Sydney to Hobart yacht race 2023: Jamie Winning-Kermond swaps horse for supermaxi
You would think having a brother who’s a supermaxi skipper would guarantee you a spot in the Sydney to Hobart but that’s not exactly what happened for this equestrian turner sailor.
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She’s got the best contacts in sailing with a brother skippering a supermaxi and father a legend of the sport but that hasn’t meant an easy ride to her first Sydney to Hobart yacht race for Jamie Winning-Kermond.
When the top Australian equestrian decided she wanted to experience what her father and brother love passionately first hand and by their side she asked to do a Sydney to Hobart with them.
But her brother John ‘Herman’ Winning’s response might surprise.
Winning-Kermond, mother to Hudson six and Thomas two-and-a-half, said he told her in no uncertain terms she needed to put in the hard yards to be part of his crew and couldn’t be “a passenger”.
That she needed to front up for endless training sessions and commit to lead-up races to earn her spot in the crew.
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Months on she has graduated from “snacks’’ - a role she recognised immediately would be a hit with her new crewmates - to the crucial role of tensioning the furling line and is now a respected and contributing member of the team heading south.
And if he brother manages to steer Andoo Comanche to another line honours victory in the race, the pair will become only the second brother and sister act to achieve the feat after Julia and James Cooney sailed the same yacht to a line honours victory back in 2017 when owned by their Jim and named LDV Comanche.
Winning-Kermond, winner of two show jumping Grand Prix events in Australia this year and who has the Yandoo Equestrian business, said she made a decision early in life not to follow her skiff legend father John Snr and brother into sailing, instead, opting to ride horses.
“I didn’t like sailing. I can’t tell you what it was. I enjoyed the water, but not the sailing. I don’t think I committed enough to it,“ she said.
But a desire to race alongside her father and brother - who teamed up last year for Andoo Comanche’s line honours win - on one of the most extraordinary supermaxis in the world has taken her out of her comfort zone.
“This year it’s been full dedication to learning as much as possible and I’m loving it,’’ she said. “I made a serious effort to make time for it.
“I wanted to do something with my dad and brother. They have sailed their whole lives and I’ve seen them have that sailing relationship while I’ve been off riding horses,’’ she said.
“I saw what they were doing last year and said to Herman, ‘I’d really like to do it’.
“He said you can’t just jump on. You have to make yourself useful, you have to learn a role and not be a passenger.
“So I made the commitment to do all of this.’’
Winning said she was originally on snacks delivering food to crew during the racing.
A couple of the guys are extremely good teachers of little things, and they started to show me how to manage the furling of the Heads.
Now Winning is in charge of the tension in the furling line - crucial job on a super maxi so sail doesn’t flap or tangle.
“I wouldn’t want to be aboard if I wasn’t contributing to the team and I’ve hugely enjoyed learning a new role,’’ she said.
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“I’ve had to learn how everything worked from the front of the boat to the back.’’
And while Winning still brings little snack bags for each of the crew, her new role is far more important.
“To do this with these guys is going to be pretty exciting. For me, I’m going to have a sense of achievement from something other than horses.
“But I’m nervous about not doing my job well. There are serious repercussions if I don’t do it well.’’
Winning believes she will take away valuable lessons from her foray into sailing back into equestrian, including feeling more relaxed at a high-level.
She has also enjoyed being part of a team.
“It’s almost like being involved in a football team. What I do is quite an individual sport and this is very different.”
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Originally published as Sydney to Hobart yacht race 2023: Jamie Winning-Kermond swaps horse for supermaxi
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