The Sydney to Hobart’s race briefing began with a minute’s silence for the two sailors who died in last year’s event, and ended with indications the fatal conditions will not repeat.
Nor is the race record expected to be broken this year as upwind conditions spell a tighter contest for the six 100-foot supermaxis chasing line honours.
Wednesday’s mandatory briefing from Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology predicted the 129 starters will face strong southerly winds of up to 25 knots after leaving the Sydney Heads today.
Those winds are likely to slacken across the New South Wales and Tasmanian coasts across December 27 and 28 as a high-pressure system hovers around the Apple Isle.
The fleet has still been warned there is the possibility of strong winds down the coast, as well as a chance of showers at the start.
But the forecast is a marked difference from last year, when boat-breaking conditions occurred on the first night.
The weather briefing at the Cruising Yacht Club (CYC) of Australia began with a minute’s silence in memory of Nick Smith and Roy Quaden, the two sailors who died aboard separate yachts last year.
Their deaths were the race’s first since 1998 and have triggered changes to the Hobart’s safety protocols for this year.
Among these, all sailors must wear personal locator beacons.
Mark Richards, skipper of nine-time line honours champion Palm Beach XI — formerly known as Wild Oats XI — felt the fleet was in as safe hands as possible.
"The one thing the CYC has been amazing at, and probably world-leading, is they keep pushing the bar in safety levels and I think that’s the best we can do," Richards said.
Club commodore Sam Haynes said the sailors would remain front of mind from today’s start.
"This will be something that is very much on our minds, and the families of these two sailors," said Haynes, who is also the skipper of reigning overall winner Celestial V70.
LDV Comanche, now Master Lock Comanche, set the race record of one day, nine hours, 15 minutes, 24 seconds in 2017.
But strong downwind conditions would be required for that mark to be bested.
"The race record is definitely off the table this year, by a fair margin, I would’ve thought," Comanche co-skipper Matt Allen said.
Misadventure aside, Comanche is almost unbeatable in heavy, downwind conditions, but the lighter forecast looks to have evened the playing field.
Upwind racing and changes in the weather will favour back-to-back reigning line honours champion LawConnect, which is much heavier than Comanche.
Owner Christian Beck was his sardonic self when asked whether LawConnect were eyeing only the fourth-line honours "three-peat" in Hobart history.
"The Sydney to Hobart is the only sport in the world where a s...box has been winning for the last two years," Beck said.
But LawConnect’s rivals aren’t so sure.
SHK Scallywag 100 skipper David Witt made a snoring sound during Beck’s comments at the line honours press conference, with Allen also sceptical.
"LawConnect is a really good boat upwind and probably a better boat than us in the really light stuff that we’ll get later on in the race," Allen said.
"It’s going to be really on for line honours.
"With these weather conditions, LawConnect is not a s...box." — AAP
