Professionalisation, technology – it’s still the same Sydney to Hobart, says Whisper skipper David Griffith

After a ‘really bad’ 15th place finish last year, David Griffith is looking to place sixth or seventh this time around. At the same time, he’s wondering whether it’s time to hang up his hat.

Tom Fountain up the mast of the Whisper at the Cruising Yacht Club. Whisper which is owned by David Griffith will be competing in the Sydney Hobart. Picture: John Feder / The Australian.

Tom Fountain dangles off the 29m-tall mast of Sydney-Hobart yacht Whisper, readying himself for what many would describe as a highwire act, regardless of where on the boat you are stationed.

The 60-footer’s captain while the boat is in dock is preparing for his first race in the annual bluewater classic.

“My old man was a pro sailor so I’m pretty excited to give him a call,” he said. “I’ve watched videos of the Sydney to Hobart since I was tiny. All the boats going past, you know? I’ve been obsessed with it for a very long time.”

His role on the yacht, he said, is to look after and prepare it while they’re not racing.

Come race day, it will be owner David Griffith who will take charge, in his 11th Sydney-Hobart race, almost 50 years after the first.

This time around, he wants to place fifth or sixth, after a “really bad” 15th last year. He wonders whether this race could be his last.

“I’m 72,” Griffith said. “These boats take up a huge amount of personal time – the sailing is the shortest part of it. And you know, we’ve got lots of other things that we want to do, but we do love it.

“It’s a question you ask yourself every year and you just make the decision year by year.”

Occasionally, people amble up and down the docks and stop at the Whisper, maybe taking a picture on their phone. Most aren’t sailors, they’re tourists checking out the yachts before the race. They sometimes gawk at Fountain dangling off the yacht’s mast.

Griffith – himself a director of the CYC – reflects on what’s changed since he first was in the crew of a Sydney-Hobart yacht, Leda, in 1976.

“It’s dramatically more professional, because when I started, there was no such thing as professional sailors, really,” he said.

“The whole area of navigation has changed dramatically, because when I started, all navigation was by dead reckoning and compass bearings and sextants on the horizon. People got by, and there were big charts out, people had rulers, trying to work out where they were.”

He had earlier drawn attention to the SpaceX Starlink antenna installed off the back of the yacht, another revolution for navigation and communication, he said.

So after the technology and the professionalisation, is the Sydney to Hobart still the same race?

“Culturally, it’s the same,” he said. “You know, it’s an iconic race.

“There’s a wonderful scene and people love to do it. It’s a part of our DNA. It’s part of my history and family’s history. Lots of great friends – the camaraderie.”

The starting cannon for the Sydney to Hobart is scheduled to go off at 1pm today (Tuesday).