Sydney Hobart, Blue Quikpoint’s incredible “almost goal”

David almost beat Goliath. This is the beauty of sailing. A small 34-foot fiberglass hull built in the 1970s nearly got the better of a 52-foot carbon monster. It left everyone with bated breath until the very end: like a fairy tale, the Sparkman & Stephens Quikpoint Azzurro came close to winning this last and very tough edition (31 boats withdrew) of the Sydney Hobart, one of the world’s most challenging regattas. A legend for all sailing enthusiasts.

THE NEAR MISS
Shipowner Shane Kearn took a chance on the “big score.”: was aboard the smallest hull entered in the regatta but nearly beat everyone on corrected time, making the TP52 Balance crew tremble as they eventually won, narrowly, overall, thanks in part to the fact that, with only a few miles to go in Hobart, the wind “let up” on the small 34-footer.

HOARD OF AWARDS
Quikpoint Azzurro crossed the finish line in 71st place in real time, won the overall ORC standings ahead of TP52 Balance and all others, finished third overall in IRC (behind Frenchman Gery Trentesaux’s Courriere Leon, who won the Rolex Fastnet Race last August), first overall in the Corinthian standings, and of course won its class 4 Irc and 3 Orc. Only because of an hour or so of becalming in front of the finish line did he not win it all, but still he achieved an unrepeatable and incredible dream. This is one of those rare moments, when sailing tells its most beautiful face: if you know how to sail, you can win even with a small, old boat that costs less than the torment of one of the greats!