Baptism of fire for rookie debutants in the 14th Launceston to Hobart race
It was one of the toughest Launceston to Hobarts on record and what a time for teenagers Grace Holligan and Dustan Belbin to make their race debuts. READ THEIR INCREDIBLE EFFORTS >>
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IT was one of the toughest Launceston to Hobarts on record and what a time for teenagers Grace Holligan and Dustan Belbin to make their race debuts.
Amazing Grace, 19, was part of the girl power onboard Invincible, and Dustan, 15, was the rookie bowman onboard Footloose.
Both had duties forward of the mast in the storm that slammed the fleet on the opening night.
Grace had done off-shore day races, but her 285 nautical mile L2H was her longest and a baptism of fire.
“The first day felt like I was earning my stripes, and it made me feel like I was proper off-shore racing,” she said.
Dustan was nervous but the steady hands on Footloose set him at ease.
“It was a good experience,” he said.
“It was tough on the first night. We got hit hard when the front came through and we were making good decisions about keeping everyone safe onboard.”
Invincible’s crew of eight included three women, and it would have been a 50-50 gender mix if a fourth woman had not withdrawn through illness.
Grace said Olivia Coyne and Alison Merridew, who have seven Sydney-Hobarts between them, were outstanding role models.
“They are incredible sailors and very experienced with off shore racing, so they were great to learn from,” Grace said.
“As a young woman sailor, you feel a lot more confident when you’ve got other women onboard teaching you what to do. They were very inspiring.”
Both Grace and Dustan have one eye on Australia’s 628nm blue water classic.
“I’d like to do a Sydney-Hobart one day because it’s such an appealing race,” Dustan said.
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