Sydney to Hobart yacht race: Father, daughter re-join forces on water after sailing round world

It might be their first Sydney to Hobart together but this father and daughter have probably sailed more miles than the majority of the fleet put together on an extraordinary family adventure.

Kevin and Alexis Whelan on board their boat Reve, at the CYCA. Pic: Justin Lloyd.

Alexis Whelan has to be one of the Sydney to Hobart yacht race’s most experienced debutants with thousands of sea miles under her belt - just not the 628nm to Hobart.

The 27-year-old has rejoined forces with father Kevin on his Sydney yacht Reve for her first race south in the 77th edition of the classic aboard her old mobile home.

“I’m just happy to be back on the boat which was my childhood home,’’ Alexis said.

“And any chance I get to sail with dad I jump at it. It’s quality time.’’

No matter what lies ahead in the Hobart, it will be nothing compared to an extraordinary family odyssey when she was a child living aboard Reve - which included a close call with pirates near Christmas Island.

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Alexis has returned to her old home for the race.

“Alexis was just five when we set off,’’ said Kevin Whelan ahead of the 1pm canon firing on Boxing Day.

“With the pirates, we saw them on our radar. They were trying to intercept us.

“The warship HMAS Darwin spotted them and apprehended them when they were four or five miles behind us.’’

Some of the destinations and countries visited by the family on their mobile 45-foot home included Mauritius, Madagascar, the Reunion Islands and Africa

The father and daughter duo.

“She had travelled halfway round the world and had never been on a aeroplane,’’ Whelan said.

“She did her schooling in all sorts of countries, became quite fluent in three or four different languages.

“She and James were both distance educated. We would ship six week packages of notes to where we were in the world so they didn't miss out on anything.’’

Whelan, whose love of the sea has endured, is competing in his seventh Sydney to Hobart.

In his Reve crew are four women - including his advertising executive daughter - with the race shaping up as one of the easiest for all but the smallest and slowest yachts.

The current forecast has the majority of the fleet docked in Hobart without any serious bashing or crashing or stomach churning upwind sailing.

“I did the last Sydney to Hobart which was a test for a lot of people and we have sailed under African so we have seen a lot of storms,’’ Whelan said.

But with a fast forecast and a tasty menu planned, the 2022 event will be memorable for being far plainer sailing.

“We have a very nice crew and we plan this for six to eight months with crew training and preparations. It’s the culmination of the year,’’ Whelan said.

“And we eat well. We have lasagne, roast pork, beef ragu, cottage pies which are pre-cooked by me and then bacon and egg roles. We eat well.’’

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