Sydney to Hobart 2019: NSW bushfire smoke plan for start day

Southerly busters are feared by crews in the Sydney to Hobart but one being forecast could help save the day for the Boxing Day race.

A sailor climbing the mast of a yacht enveloped in haze caused by nearby bushfires at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia on December 10. Pic: Peter Parks/AFP

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Bushfire smoke will be around but is unlikely to be extreme enough to prevent the start of the Sydney to Hobart on the harbour on Boxing Day with a southerly Christmas Eve forecast to help clear the air of the toxic fumes.

A smoke-out on the harbour on Tuesday last week forced the cancellation of a lead-up race to the Sydney to Hobart along with commuter ferries as visibility was reduced to just metres in parts by the dangerous conditions.

Previous starts on the harbour have been picture perfect.

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A secret contingency plan is being worked on should these conditions be replicated but top meteorologist Roger Badham said on the current weather forecast smoke will not be as extreme on the harbour as it was last week.

“It won’t be as bad,” said Badham, who works with top sailing teams around the world, including the New Zealand America’s Cup campaign.

“There will still be smoke around but the remnants of a southerly I have coming through at this stage on Christmas Eve should clear the air a bit.”

Cruising Yacht Club of Australia Commodore Paul Billingham said the current plan is for the race to still start at 1pm but refused to divulge details of the race contingency plan should there be a return of the extreme and toxic smoke haze caused by bushfires across the state on Boxing Day.

Bushfire Smoke has shrouded the harbour in recent weeks.

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“We are not sharing what it is unless it is likely it will happen,’’ he said on Wednesday.

However there are a number of options open to the race committee, including delaying the race which has happened just once previously in the 75 year history of the event.

The race is scheduled to start at 1pm on Sydney Harbour with a fleet of 150 plus racing off four start lines.

The 628 nautical mile trek will end between roughly two to five days after the start for the majority, if not the entire fleet, depending on the weather conditions.