Monumental Race Just A Pit Stop For V60s On Way To Bigger Things

Sydney Morning Herald

Tuesday December 26, 2000

Alan Kennedy

For most Australian yachties, the Sydney to Hobart is the big one for the year, a personal Everest. If you make it to the finish, the reward is the welcoming sight of Hobart's docks and then the quiet little drink that goes on for days as relieved sailors let off a bit of steam.

For most, this year will be the same story.

But the big Volvo 60 round-the-world boats competing this year get just three hours in Hobart before setting off on an even longer race to Auckland.

For them, the race this year is only part of a bigger picture next year's Volvo Round the World yacht race, which starts in September, during which boats will have only three hours after arriving in Hobart to get themselves ready to set off on the next leg of a race to Auckland, about four or five days away.

That's why this year, at least three of the V60s Illbruck, Tyco and Assa Abloy will have a dress-rehearsal pit stop.

The two other V60s News Corporation and Nokia may take part in the quick turnaround as well.

The Hobart race starts today on the harbour at 1pm with 83 boats going to the line.

A southerly should make it a spectacular run up to the heads, from where the boats will head east to pick up the eastern current, which is moving south at about three knots this year.

Favourites for line honours remain Shockwave and Nicorette, with local maxi Brindabella coming into contention if, as forecast, it turns into a traditional bash into the wind.

The timing of the southerly fronts will decide the handicap honours as some highly fancied boats may get caught on the wrong side of the shift.

Yendys remains a hot favourite although AFR Midnight Rambler will, like Brindabella, relish the prospect of a traditional heavy-wind race.

The Volvo 60s will enjoy it if the winds get up, as they are sailed by experienced professional crews. But all things being equal they will struggle to beat the longer boats.

The skipper of Illbruck, John Kostecki, said they had to keep this year's race in perspective. ``Of course we would like to win but we are here for training, and learning as much as we can in preparation for next year."

Kostecki is one of the new breed of sailors, a nautical gypsy who goes where the big projects are. The last time he was seen competitively was as Paul Cayard's tactician on America One, which narrowly lost the America's Cup challenger series to the Italian Prada syndicate in Auckland in January.

Now he is fully committed to Illbruck, the German company which is funding a Volvo challenge and an America's Cup challenge both of them under Kostecki's guidance.

Kostecki, a silver medallist for the US at the Seoul Olympics, seems to spend more time at sea than on land.

He bought a house near San Francisco this year but has seen it only once.

He admitted he couldn't think about getting married and having a family, as the strains on his job would be unbearable.

He has a partner who keeps track of his progress via reports on the internet and flies to meet him whenever she can.

Big-time sailing such as the America's Cup is, he said, starting to move into exciting new areas.

Dynamic new computer graphics, which explain the sport to the layman, mean people can become actively involved. Interest through the internet is growing and attracting a number of high-profile sponsors.

So when Kostecki is out training, he and his crew spend time off doing live reports or tapping out emails for posting on a website. They will do this throughout the Sydney to Hobart as well.

During the Volvo race, the reports will be more informative and cyber sailors will be encouraged to enter their own cyber boats so they can match themselves with the people on the water.

As for this year's Hobart race, it was Kostecki who led the charge in trying to have the V60s classified as a separate class.

The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia rejected the plea and said if the V60s used the system of stacking, whereby they move their sails to the windward side to provide extra ballast, they might be disqualified.

Kostecki said he and the other V60s reluctantly agreed to sail under these rules.

Part of the decision was based on the fact that Volvo had a huge logistical operation in place to follow the Hobart race by helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft to send daily footage of the V60s round the world every day.

The company worked behind the scenes to prevent a boycott of this year's race by the V60s.