The Cruising Yacht Club of South Australia has always been well represented in the Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. The 2021 Hobart race was no exception and although we did not have a yacht entered this year, we did have many of our Club members and crew that sail from the Club crewing on various yachts. The CYCSA had Club members on both the Overall Winner Ichi Ban and Line Honours yacht Black Jack. James Paterson is an intricate part of the Ichi Ban crew and Silas Nolan and Ryan Godfrey had prominent positions on Black Jack. The following crew members shared a little of their sailing history and their latest Hobart experiences in the big race. Geoff Boettcher
History
I started sailing at the Glenelg Sailing Club in the Holdfast Trainer class at eight years of age. After moving through the junior fleets at Glenelg and Adelaide Sailing Club I started to look for opportunities in keel boats and was offered a trial spot on Secret Mens Business with Geoff Boettcher prior to the 2004 Sydney to Hobart Race. That was the start of my keel boat career, sailing five Hobart Races with Geoff including winning the race in 2010. In between racing SMB I campaigned in the Olympic Finn Class for six years in the SASI and AST program and sailed in many regattas around Australia and overseas and a highlight was winning the National Championships in 2012. More recently I sailed with Jason Ward and Shevaun Bruland on Concubine completing three Hobart Races and many successful regattas. After Concubine was sold in 2018 I picked up a position with Matt Allen on Ichi Ban on which I have competed in two Hobart races and multiple regattas and offshore races. 2021 Sydney to Hobart Race
We had a good lead-up to the 2021 Sydney to Hobart Race competing in the Sydney Bluewater Series and a number of training weekends. My primary role on Ichi Ban was forward grinder and crew boss where I managed the boat manoeuvres and sail changes and am the link between the front and the back of the boat. When sailing offshore I am second pitman and helmsman.
The race started off with a downwind leg creating a quick exit out of Sydney Harbour. The first afternoon and evening we experienced fresh breeze up to 35 knots and a short and sharp sea state which was created by the East Australian Current running at two knots against the wind. This made things quite uncomfortable with multiple crew getting sick and making it very difficult to eat and get any sleep. The next afternoon the wind moderated and the sea state abated as we sailed out of the current. We sailed our track to line up the next favourable current and to position ourselves for the Tasmanian coast. On the second night, while in the middle of Bass Strait, we were alerted by satellite phone by the race office and AMSA that Celestial had a personal EPIRB activated and they were not answering their satellite phone. We were the closest boat so were requested to contact them via VHF to see if all was okay and everyone was safe. After a while of trying to contact them with no luck we were instructed to light a white hand flare to get their attention but again no luck. After two hours we were given permission to let off a red parachute flare which are only to be let off in mayday situations. After nine minutes of trying to reach them they finally answered and indicated all was okay in a rather relaxed manner. It was an eventful experience that highlights the importance of always listening on VHF 16 and it was lucky we weren’t in danger and needed their assistance!
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The next day we kept offshore while other boats hit the Tasmanian coast, the latter not paying off with boats parking for many hours. We managed to limit our park up to only five to ten minutes. Arriving at the southern part of the Tasmanian coast we were welcomed by a south westerly wind that built to 20-25 knots for the last 30 miles to Tasman Island. By that point it was a tight tussle with us and Celestial who managed to hang on behind us all the way to Tasman Island. Rounding Tasman we were blast reaching past the Organ Pipes to Cape Raoul then more reaching to the Iron Pot. From there we were able to pull up the spinnaker in 15 knots and sail up the Derwent to the finish line gaining time on Celestial. However, crossing the line in sixth place, we knew the distance to Celestial was not enough but after a number of protests were lodged regarding Celestial’s radio problems, we were declared the overall winners on IRC making it two race wins in a row! It was an amazing experience and we hope to make it three in a row at the end of the year!
History
My journey in sailing started when I was eight years old sailing Holdfast Trainers at Glenelg Sailing Club. After progressing through other dinghy classes of 303s, Lasers and Cherubs I moved to the CYCSA and made my first entry sailing keelboats with Chris Tillet on board his Mumm30. After a season with Chris I found myself sailing on Secret Mens Business with Geoff Boettcher. Over the next eight or nine years I learnt my craft with Geoff racing all over the country at all the big regattas and offshore races and my first five Sydney to Hobarts were with Geoff and the SMB team.
My foundation with Geoff and SMB gave me my start into professional yacht racing where I have spent the past 15 years competing in yachting’s biggest events across the globe from Asia, through America and the Caribbean to the Mediterranean. Classes include the TP52 Super Series, RC44 Cup, Maxi 72 Championship, Volvo 70, Super Maxis, Super Yachts and everything in between. I’ve experienced some great results over the years and some highlights include 19 Sydney to Hobarts winning Overall IRC in 2012 with Loki and Line Honours with Comanche in 2019 and Black Jack in 2021. Others include coming third in the TP52 Super Series season Championship, first in the historic One Ton Cup, season Champions in RC44 and Maxi 72 classes and multiple Line and Handicap honours in the Newport to Bermuda, Caribbean 600 and Rolex China Sea races. 2021 Sydney to Hobart Race
For this year’s Sydney to Hobart I was the bowman on Peter Harburg’s Super Maxi Black Jack. I have been a part of the Black Jack team on and off since 2008 and Peter gave me one of my first full professional gigs so it was special to be a part of his first Hobart Line Honours victory with his team.
