Black Jack ready to roll in bid to win 2018 Sydney to Hobart yacht race
One of four yachts intent on keeping the Sydney to Hobart fastest time trophy on Australian shores is the first supermaxi to declare herself ready to roll for this year’s race south.
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One of four yachts intent on keeping the Sydney to Hobart fastest time trophy on Australian shores is the first supermaxi to declare herself ready to roll with her lead-up racing and training program complete.
Skipper Mark Bradford said the crew on the Queensland yacht Black Jack has ticked off all boxes prior to the Boxing Day start of the race.
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Her racing crew have now been sent home with a shore team getting the yacht lifted from the water for final checks before the race.
Black Jack is one of five supermaxis in the 74th edition of the annual race to Hobart and also one of the best prepared.
The Peter Harburg owned yacht won the Sydney to Gold Coast race earlier this year ahead of Wild Oats X1 and has also been tested in numerous lead-up racing in November and December.
The boat has been fitted with a new keel for the race south with modifications made during the year to make her more robust across a range of conditions.
However her strength will be in light wind racing.
“We are done. We are good. We’re happy with it all,” Bradford said.
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Preparations by the front runners in the Sydney to Hobart have never been more intense.
Jim Cooney’s Comanche has raced every event available in the lead-up and spent hours more in the water testing sails and crew.
Wild Oats X1 has had a similarly intense lead-up and also been almost a regular sight racing up the harbour and out the hearts for training sessions.
Christian Beck’s InfoTrack has also been putting in the yards with the crew of the fifth 100-footer Scallywag only arriving last week but putting the boat through its paces on a daily basis between now and Christmas.
Scallywag is the only non-Australian supermaxi in the race but crewed by a predominantly Australian team.