Crack navigator Claire Cunningham plotted a new course after Sydney-Hobart was cancelled

No Sydney-Hobart, no worries - Hobart sailor Claire Cunningham will still be sailing off Tasmania’s East Coast next week

• Sydney-Hobart Yacht Race 2020: iconic event cancelled for first time in 76 year history
• Sydney-Hobart canned after Premier orders compulsory quarantine for NSW crews

INSTEAD of charging down Tasmania’s East Coast in the 2020 Sydney to Hobart yacht race next week, Hobart sailor Claire Cunningham will now be cruising leisurely up it.

The gun navigator for hot-shot Hobart yacht 2Unlimited changed tack after the 76th Hobart was cancelled due to Covid-19 lockdowns and border lock-outs with NSW.

Hoping to be part of the fleet that celebrated the 75th year of women’s participation in the great race, Claire got out of Sydney just in time to avoid spending Christmas in quarantine, like so many other sailors now face.

Claire left Sydney on Thursday not knowing that two days later Tasmania would close its boarders to Sydneysiders and anyone entering the state from NSW after midnight on Saturday would spend Christmas in quarantine.

75th anniversary of women participation in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. Claire Cunningham is crew on 2Unlimited.. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

“I didn’t do the delivery to Sydney so I flew up last Monday to help get the boat ready,” she said.

“We gave it a good Covid clean, because you had to have a Covid Safe plan to do the race, and we sorted out all of our food and provisions, and I pre-ordered our Boxing Day lunch, which I’ve had to cancel.

“We had a little issue with the engine on the way up so we got that sorted and got our safety check done and made sure all of our paperwork was in place.”

75th anniversary of women participation in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race. Claire Cunningham is crew on 2Unlimited.. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

All of the hard work preparing Greg Prescott’s yacht sadly was for nothing.

The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia lacked the atmosphere of a “normal” year.

“It seemed quieter than usual,” Claire said.

“There was certainly no talk of the race not going ahead, so it will be a very different Christmas now we won’t be racing.

“The boat had never been in better shape and we had a really good crew, that’s why it is really disappointing.

“I plan to do some cruising.

“My parents have got a boat so we’ll go cruising up the East Coast rather than racing down it.

“It’s also a chance to catch up with friends and family, and it will be very different down on the waterfront with no Sydney-Hobart fleet.

“Perhaps I’ll go and see some of my friends come over the finish in the Launceston to Hobart.”