Toti sailor sets sail in Aus yacht race
Unfortunately, as we rounded Tasman Island, we managed to get stuck with no wind.
A Toti sailor was part of the crew that finished fourth in their division at the prestigious Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.
Ewan Thomas, an ex-Kingsway High School pupil, was part of a nine man crew on board Willyama, a 45 foot single hull vessel that braved a huge 40 knot storm at the start of the race which took out over 20 vessels in the race.
Now in its 71st year, the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is raced over 628 nautical miles from Sydney harbour at 1pm on Boxing Day, 26 December to finish at the Grand Chancellor Hotel in Hobart on 1 January.
Ewan was the youngest of the crew at only 25-years-old and the least experienced, having only been bitten by the sailing bug over the last year.
He spoke to the Sun about his experience of the race from Australia, where he has emigrated to.
“It was exciting to be at the start, in the mix of over 100 yachts varying in size from the small 30 to 40 foot yachts to the massive 100 foot yachts like Comanche or Wild Oats,” said Ewan.
We were all relieved once the storm let up
“Once we were out of the heads we had a favourable northerly wind pushing us down the coast. With our kite (spinnaker) up, we held up a decent speed.
It wasn’t until later that evening when we were hit by a massive southerly that knocked more than a quarter of the fleet out of the race. We managed to escape with a spinnaker that had been ripped in half. Fortunately our skipper had the foresight at that point to set the sails in preparation for a storm. He played it on the more cautious side as last year the boat damaged its main sail only a couple hours into the race and had to retire.
The 30-something hours of the storm’s duration was gruelling, especially when I had to head up to the foredeck to put another reef in the mainsail. It’s quite terrifying when the boat is keeling over due to the high winds. You’ve got the waves crashing over the bow and trying to pull your legs from under you, all while you’re trying to brace yourself against the mast and pull down a loaded mainsail.
We were all relieved once the storm let up and ensured the boat had no damage, before we embarked across the bass straits.
The weather went to the complete opposite once we got to the middle of the straits. We had a lovely, sunny day with barely a knot of wind and we had to limp along, hoping to find a pocket of wind somewhere. Eventually the wind picked up and we were on our way again.
People keep asking if I’d do it again
Next thing we knew we hit Tasmania and were making decent time. Unfortunately, as we rounded Tasman Island heading for Storm Bay and the finish line up the Derwent River, we managed to get stuck with no wind.
After realising all the good time we’d made had been cut short by the lack of wind and our finish time was continuously getting further away the longer we sat without wind, we happened upon a large pod of dolphins. That lifted all our spirits as we were stuck going one knot through the water.
During the early hours of the morning of New Year’s Eve, we were quite happy to see the lights that make up the skyline of Hobart City. It was here that we did some of our best sailing and we had our sails perfectly trimmed to maximise the wind.
One of our main competitors was just in front of us as we headed for the finish line. We were passing each other every few tacks and unfortunately they managed to get the most out of the wind and crossed the finish line 17 seconds before us as they took third in our handicapped division.
The rough oceans and the constant racing with only a few hours here and there made for an interesting time, but all in all it was an awesome experience and I’m glad I did it. People keep asking if I’d do it again and my response is always the same for now, ‘Ask me again in a few months’.
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