Six-metre waves, dehydrated food and no sleep: why would anyone do the Sydney to Hobart?

Sailors in the annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race will battle huge waves, strong currents, high (or worse, no) winds as they head south on Boxing Day.

They will eat dehydrated food and sit on the toilet in front of crewmates in such close quarters that there isn’t enough space for everyone to sleep. And when they do, they’ll nap in two-hour shifts, waking at all hours to keep their boats on track. If anything goes wrong, they risk serious injury – or worse.

Crew of the 90-year-old Maluka: Shaun McKnight, Odhran O’Reilly, Samuel Carter, Peter Langman, Zachariah Guilfoyle.Credit: Oscar Colman

What would possess anyone to compete?

It’s a question Peter Langman, 29, has found himself asking the past few weeks as he prepares to skipper his family’s nine-metre, 90-year-old ranger Maluka, the oldest boat to compete in the race. He’s been participating in the race since he was 18, when he joined dad Sean Langman on the Maluka. This year, he’ll be joined by three mates for whom the famous race is their first time competing in sailing.

Contemplating the fear, Peter Langman said: “If you don’t feel any fear [about the race conditions], you’ve probably got something wrong with you.”

His return trip from Hobart to Sydney several years ago was particularly traumatic. Crossing Bass Strait, Langman and his crew were confronted with hours of “five or six metre” waves, combined with winds hitting 45 knots.

“It was pretty wild out there,” he said. “The waves were big, and they were breaking just off the back corner of the boat, they were following us.”

One monster wave flipped the boat on its side, throwing the crew into the water.

“We had to mast in the water, and we were fully laid over on our side in the middle of the night in the middle of the Bass Strait,” he said. “And everything down below went flying.”

But the episode – one of many for Langman that have long characterised the race as one of the world’s toughest – only served to inspire the skipper to do it all again the next year.

Tight quarters: Zachary Guilfoyle, Peter Langman, Odhran O’Reilly, and Samuel Carter down below on the Maluka.Credit: Oscar Colman

“It’s definitely a challenge that brings you back,” he said. “What the weather throws at you, it can really be anything. It’s what captures the sailors. [The weather] could mean beautiful champagne sailing, or it can be a storm. That’s something that brings the sailors back each year. That challenge can be as satisfying as the race itself.”

But sailors aren’t just competing against Mother Nature – they’re going for gold against the other 1000-plus sailors racing for Hobart.

Kathy Veel, 70, will compete in the double-handed class with teammate Bridget Canham. As some of the race’s oldest competitors, they say they’re just as motivated to win as any group of 20-somethings.

“We both want to sail our boat as fast as we possibly can, as well as we can, all the time. If we don’t do that, then we may as well just go out cruising,” Veel said.

That means they’ll “keep [their] spinnaker up at night, and just race hard the whole way”.

“We expect to be totally exhausted and have nothing left in the tank when we get to Hobart,” Veel said.

But when they face exhaustion, hunger or difficulty during the race, Veel and Canham will remember how they ended up there: a crowdfunding effort that helped the pair restore the old yacht Currawong, funded by friends, family and strangers who believed the challenge of the race was worth them taking on.

And if all goes to plan, the Maluka and Currawong will sail up the Derwent at some point before the New Year’s fireworks.

There’s an old joke among members of the elite club of sailors who successfully complete the Sydney to Hobart: while you’re racing, you vow never to do it again – but by the time you’ve arrived at dry land and have a pie and beer in your hands, you’re already making plans for next year.

Sports news, results and expert commentary. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.