Tasmanian yacht Alive is the boat to beat for Sydney-Hobart handicap honours
Tasmanian pocket-maxi Alive is within reach of an historic second win on handicap in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race.
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Alive is the clubhouse leader on handicap in the Rolex Sydney to Hobart yacht race and its Tasmanian crew is confident their blue-hulled beauty may have pulled off a second win in the blue-water classic.
Only one Tasmanian yacht before them has won the race twice on overall handicap _ Westward built and sailed by legendary local Jock Muir in 1947 and 1948.
Alive skipper Duncan Hine hadn’t even told his mate and the yacht’s owner Phil Turner the good news when he berthed at Kings Pier as the boat to beat.
“I’m still trying to charge my phone so I can call him,” Hine said.
Turner might even get on a plane from his home in Thailand to be in Hobart for the presentation.
It was a nervous wait when Alive was in the same position when they won the Tattersall Cup in 2018.
“This time I feel pretty optimistic,” Hine said.
“I probably won’t be as nervous, and I don’t want to sound too confident but I think we’ve done it.”
A second win would be an amazing feat for the Tassie 66-footer.
“It would be phenomenal,” Hine said.
“The last Tasmanian who did it twice was Jock Muir in Westward, and he was a true legend.”
To complete the 628 nautical mile race in 2 days 2 hours 19 minutes 4 seconds, Alive threw caution to the wind.
“We took a huge gamble by going out so wide – we would have sailed at least 100 nautical miles further than the rhumbline,” Hine said.
“We went out their looking for wind and it panned out, by the look of things, and the boats that went inshore lost the breeze.”
Another Tasmanian yacht, the 33-footer Kraken 111 sailed by Two-Handed team John Saul and Rob Gough, were the main threat to Alive.
Kraken had to finish by 7.09pm on Friday to snatch the victory.
Originally published as Tasmanian yacht Alive is the boat to beat for Sydney-Hobart handicap honours
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