Sydney-Hobart: Race set to start again in Storm Bay

Roger Badham believes the Sydney Hobart race will start all over again when the supermaxis leading the fleet round Tasman Island

Jim Cooney’s Comanche races towards Hobart last night

Weather guru Roger Badham believes the Rolex Sydney-Hobart race will start all over again when the four supermaxis leading the fleet round Tasman Island this morning and start the final 44 nautical mile leg to the finish.

The last bit of every Hobart race, across Storm Bay and up the Derwent River, plays a major role because the lack of wind and the strong tidal currents can destroy the chances of the best prepared yachts.

“There could be little or no wind in Storm Bay and the Derwent which means the race for line honours could start all over again,” Badham said last night.

Badham said he expected the supermaxis to arrive at Tasman Island in the early hours of this morning.

With recordholder Comanche keeping Wild Oats XI, Black Jack and InfoTrack at bay last night, it will be up to the light wind boats — Black Jack and Wild Oats XI — to overhaul their rivals.

Comanche, which set the race record of one day, nine hours, 15 minutes and 24 seconds last year, had a late crew change just before Wednesday’s start.

Samantha Grant, the wife of skipper Jim Cooney, joined her husband aboard the yacht as their daughter Julia, who sailed last year, stepped off.

Cooney credits Grant with prodding him into making an offer for Comanche just before last year’s race, when he would have been happy spending the next decade sailing his Volvo 70 Maserati.

Two days before the race, Cooney said he had asked Grant to sail this year but she had rejected his offer. Yesterday the commodore of the CYCA, Paul Billingham, said the club had been informed of the crew change only minutes before the race started.

While there is no doubt line honours will be taken by one of the supermaxis, trying to pick a handicap winner is far harder.

With the fleet strung out across Bass Strait and facing unknown weather, a dozen boats could have a strong chance.

However early last night Ed Psaltis’ Sydney 36 Midnight Rambler was leading and looking a good bet. Psaltis won the storm-ravaged race in 1998 in which six sailors died.

He was then sailing another Midnight Rambler, a Hick 35, and has said he keeps sailing to remember his mates.

Midnight Rambler was being followed by Tony Kirby’s Ker 46 Patrice, which came third in last year’s race. But the difference in finishing times is quite extreme.

If Patrice finishes before 10pm tonight she will be the “clubhouse” leader, but Midnight Rambler will have until just before 7am tomorrow to take the honour.

Even the smallest boat in the race, the Army Sailing Club’s Gun Runner, has a chance at winning its division on handicap. Although she is trailing the fleet and just starting to cross Bass Strait, Gun Runner can win if she finishes before 7am on Sunday.

The CYCA commodore Paul Billingham would like to see a 40 footer such as Bruce Taylor’s Chutzpah win and all of Tasmania is hoping that Matthew Pilkington and Rob Gourlay’s Beneteau 45 Black Sheep gets the gong.

The two owners describe their crew as a “rag tag crew of social misfits” who are living on past glories.

Sydney businessman Matt Allen, who won last year in his Botin 52 Ichi Ban, led this year’s race for most of the first 24 hours on handicap but yesterday, as the wind died, he slipped from first to 12th.

Meanwhile, the largest yacht in the Melbourne-Devonport fleet, Dream, upstaged a former Sydney to Hobart winner to lead the field as it chases the race record to Tasmania.

The Devonport race and the Melbourne to Hobart race entries left Portsea yesterday morning with the Pacific 50 Dream, skippered by Robert Green, edging out Hobart-bound line honours favourite Oskana in a spinnaker start.

Oskana was winner of the 2013 Sydney to Hobart (when it was known as Victoire) before being bought by Hobart-based Michael Pritchard last year.

The boats jostled for position with Dream edging ahead before the two fleets diverged at sea.

Dream continued to build a big lead, chasing the 1998 record of 19h 32m 56s set by Prowler, however mild conditions will probably prevent this.

Dream was followed by Merlion (skippered by Eddie Mackevicius) and Afrayed Knot (Bruce Early) with the winner expected to finish in Devonport before midday today.

In the 12-strong fleet bound for Hobart, the Cookson 50 Oskana also held a commanding lead over its nearest rivals Tevake II.

Arguably Australia’s most challenging offshore race because of the route down the west coast, the 435 nautical mile event takes nearly two days at its fastest (the 2008 record is one day 17 hours).

Additional reporting: AAP