Sydney-Hobart 2013, all the adrenaline in seconds VIDEO

A stunning video summarizes in a few minutes edition number 69 of the Rolex Sydney-Hobart, the Australian offshore “classic.” An edition that will be remembered mostly for the prohibitive weather conditions and the breeze (with peaks up to 57 knots) that caused dismastings and withdrawals.

WATCH THE VIDEO

HELL COMES DURING THE FOURTH DAY OF THE REGATTA
The maxis (such as Wild Oats XI, winner in real time) have already finished their race four days after the start: the more “normal” boats, on the other hand, and no and face bad weather. The abrupt change in weather conditions overnight had heavy consequences: five boats retired, including the British Clipper 70 Henri Lloyd which broke its rudder east of Cape Barren Island, and Wedgetail which dismasted off Tasmania.

Despite forecasting with perfect timing, many competitors were surprised by the speed of the front from the southwest. Conditions off the east coast of Tasmania were quite treacherous for many of the boats in the fleet-though not overly unusual for the Rolex Sydney Hobart-particularly at Tasman Island, where the course required the fleet to deal head-on with strong southwest winds and huge waves.

The yacht Kerumba found steady 40-45 knots of wind off Tasmania, peaking at 57 knots. Navigator Rob Buchanan commented that the sea state was manageable, with waves of 4-5 meters. Buchanan commented, “A couple of times we were swept by very large waves, but the sea was not overly rough. We probably had a little too much canvas, with jib four and mainsail with two hands. We were of the opinion that we needed some power to get through the waves.”

Darryl Hopkington’s Victoire was engaged in a wild race south, and when the Cookson 50 crossed the finish line at 08:00 AEDT, it took the overall lead in compensated time. The Sydney skipper praised tactician and strategist Sean Kirkjian-a veteran of 17 editions of the race-commenting, “He’s a magician who can play chess with the ocean.” Victoire had to wait through the night to see if any competitors would reach Hobart in time to oust her.

ROLEX SYDNEY-HOBART FINAL RANKINGS.

Line honours: Wild Oatx XI (Bob Oatley)
Overall, IRC 0, ORCi 1: Victoire (Daryl Hodgkinson)
IRC 1: Varuna (Jens Kelinghusen)
IRC 2: Fast (Phil Simpfendorfer).
IRC 3: Brannew (Chris Bran)
IRC 4, ORCi 3: Wild Rose (Roger Hickman).
ORCi 2: Chutzpah (Bruce Taylor)
PHS 1: Spirit of Mateship (RSL Queensland Branch)
PHS 2: She (Peter Rodgers)
Clipper 70: Mission Performance (Clipper Ventures GB)
Clipper 70/1: Derry-Londonderry-Doire (Clipper Ventures GB)
Sydney 38: Zen (Gordon Keteldey)