From beer can races to bluewater Bacchanal: The American raider eyeing Sydney-Hobart victory

Four years ago, San Franciscan attorney Ron Epstein was sailing in “beer can races” – casual, often boozy competitions for hobby sailors named after the trail of tins floating in the water that charted the race’s course. This week, he will tackle his first Sydney to Hobart, helming the only brand-new boat in the fleet of 106 yachts.

“I’ve been following this race for decades – certainly before ’98, which was the exciting year,” said Epstein, “it’s the premier event in which actual amateurs race.”

American sailor Ron Epstein and his “brand new toy”, Bacchanal.Credit: Flavio Brancaleone

The 60-year-old puts his entrance in this year’s race down to good timing, after Bacchanal, his dream boat, was launched just a few months before his dream race. When his project manager drew the connection between the yacht’s scheduled completion date in October and the Sydney to Hobart in December, he agreed instantly. “The word ‘race’ wasn’t out of his mouth before I said yes,” Epstein says.

Now, with the starting cannon just days away, Bacchanal is being spoken of as a serious contender for the Tattersall Cup, awarded to the overall winner.

Bacchanal will be joined in the fleet by six other foreign yachts, with Antipodes (Hong Kong) and Poulpito (New Caledonia), joining overall contenders Centennial (Philippines), Cocody (France), and Caro (New Zealand).

“I’m sailing for the joy of it, and the fact that we have a real shot is super exciting,” said Epstein. “Anyone who joins a race wants to win, and we have a crew that’s incredibly experienced and capable. But let’s be serious: I have a boat that — by the time the race starts — will have been in the water for two months. We have a lot to learn about the boat.

Caro’s globe-trotting tactician and driver, Adrian SteadCredit: Flavio Brancaleone

“It’s not that I’m not super self-confident. I think we’re going to sail the heck out of this boat. If it’s in the cards for us to have the right weather and all the rest, I hope to do well in our class, and the wind gods will determine the rest.”

Epstein named the French-designed, Nowra-constructed JPK 11.80 after the Roman god of wine and revelry, a figure who has become synonymous with debauchery. It’s also a nod to one of Epstein’s favourite words to describe his time on the water: “joy”.

“The name Bacchanal sort of says it. A bacchanal means either a celebrant of the god Bacchus, or a party celebrating Bacchus,” says Epstein, “getting through all the ridiculous sexual innuendo, what it means is a celebration of joy, hedonistic joy. That’s what the sailboat has meant to me. It’s just joyful.”

Bacchanal took first in its division and was sixth overall in November’s Bird Island race. A few weeks later, in the Cabbage Tree Island Race, it topped its division and came third overall. Epstein said the yacht had “exceeded” his expectations.

“It just handled like a dream,” he said. “The boat goes where you tell it to. That seems self-evident, but it isn’t always. It’s just a beautiful sailing boat ... it’s responsive, and it seems to really enjoy the water. The only anxiety I have is if I’m going to enjoy it ... my goal on this race is to have a good time.”

While international crews dominated the race between the 1960s and 2000s, especially in the competition for line honours, their supremacy has fallen back in recent races. Over the last two decades, line honours and overall winner have been taken by foreign crews just three times each.

One sailor who could break that trend is Adrian Stead, the British tactician and driver of New Zealand yacht Caro. He said that after claiming the overall winners spot at Bird Island, his crew felt ready to take on the Hobart.

“There are some very, very good boats down here,” said Stead. “I think there’s any one of 10 boats that could win it, depending on the conditions, how they sail.”

While this will be Stead’s fifth Hobart, it’s only the third for Caro, which was ninth over the line last year and placed third overall in division one in both 2022 and 2023.

“We’ve done our preparation well, and I think we have put ourselves in the spotlight to be a contender,” Stead said. “We have a great team, we’re ready for whatever the weather throws at us. We’re here to perform.”

Caro was shipped to Australia for last year’s Hobart after competing in the Celtic Sea’s Fastnet Race. It remained in the country to compete this year, but after arrival in Hobart it will return to Cowes, on the Isle of Wight, to compete in the Admiral’s Cup and the British IRC Championships under the banner of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron.

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