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Race fleet sets sail for Hobart
By Geoff Hiscock
SYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- Heavy rain marked the start of the Sydney-Hobart yacht race, the annual bluewater classic that draws some of the world's finest racing yachts to the southern hemisphere. After an early summer of hot scorching days and bushfires close to the city, Thursday's rain was a welcome relief for most Sydney residents. But the cool, cloudy conditions and a heavy downpour just before the 1 p.m (2 a.m. GMT) start meant less-than-ideal viewing conditions for the hundreds of thousands of spectators who crammed the foreshores of Sydney Harbor. They watched the 27.4 meter carbon-fiber Sydney yacht Alfa Romeo lead the fleet out through Sydney Heads, just in front of the London entrant Canon. At 57 boats, the fleet this year is the smallest in 30 years, but it includes some of the biggest racing yachts around. Canon (usually known as Leopard of London) is the largest competitor at 29.5 meters. The 630 nautical mile race is for glory only -- there is no prizemoney for what is often a gruelling three-day haul down the east coast of New South Wales and Victoria, across Bass Strait and into Storm Bay for the finish at Hobart. Sydney-based New Zealand businessman Neville Crichton is spending about Aust. $250,000 ($140,000) to race Alfa Romeo. Many other competitors have spent A$50,000, and even the most basic competitive effort costs about A$20,000 to A$25,000 by the time entry fees, insurance costs and safety gear for the crews is added up. There has been a strict focus on safety since the disastrous 1998 race, when a freak storm cost the lives of six yachtsmen and 12 boats were lost. Safety gearThat led to calls for much more in the way of safety gear -- better life rafts and life vests, better safety harnesses and personal distress beacons for all crew. The betting for line honors this year favors the big yachts, led by Alfa Romeo, followed by Canon, Nicorette, Wild Thing and Brindabella. A potential handicap winner is Ichi Ban, which had to fly in a new rudder from Malaysia on Christmas Day after the original rudder was lost in rough seas on Saturday. Other contenders include Hollywood Boulevard and Ragamuffin. This is the 58th year the race has been run. One competitor, Tasmanian entrant John Bennetto in Mirabooka, has sailed in 41 races already. The race record, set by Nokia in 1999, is one day 19 hours 48 minutes 2 seconds. Even with the cool, wet conditions, up to half a million Sydneysiders flocked to vantage points around the habor to watch the start. But unfavorable winds meant the yachts were unable to use their spinnakers -- usually one of the most spectactacular parts of the race as the fleet goes through Sydney Heads and into the Tasman Sea. Two yachts, Valheru and Trumpcard, retired in the first half-hour of the race after separate collisions with other boats. Each yacht had a man overboard, but they were quickly retrieved unharmed.
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