A small flotilla of yachts staged some last-minute duels up the Derwent River and the Tasmanian coast as they closed out their time in the 2004 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

“Down the Derwent we had everything to play for because there were eight of us boats wanting to get here first,” said Ray Hudson, owner of XS Moment (NSW).

“Matty (Matt Williams – owner of Trouble and Strife), overtook us but then we got him and won that one.

“But Ian Edwards (owner of Wings) a club mate of ours, got us,” Hudson said.

“This is the only race in the world that has four races in one.”

Edwards agreed it was all action down the last stretch.

“We wanted to beat XS Moment and Mako – beat them match racing from Garrow Light,” Edwards said.

“XS is always our benchmark, and it was see-sawing between us up the Derwent.”

He said there was not enough wind on the Derwent. 

“We had our Code Zero and our G1 – one up, one down. The wind kept changing direction. We actually had our Code Zero up and down nine times,” Edwards said.

“Then we parked – and they caught up.”

He said there were eight boats in close proximity coming into the finish: “Magic.”

Hudson (XS Moment) said they had “a little bit of everything on the first night”.

“It was a hard night of steering, technically challenging,” he said.

He said they had a “magical crossing of Bass Strait”.

“Unfortunately we had lost out wind instruments, but by then the sea was beautifully settled, nice flat water, which made it easier.”

Ed Psaltis, owner of Midnight Rambler and winner of the 1998 race, said he was proud of the performance of his crew.

“We pushed hard, reefed early, so we could hold our kite longer,” he said.

“That worked for us. After that we poled out our headsail for the last part of that day, because there was a lot of cross waves, seas were big, and we’re only 35 feet long.

“You had to go hard but use your seamanship.”

He said they were hanging onto Mistral (two handed Lombard 34) down the Derwent.

“Rupert [Henry – skipper of the Mistral] is one of the best,” he said.

“We had issues off St Helens Point, where we fell into a hole, and Rupert didn’t.

“Unbelievable …  two guys sailing hard. I tip my hat to them.”

He said the race off Tasmania was good, “until we were becalmed at White Rock for what felt like 10 hours but was half an hour.”

He also heaped praise on Disko Trooper: “Another two-handed boat that was very well sailed. They caught us up – amazing sailors.”

One memorable sight for members of Wings’ crew was spotting pod of bioluminescent dolphins – a spectacle as bioluminescent plankton in the water caused the dolphins to glow radiant blue. ”And we saw a trail of that when they left us.”

Di Pearson I RSHYR media