Sydney to Hobart yacht race 2021: Winners, results, latest news, protest drama, Covid wrap
The last yacht in the Sydney to Hobart has finally made it to the finish, nearly nine hours after the majority of the fleet rang in the New Year on dry land after a torrid race.
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Solveig owner Annie Lawrence and her crew on the beautiful old yacht Solveig completed the 2021 Sydney to Hobart in 2022, crossing the finish line at 8.42am on New Year’s Day.
The Sydney sailor and navigator, with 16 Sydney to Hobart yacht races under her belt, and her team were out at sea for New Year’s Eve but on dock for belated celebrations at the end of a torrid - and long - race to Hobart.
Solveig was the 50th yacht from a starting fleet of 88 to finish the race which started with more than a day of tough upwind sailing and boat-breaking conditions and ended in sunshine and light winds at the end.
Solveig, built in 1950 for famous sailing brothers Trygve and Magnus Halvorsen, took five days, 19 hours, 19 minutes and 40 seconds to complete the 628 nautical mile race - 71 years after her first Sydney to Hobart.
7.30am: A request to reopen the case which saw Celestial lose the Sydney to Hobart was lodged early on new Year’s day.
It will be considered today.
JANUARY 31: The little 30-footer Gun Runner has withdrawn from the race after running out of water rations.
The fleet minnow was not due to finish until around January 3 or 4 when her skipper pulled the pin.
Gun Runner became the 38th boat to pull out of what has been a punishing - and slow - race to Hobart.
Gun Runner still had just under half the race to sail when she withdrew with 290 nautical miles to sail to the finish.
EARLIER: The picturesque Derwent River has again stolen a major victory from an early finisher with Matt Allen’s Ichi Ban the winner of the overall honours in the Sydney to Hobart after his last remaining rival ran out of breeze and another copped a time penalty.
While Shane Kearns and his crew on the 34-footer were plodding home early Friday morning, Ichi Ban became the clubhouse leader when rival Celestial was penalised by the international jury presiding over the race for a rule infringement.
When the clock struck 7.05am and there was no sight of it White Bay 6 Azzurro it was as official as it can be until declared by the race committee - Allen’s yacht has written her name into the history books. FULL STORY
“It is just a fantastic feeling,’’ Allen said.
“Very, very special.’’
Ichi Ban - No. 1 in Japanese - joins a rare club of three time overall winners having also won in 2017 and 2019.
Only two other yachts have achieved this feat in Freya in 1963, 1964 and 1965 and Love & War in 1974, 1978 and 2006.
Love & War was in with a shot of beating Allen’s 52-footer to the punch before she too ran out of breeze to finish outside the time required to win a record fourth overall trophy.
A discretionary penalty of 40 minutes in lieu of disqualification was added to Celestial’s elapsed time after a race infringement on the second night at around 2.30am. This cost her the race win and moved Allen into top spot.
DECEMBER 31: Sydney skipper Shane Kearns was confident he and his crew on the 34-footer White Bay 6 Azzurro could claim the biggest prize in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race - the trophy for the overall honours.
But late last night it was touch and go with the little boat needing to speed up to take the win on the Derwent River in Hobart by 7.04am on Friday.
“We are on course to Tasman Island and doing seven knots. We are very confident of reaching the finish line by 7.04am tomorrow morning,” Kearns said from his boat before the line cut out.
At 10.30pm last night she was still 44 miles from the finish and doing under five knots.
The Derwent River has cruelled the hopes of many yachts over the years with regular nightly shutdowns.
ROOKIE’S VERDICT ON SYDNEY HOBART
EARLIER: Just short of four days of racing, the top 10 in the line honours race has been determined.
The Queensland yacht Mayfair was the 10th to cross the finish line at the end of the 628nm race.
The boat finished just after 12.15pm on Thursday, taking more than three days and 23 hours to complete the Sydney to Hobart.
Other yachts to finish on Thursday were Smuggler (3:11:14:547.5) in 8th place and fellow Sydney yacht Quest (3:15:46:37) in 9th.
Smuggler and Quest arrived in Hobart at 12.15am and 4.46am respectively.
At 2pm there were still 40 yachts still at sea, including 10 of the double-handed boats in the race.
Clipper Race winner Wendy Tuck, one of the two-handed sailors competing in the race, gave an insight into what it is like racing with just a mate in the 76th edition of the Sydney to Hobart. FULL STORY
DECEMBER 29 10pm: There’s been plenty of drama on the water in the Sydney to Hobart and now there’s some off it as well.
Two protests were late on Wednesday night lodged against the Sydney yacht Celestial after she finished the punishing race in the afternoon.
Sam Haynes’ yacht finished the race just after 5pm and become the clubhouse leader for the overall win ahead of Matt Allen’s Ichi Ban, which finished at 4.45pm.
There are still yachts at sea which can beat these yachts for the overall win.
Around five hours later the Cruising Yacht Club of Australian advised two protests were lodged against Celestial and will be heard by an International Jury on Thursday.
The CYCA advised one has been lodged by Ichi Ban, which includes a request for redress, and the other by the Race Committee.
Both protests relate to a sailing instruction which states: “All boats shall maintain a continuous listening watch on VHF Channel 16 for the duration of the race.’’
The protest form posted at the Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania states:
“ (90-minute period when CELESTIAL was not able to be contacted via VHF CH16)
Protest by the RSHYR Committee that SI 31.4 “all boats shall maintain a continuous listening watch on CH16 for the duration of the race” was not complied with.
“Despite numerous attempts to contact Celestial over a 90-minute period, via numerous means, when attention was ultimately alerted via flares, which fortunately confirmed that the AMSA alerted PLB activation was false, after 90 minutes AMSA was to deploy a Melbourne based SAR asset to the position of Celestial.
“Of particular concern was the lack of response on CH16 (VHF) by Celestial throughout the incident. It is expected that this incident will be fully highlighted and explained by Celestial in her Race Declaration, noting any notables and/or extraordinary reasons as to why SI 31.4 was not complied with.’’
EARLIER: As the supermaxis Black Jack, LawConnect and Scallywag celebrate filling the podium in the 2021 Sydney to Hobart, 43 yachts are still at sea, with potentially only a handful more arriving in Hobart tonight.
Grant Wharington and his team on Stefan Racing crossed the finish line this afternoon followed by David Griffith and his crew on Whisper.
Also heading across the finish was former overall winner Matt Allen and his team on Ichi Ban and the Sydney yacht Celestial.
The race also had its first retirement in more than 24 hours with the Tasmanian boat Wonderland pulling out with equipment damage.
She was the 37th contestant to retire from a starting fleet of 88.
With the supermaxi trio now celebrating on land with Stefan Racing, Whisper and Ichi Ban crews, at 5pm there were 43 boats still at sea, including 10 two-handers.
The Sydney to Hobart has gone from sheer hell to heaven for this double-handed team making history in a race likely to see many sailors looking for a new sport.
It’s the moments that make bruised, hungry and fatigued sailors forget about the 30 hours of sheer hell they have just endured and start planning their next Sydney to Hobart campaign
even before they have stepped ashore.
A starry night followed by blues skies, a bit of wildlife and flat waters in Bass Strait.
Two-handed sailor Wendy Tuck on Wednesday described it as “pure heaven’’. FULL STORY
WINNERS, RESULTS AND BEST PHOTOS
BATTERED: LIST OF RETIRED YACHTS
EARLIER: The Mark Bradford-steered 100-footer Black Jack claimed line honours in the 2021 Sydney to Hobart yacht race in the slowest time since 2004.
The yacht sailed into Hobart and crossed the finish line on the Derwent River just after 1.17am on Wednesday morning.
Her winning time was two days, 12 hours, 37 minutes and 17 seconds. This was the slowest victory since Nicorette back in 2004.
Fellow supermaxis LawConnect and Scallywag finished second and third.
“It was tough in the beginning. The first 30 hours were pretty rugged,” Black Jack skipper Mark Bradford said.
Bradford, a sailmaker, was over the moon at the result.
“We’ve had five, six years in a row now and we’ve finished first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh,” he said.
Owner Peter Harburg, who was not on the boat for the race, said he and Bradford “will both be in tears’’ for some time.
“It’s the grand prize of yachting in Australia. It’s the first time I’ve been involved in the winning team,’’ Harburg said.
“We started with a 66-foot Black Jack. We’ve worked up to this and we’ve now won every race on the east coast of Australia.
“We’ve beaten every other yacht on the coast of Australia at different times in different races.
“This is the prize that has eluded us all along and to get it is the complete set.”
The Christian Beck skippered LawConnect claimed second place at around 4.11am.
“I seriously don’t ever want to do that first day and night again - ever,’’ he said. “It was bad.
“But it hasn’t put me off yachting - or the race - now that I’m back on land.’’
Beck revealed the first night at sea LawConnect’s water ballast blew up affecting their electronics and weather information.
“We didn’t know where the other two (Black Jack and SHK Scallywag 100) were because we lost all power. That made things particularly hard’’ for Brad (navigator Brad Kellett).’’
The David Witt- skippered Scallywag claimed third place despite major issues and damage aboard the supermaxi.
The supermaxi crossed the finish just after 4.30am.
“The crew did an amazing job. We probably don’t deserve to have a 100-footer arrive here in the condition the boat ended up in after the first night,” Witt said.
“It’s a credit to the team they got here, that we got here and that we were still in the race just before Tasman Light.
“On the other side, it’s really disappointing. We’ve been trying to win (line honours) in this race for a long time.
“A lot of money [has gone into it] and the sponsors have spent a lot of money on the boat.
“Covid has really bitten us on the arse, so to speak. I live in Hong Kong. I don’t live here.
“We’ve had to leave the boat in Australia and haven’t been able to prepare it as well as we would have liked.
“But the crew did a great job. The boat was fast enough. We just couldn’t keep it together.”
DECEMBER 28: Supermaxi skipper David Witt has revealed he and his Scallywag crew have been sailing “blind’, without electronic instrumentation that helps with boat speed and sail selection and also with gear damage that has caused them major grief at sea.
Witt led the Sydney to Hobart fleet up the harbour and out Sydney Heads at the start of the 2021 race before equipment damage within the first hour saw the team overtaken by rivals LawConnect and Black Jack.
While the Sydney to Hobart leaders celebrate their arrival at the end of a tough race, an old timber yacht will on Wednesday be working to steal some of their thunder out at sea.
While there’s plenty more racing to come in the 628-nautical mile race south, Love & War has emerged as one of the boats to beat for the overall honours in what has been a punishing race for all.
More than a third of the 2021 fleet retired hurt in the first 26 hours of the race, one of the highest attrition rates in recent memory and a consequence of hours of pounding upwind.
Ironically, the conditions which have sent 30 plus boats to the sidelines have catapulted Kurts and his timber beauty to her position as a contender for the overall honours.
3PM: A finish under the cover of darkness is being forecast for the leaders of the Sydney to Hobart are now heading towards stronger winds off the coast of Tasmania after slowing down this morning.
Yachting meteorologist Roger Badham ran a routing for the frontrunners this morning which put them on the Derwent River early tomorrow.
“It will all depend what time they hit the river and that looks like around midnight. And at that time there’s precious little wind,’’ Badham said at 3pm.
2.30PM: Veteran navigator Adrienne Cahalan on Oroton Drumbeat gave an insight into life at sea this afternoon.
“We’ve got to just put another hat on … from having heavy weather and rigorous sailing the last few days, to now getting our light air hats on and having to work out how to navigate across Bass Strait and avoid all those light patches between here at the top of Tasmania,’’ she said off the boat.
“It is going to be a really big achievement to finish this race because we’ve had such a variety of conditions so far, and that’s only two days in.
“It’s a big test for all the boats, for so many skills.’’
9.30AM Black Jack navigator Alex Nolan said he and crewmates will “push hard’’ to the finish of the Sydney to Hobart and are happy and well as they race in light winds down the east coast of Tasmania to a finish sometime later today.
The Peter Harburg owned 100-footer is in the box seat to take the line honours win, holding a small lead over the Sydney supermaxi LawConnect this morning.
Issues with trackers make it difficult to gauge the extent of her lead.
“We are looking forward to a good day,’’ said Nolan, who revealed winds had turned light in the early hours of the morning.
“Everyone is very well. Everyone is very happy.
“We are pushing it very hard.”
8AM: Black Jack and LawConnect have put distance between them and their third supermaxi rival Scallywag as winds lightened this morning, giving the entire fleet a welcome break from pounding their way to Hobart.
After a race for survival early, the race will now be one of navigating tricky conditions and light winds as they lead the battered fleet to the finish line on the Derwent River.
Issues with the tracking system have made it difficult to gauge the actual distances between the leading boats.
But Scallwag, racing in around eight knots, appears to have fallen well behind her rivals.
Only one yacht retired between 1am and this morning with Rogue Wave, a two-handed entry, the 36th boat to head to the sidelines.
This leaves 52 yachts racing to Hobart.
1AM: Sydney to Hobart supermaxi trio Black Jack, LawConnect and Scallywag have managed to dodge the dramas which have sent more than a third of the fleet to the sidelines to remain on track for a Tuesday or Wednesday finish to one of the most punishing races in recent memory.
With variable weather forecast across the racetrack today, it is difficult to pick which of the three 100-footers will dominate.
Early this morning they were all in with a shot with Christian Beck’s LawConnect leading into the final day of their race.
It is more than likely the 100-footers will not arrive until well into the afternoon - and well outside the race record - and potentially in one of the slowest times since 2015.
This is unsurprising given the slow getaway of the trio due to strong headwinds the first night and morning of the race. FULL STORY HERE
At 7pm last night 35 yachts had retired from the race with easing conditions being forecast for the remainder of the event.
3PM: As the fleet frontrunners race across Bass Strait, the carnage continues further back in the race with five retirements this afternoon and a former winner still making its way back to port with hull damage.
Around 1pm the Sydney yacht Wax Lyrical (equipment failure) joined the growing list of retirements along with Crystal Cutter III (mainsail damage) and Kialoa II (rig damage).
By 3pm the two-handed boats Hells Bells and Inukshuk had also called it quits bringing to 30 the number of retirements.
This has left just 58 boats racing just 26 hours after the start.
The former overall winner of the Sydney to Hobart Alive is heading back to Sydney after advising race officials she was taking on water from hull damage but did not need assistance.
The Tasmanian boat retired from the fleet earlier this morning.
Race officials said the Alive crew issued a Pan Pan call which indicates the boat has an urgent situation aboard but it is not life threatening.
The yacht reportedly was taking on water slowly from hull damage sustained in big seas off the NSW coast.
7-11AM: At daybreak on December 27, a total of 22 yachts had retired from the 628nm race to Hobart courtesy of rough seas and wild winds overnight.
By 8.30am that number had risen to 24 with the loss of the former overall winner Alive from Tasmania with hull damage and Kayami with engine and electrical issues.
At 9.30 there were 25 retired with 63 still racing south after Chancellor pulled out with sail damage. FULL STORY HERE
The 2017 race record of the supermaxi Comanche which stands at one day, nine hours, 15 minutes and 24 seconds, will not be broken in the 2021 event.
Other retirements this morning included Extasea with engine issues, Oz Design, Patrice Six with engine issues, Philosopher with internal damage and Huntress.
At 9am Black Jack, closer to the coast, is closest to Hobart with LawConnect and Scallywag, further out to sea, right in the race for line honours.
The three are followed by Stefan Racing and Whisper.
Tasmanian Rob Gough’s Sidewinder was leading the double-handed class from Victorian Anthony Hammond’s Maverick and NSW sailor Shane Connelly’s Rum Rebellion.
Only two boats from the two-handed fleet retired in Rupert Henry’s Eora and Jean-Pierre Ravanat’s Hip-Nautic.
DECEMBER 26: Wild winds and big seas have turned the opening night of the Sydney to Hobart into fright night with reports of widespread damage and multiple yachts heading back to Sydney with their campaigns in tatters.
At 8.30pm 12 yachts had retired from the race. By 11pm there were 18 with more expected to follow suit – casualties of a brutal first night at sea.
An evening casualty was the overall handicap contender URM from Sydney which reported it had damage to its mainsail.
EARLIER: Scallywag skipper David Witt vowed to race on despite damage aboard the supermaxi which saw her concede an early race lead in the Sydney to Hobart.
As two other yachts - Blink and Moneypenny – were heading back to Sydney with sail damage at around 6pm - Witt said he and his crew are working to repair equipment damage which saw them forced to pull down their normal headsail soon after the start, losing valuable time to their rivals.
Witt said the yacht “blew a fitting” which held the jib to the deck.
“We are not giving up though,’’ he said in a call off the boat.
At 6pm on Sunday the were still within striking distance of the lead held by Christian Beck and his team on the 100-footer LawConnect and the Mark Bradford skippered Black Jack.
Hounding the three biggest boats in the race was the 80-footer Stefan Racing, 20 foot smaller that her rivals but right in the race.
Sean Langman’s Moneypenny retired with a broken headstay and fellow Sydney yacht Blink with a torn mainsail.
With the fleet ploughing into strong southerlies, more are expected to retire.
6PM: Even veteran skipper Grant Wharington admits it’s a little weird – being excited about a race with similar weather to the one which saw his crew send out a mayday and abandon ship in a major drama at sea in 2004.
But the forecast for the 2021 Sydney to Hobart has Wharington thrilled about being back on the ocean as skipper of the 80-footer Stefan Racing.
With many sailors already bruised and a little battered from racing into headwinds almost from the 1pm start of the Sydney to Hobart on Sunday, Wharington was relishing the “bump and grind”.
“You have to make sure everyone eats and drinks and don’t be superheroes the first 24 hours,’’ he said.
EARLIER: It’s a miracle! That’s how Sydney to Hobart sailors described the moment the starting cannon fired at 1pm on Sunday.
The race, stopped in its tracks by Covid a year ago, set sail in a building southerly under sunny skies and with great optimism.
“I can’t believe we are here to be honest,’’ said No Limit skipper David Goetz.
A year ago they were not.
This year, despite numerous sailors being forced out of the race with Covid or close contact with a positive case, the race started.
With the majority of the fleet sailing up the harbour and through The Heads under spinnaker it was a spectacular return for the race.
It was also spectacular start for skipper David Witt and his team on Scallywag who won the race to The Heads.
“It’s incredible we are racing,’’ he said.
But disaster struck the supermaxi soon after with sail issues forcing the yacht to slow down as the crew scrambled to sort the problem with the headsail, eventually putting up a small storm jib.
Christian Beck’s LawConnect capitalised on the drama to take the lead from Witt and his team.
12PM: Sydney to-Hobart sailors will be able to start the race even if they have not received a negative Covid test but others have been left high and dry by the virus.
Numerous yachts either replaced crew or will sail without their planned numbers as Covid continues to impact the race cancelled a year ago for the first rime in history
Many sailors have been forced to stay ashore due to being a close contact with a positive case. Others have contracted the virus.
But in good news for the race, sailors were informed by race officials on Boxing Day morning they would be able to start at 1pm on Sydney Harbour if they have been PCR tested but not yet received their result.
Just hours before the start there were still numerous sailors waiting for results.
However, sailors still have concerns their campaigns are in jeopardy if they receive news one of their crew is positive or a close contact while racing south.
It is understood a third yacht has been forced to pull out of the race due to Covid issues in the Sydney boat Vamp.
8.30AM:The Sydney to-Hobart fleet is down to 89 after skipper Jiang Hui Lin told race officials she could not race her two-handed entry Min River due to a hand injury and the yacht Protagonist pulled out with Covid issues.
This follows on from Willow and Maverick 49 withdrawing from the fleet on Christmas Day due to Covid in their crews.
There are concerns more sailors and/or boats may follow suit at the last minute with many sailors still waiting for negative Covid test results.
Some, however, did receive news in the early hours of the morning which has given them a green light to compete.
“We still have four or five who are waiting for test results,’’ said Stefan Racing skipper Grant Wharington at 7.30am.
DECEMBER 25: Sailors are stressing their Sydney to-Hobart race plans are over with multiple crews still waiting for negative Covid test results to be confirmed late on Christmas night.
Rumours half the crew in the fleet have yet to have results returned from tests done within 72 hours of the start were circulating through the fleet.
One supermaxi sailor confirmed 14 of his 18 crews were still nervously waiting for results of tests done on December 23 and December 24 at 8pm last night.
“We are all really worried,’’ he said.
Three other sailors contacted from different yachts also said they were waiting for results.
Those affected included supermaxis, overall contenders and the two-handed fleet.
When approached by NewsLocal Cruising Yacht Club of Australia Commodore Noel Cornish late on Saturday night confirmed the club was aware of the problem,
“It’s not a small amount,’’ Cornish said of the number of sailor affected.
“We are faced with people wanting to sail who might not have their test results in time.
“We have been talking to the authorities in Tasmania and at this stage the indication is they will allow people to sail in the race with a PCR test yet to come.’’
Cornish said he will give crews the latest information on the situation by the early morning race briefing ahead of the 1pm start on Sydney Harbour.
THINK PINK! THE COLOURFUL BOAT HOPING FOR A SURPRISE WIN
It’s big, bold and very bright but the eye-catching Stefan Racing could still pull off a major sting in the 2021 Sydney to Hobart which lost two yachts from its fleet on Christmas Day.
The 80-footer is the former champion yacht Beau Geste and has at its helm one of the most experienced ocean racers in the country in Grant Wharington and a dream of winning the race overall on corrected time.
It is also set up for the nasty pounding forecast for the opening stanza of the famous race returning after its Covid cancellation a year ago, putting it in contention for the overall race honours if the weather makes this year’s Sydney to Hobart “a big boat race”.
“The boat is Pink, out uniforms are magenta, you won’t miss us coming, we are bright. And out wet weather is lime green,” Wharington said.
“It’s a very quick boat in certain condition. The worse it is the better we are.
“It’s a good forecast for us as we like going upwind.
“The boys are pumped.’’
Jim Cooney’s yacht Willow pulled out of the race on Saturday due to a number of positive cases in the crew with the yacht Maverick 49 also making the decision not to race on Christmas Day.
This has reduced the 2021 fleet to 91.
It is understood other sailors have withdrawn from yachts but been replaced by standby crews.
“I’m really confident we have a race on,’’ said CYCA Commodore Noel Cornish.
“Normally I’m saying how exciting it will be to watch the boats tussle but for me this year it will be the thrill of seeing that gun fire at 1pm.
Cornish said he was not unduly concerned by the 20-30 knot southerly the fleet with bash into after the start.
“There might be a few people who see their Christmas pudding for the second time though,’’ he said.
NEW RULE FOR SYDNEY TO HOBART FINISH
Sydney to Hobart sailors have been told they will not be able to leave their yachts at the end of the 628 nautical miles race until they have produced a negative Covid test.
After days at sea, crews will be confined to their yachts until they have all produced a negative Covid test.
Race Committee Chairman Lee Goddard on Friday informed skippers and key personnel of the new rule on a virtual and compulsory race briefing ahead of Sunday’s 1pm start.
“The Tasmanian government says all crew must do a rapid antigen test when they arrive on the boat,’’ he said.
Goddard told sailors they must not get off the boat until the tests are done, all are negative and the skipper has filled in the associated paperwork.
“Do not get off the boat until that declaration is made,’’ he said.
Crews cannot start the race until they receive a negative result from a test done within 72 hours of the start.
Already some teams have had to reshuffle sailors who have been informed they are close contacts of a positive case.
SYD-HOB WEATHER: Latest forecast
‘IT’S ON’. A YEAR AFTER 2020 CANCELLATION RACE IS OFFICIALLY GOING AHEAD
At the race briefing Goddard officially declared the race would be sailed.
“It been a lot of hard work but the race is on,” he said.
“We are grateful this race will go ahead.’’
A fleet of 88 yachts will head to the start on Sunday after the Sydney to Hobart was cancelled for the first time in history in 2020 due to Covid restrictions.
WET AND WINDY START TO THE SYDNEY TO HOBART
An eventful first afternoon and night at sea is forecast for the Sydney to Hobart for crews.
Rain, strong winds, some haze and even a thunderstorm at sea are some of the weather conditions sailors were warned to prepare for in the opening stanza of the race.
“It looks like a tricky race for navigators,’’ said Cruising Yacht Club of Australia Commodore Noel Cornish.
At the race briefing sailors were also given a run down on safety requirements, how to use equipment such as EPIRB’s and the start exclusion zone in effect for race day where the fleet will start off four start lines.
Yachts were asked to stay in the exclusion zone away from the spectator fleet.
COVID ISSUE FOR SYDNEY TO HOBART WINNER
DECEMBER 23: Champion skipper Matt Allen has lost a crew on his overall contender Ichi Ban due to being a close contact to a Covid case just three days before the start of a Sydney to Hobart that has small boats sailors rubbing their hands together in delight.
As hundreds of sailors in the race cancelled a year ago due to a Covid outbreak on Sydney’s northern beaches joined long lines at testing centres for a required 72 hour negative test, Allen confirmed he has already swapped out one crew from his defending champion boat.
“He’s a close contact,’' said Allen whose prepared for the situation by putting other sailors on standby.
It is expected many more boats will have to reshuffled crews as results come in from Thursday’s testing.
SMALL BOATS EXCITED BY SYDNEY TO HOBART FORECAST
If they manage to get away without Covid hijacking their campaigns, sailors on some of the smallest boats in the fleet – including the fleet minnow Gun Runner – are looking to steal some of the limelight normally firmly focused on the supermaxis and bigger handicap contenders.
A forecast for a tough and rugged start to the race followed by tricky and light winds down the east coast of Tasmania for the bigger boats in the fleet has the smaller ones excited.
On current forecasting there is a change these fleet backrunners will be pushed home by more favourable winds win, putting them in with a show of dominating the coveted overall honours.
“Happy days,’’ said Murray Stewart, the skipper of the 30-foot army entry Gun Runner.
“It would be nice if one of the battlers got up.’’
Stewart said upwind conditions after the start – which could include rain squalls – won't faze the boat or his crew of seven.
“We are army. We love getting rained on and a bit of a slap around.
“We say if it’s not raining, it’s not training.’’
Less than a third the size of supermaxis like LawConnect, Scallywag and Black Jack, Gun Runner is used to train army personnel and is a regular racer in the Sydney to Hobart.
“The whole sailing program is not to win races. It’s to make better soldiers and we do that by putting them in a stressful and foreign environment,’’ Stewart said.
“They need to dig deep and show their qualities of team work and resilience. We do it to get better soldiers.’’
MORE STORIES ABOUT THE 2021 SYDNEY TO HOBART
# In pictures. The changing face of the Sydney to Hobart viewed through the lens of top sailing photographer Andrea Francolin. FULL STORY
#It's a race which started in 1945 with just nine boats. Now 90 plus will contest the event this year. Sydney to Hobart history, how it works, when it starts and how to follow in our spectator guide. FULL STORY
#They are sailing some of the smallest boats in the fleet and will have just one other sailor for company.
Meet the craziest sailors in the Sydney to Hobart fleet FULL STORY
#He’s an Olympic medallist who lived aboard a yacht when he was a kid.
But Jason Waterhouse has never done a Sydney to Hobart.
That is about to change with the Rio and Tokyo Olympian now on a major overall contender. FULL STORY
#Last year the Sydney to Hobart was cancelled just days before the start.
The decision rocked the fleet but came in the wake of an outbreak of Covid on Sydney’s northern beaches. FULL STORY
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