The Grinders Coffee SOLAS Big Boat Challenge will take to Sydney Harbour on Tuesday 11 December – and the race will prove a great indicator as to who’s in fine form entering the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

There are a total of seven crews confirmed for the big race, starting at 12:30pm – which will be live-streamed on CYCA’s Facebook page and the CYCA website.

Black Jack, InfoTrack, Scallywag, Naval Group, Wild Oats X, Wild Oats XI and Winning Appliances will all feature in the race, a key lead-up race to the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race.

Competing yachts complete two laps of a course that starts off Point Piper, heads to Cannae Point near North Head, returns to Shark Island and goes back again. The finish line is off Fort Denison near the Opera House.

 

A bit on each of the competitors as they prepare for the 2018 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race…

Black Jack

One of the clear favourites for line honours in the Rolex Sydney Hobart as well as the handicap prize in a big boat race. Third to finish last year’s RSHYR and claimed the line honours in 2009 as Alfa Romeo. The team started the season in fine form by taking line honours in the Noakes Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race and in the process beating both Wild Oats XI and Comanche. Owner Peter Harburg and skipper Mark Bradford have again assembled a top-class crew and with more under-the-water modifications she could easily lead the charge south. Australian Olympian Anthony Nossiter and New Zealand America’s Cup hero Brad Butterworth will look after the tactical side while Australian Tom Addis will handle navigational duties.

InfoTrack

Claimed line honours in 2016 Rolex Sydney Hobart (as Perpetual Loyal) and in the process breaking the course record. She raced under current owner Christian Beck last year when she was fourth over the line but was relegated to 24th due to a rule infringement. Began life as Speedboat, then became Rambler 100 before Perpetual Loyal and now Beck has arranged a crew full of round the world heroes in Bouwe Bekking (Ned), Stu Bannatyne (NZ) and navigator Andrew Cape (Aus) who will be looking for a tough upwind bash to push this boat towards her second line honours title. Owner Beck was the 2017 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year and the founder of LEAP and InfoTrack, a technology company that provides tools for people and businesses.

Scallywag

“When things get hard, they just work harder. It’s one of the things that makes us (David Witt and Seng Huang Lee) proud of the team. The ethos of a Scallywag: endure, adapt, excel, and to never give up,” said Witt. “But at the end of the day, we are just a bunch of mates sailing together with an ever-growing Scallywag family from all over the globe. And we’re excited to take on the race by storm.” The goal for the owner and the team is raising and promoting competitive sailing in Asia, while building a long-lasting youth sailing legacy in Hong Kong in conjunction with the Hong Kong Sailing Federation. The team has made history by being the first ever Hong Kong entry into the Volvo Ocean Race (2017-18 edition), also winning Leg 4: Melbourne to Hong Kong for Hong Kong’s debut stopover, as well as coming second place in Leg 6: Hong Kong to Auckland.

Naval Group

Led by Sean Langman, MD of Noakes Group and one of the nation’s best-known and most versatile sailors who has handled everything from 18-foot skiffs and 60ft trimarans to gaff-rigged classics and competed in 27 Hobarts. Naval Group is the former Moneypenny, the last RP65 to be built by McConaghy’s in Australia, launched in 2008 for American Jim Swartz who competed in the Newport Bermuda Race, among other events. For the 2018 Rolex Sydney Hobart, Naval Group’s crew is a mixture of French and Australian, including a number of RAN personnel. “Another year and a new challenge,” Langman said. “Representing Naval Group, the RP69 was chosen to provide a platform for French and Australian employees to demonstrate their ability to work as a team and achieve a respectable result.”

Wild Oats X

An all-woman crew with the large majority having raced in the recent Volvo Ocean Race. It’s just her second Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race; but is no stranger to action. Third in the Audi Hamilton Island Race Week 2010, second in Audi Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race 2010, winner of Hamilton Island Race week 2005, line honours Sydney Gold Coast Yacht Race 2007 and 2005 and more. Finished last year’s Race in 11th overall and fourth in her Division. Will no doubt be there, or thereabouts this year. In 2006 Dee Caffari became the first woman to sail single-handed around the world “the wrong way”, westward against the prevailing wind and currents.

Wild Oats XI

Has one of the great CVs in the 74-year history of the great race south. Eight line-honours titles (including two race records) and two overall victories, once again will be amongst the favourites especially in the line honours duel. The past three years have not been kind to her having retired in both 2015 and 2016 and then last year was penalised out of the race record and line honours after an incident at Sydney Heads. She will have plenty to prove this year with the majority of her strong crew returning to try to write another piece of Sydney Hobart Yacht Race history. “I have a very good feeling about this year’s race from the team perspective. We have a great team of people both on the boat and shore crew and in particular, The Oatley Family,” said Richards.

Winning Appliances

Built in Dubai, Matt Allen’s Ichi Ban Carkeek 60 has been loaned to John Winning Junior and Senior, hence the renaming to the family business. The crew will include Tommy Spithill and Seve Jarvin whose brother and father respectively are sailing on super maxis. Since 2005 Winning Sr has loaned his motor cruiser JBW to the CYCA for use as the Radio Relay Vessel.