Sydney to Hobart: Leap of faith captured on livestream leaves GoPro crew at boss’s beck and call

During the Sydney Hobart race this year, viewers might spot four crew members aboard super maxi ­LawConnect leaping around holding GoPro cameras live-streaming a first-person’s view of the bluewater classic.

LawConnect owner and skipper Christian Beck with staff members Wenee Yap, left, Ellen Howard and Paul Kimber at Woolwich dock in Sydney. Picture: John Feder

During the Sydney Hobart race this year, viewers might spot four crew members aboard super maxi ­LawConnect leaping around holding GoPro cameras live-streaming a first-person’s view of the bluewater classic.

The crew members will likely be the associated legal technology firm’s development operations manager, client marketing manager, information security architect, and general counsel swapping out their more workaday jobs to be in the thick of the annual race.

It’s become something of a ­tradition for Christian Beck – founder of legal software firm LEAP and 133rd in The Australian’s annual wealthiest businesspeople magazine The List 2023 – to invite four employees to crew the yacht

The yacht’s sponsor, LawConnect, is a LEAP product.

“We find it’s good because it connects the company with the boat and makes the whole thing more a sort of participation rather than an observation sort of sport,” he said.

Mr Beck said the company had been doing this for the past five years. This year, development operations manager Paul Kimber was one of the four selected.

“It’s been great,” Mr Kimber remarked good-naturedly. “We just stopped our regular jobs and became very bad sailors.”

Client marketing manager Wenee Yap said: “It’s a great adventure. You’re never going to have an opportunity like this in your normal life. I mean, we all usually sit behind a desk.”

They said they started training just two weeks ago and during the race will mainly perform small tasks like maintaining the live stream, fetching food and water for the crew, and assisting with sail handling.

Meanwhile, Beck has his sights set on the race. LawConnect has been second across the line in each of the past three races. “I would give us a 25 per cent chance of winning,” he said, standing on the deck of the yacht moored at Woolwich dock.

“I’d probably give the Comanche 70 per cent. Comanche is a very good boat.”

However, Beck is hopeful the uncertain weather forecasts could allow for an upset. “When it’s a bit uncertain, it gives – potentially – an underdog a better chance,” he said. “When the wind’s changing and things, there are more strategic options.

“There are more bets to take. It’s not a bad set of conditions for us.”

The Andoo Comanche crew is holding on to hopes for a special send-off for the record-breaking yacht in potentially its final race in Australia. A long-range forecast that meteorologist Roger Badham described as a “crazy cat” has left open the potential for a race record.

Andoo Comanche’s sailing master Iain Murray spotted the movement to a faster race forecast this week as major weather models started to align, but by Thursday only one weather model was supporting the super fast race. “There still thinking there is a change for a fast race but it is a long shot,’’ Badham said.

“If that one model is right it would be the 100s, 70s, 60s and 50s who all get home really fast.’’

Badham is favouring a mix of two forecast models, which has a fast race under two days for the leaders, but not quite a record breaker.

However, should the ultra-fast forecast of running and reaching conditions eventuate, the treble – line honours victory, handicap victory and a race record – might not be beyond the champion yacht.

The current race record – held by the same yacht but under a different owner – was set in 2017 and stands at one day, nine hours and 15 minutes.

Additional reporting: Amanda Lulham