the conditions the race has delivered this year.
When he saw the forecast for the race, Commodore Haynes was as pleased as punch. “They say that Volvo 70s aren’t exactly a Hobart boat, but it was a Volvo 70 type forecast, so I was so glad to be on it. It was much more comfortable than my TP52 would have been as well.”
Those still racing continue to make their way south with many places yet to be decided in other divisions.
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