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Sydney to Hobart: forecast of wild conditions prompts talk of race delay Sydney to Hobart: forecast of wild conditions prompts talk of race delay
(35 minutes later)
Multiple Sydney to Hobart yacht race winner Wild Oats XI will not pull out of the Boxing Day classic, despite the boat’s tactician, Iain Murray, saying the long range forecast looked so severe it might prompt organisers to delay the start.Multiple Sydney to Hobart yacht race winner Wild Oats XI will not pull out of the Boxing Day classic, despite the boat’s tactician, Iain Murray, saying the long range forecast looked so severe it might prompt organisers to delay the start.
Related: Sydney to Hobart: forecast of wild conditions prompts talk of race delayRelated: Sydney to Hobart: forecast of wild conditions prompts talk of race delay
The 30-metre Australian supermaxi, owned by Bob Oatley and skippered by Mark Richards, is chasing its ninth line honours in the race. In a statement posted on the yacht’s website on Monday, Murray said the forecast of “howling” south-westerly winds and “powerful, breaking seas” through the Bass strait was “ringing alarm bells”. The 30-metre Australian supermaxi, owned by Bob Oatley and skippered by Mark Richards, is chasing its ninth line honours in the race. In a statement posted on the yacht’s website on Monday, Murray said the forecast of “howling” south-westerly winds and “powerful, breaking seas” through the Bass Strait was “ringing alarm bells”.
But the updated forecast from the Bureau of Meteorology on Tuesday predicted strong but not unmanageable winds as the fleet crossed from the mainland into Bass strait. But the updated forecast from the Bureau of Meteorology on Tuesday predicted strong but not unmanageable winds as the fleet crossed from the mainland into Bass Strait.
Wild Oats XI’s spokesman, Rob Mundle, said it was “very unusual” to have such an uncertain forecast four days before the start of the race. It was up to organisers to delay the race if they were concerned conditions could approach those seen in 1998.Wild Oats XI’s spokesman, Rob Mundle, said it was “very unusual” to have such an uncertain forecast four days before the start of the race. It was up to organisers to delay the race if they were concerned conditions could approach those seen in 1998.
Failing an official delay, he said Wild Oats XI – and most other boats – would sail.Failing an official delay, he said Wild Oats XI – and most other boats – would sail.
“There’s no way [it would pull out]. If the race is on, we are there,” Mundle said. “They wouldn’t even contemplate it.”“There’s no way [it would pull out]. If the race is on, we are there,” Mundle said. “They wouldn’t even contemplate it.”
Mundle said the crew was looking forward to a good race between Wild Oats XI and “arch-rival” Comanche, an American supermaxi owned by Jim and Kristy Clark and skippered by Ken Read, which was pipped by Wild Oats XI for a line honours victory in 2014.Mundle said the crew was looking forward to a good race between Wild Oats XI and “arch-rival” Comanche, an American supermaxi owned by Jim and Kristy Clark and skippered by Ken Read, which was pipped by Wild Oats XI for a line honours victory in 2014.
Related: Comanche makes flying start in Sydney to Hobart yacht raceRelated: Comanche makes flying start in Sydney to Hobart yacht race
Michael Logan, a forecaster with BoM, told Guardian Australia that forecasters were watching a low pressure system in the south Tasman Sea, east of Tasmania, which could potentially move into the Bass strait on Sunday. But he said comparisons to the conditions in the fatal 1998 yacht race, where six people from three yachts died in hurricane-strength 70-knot (130 km/h) winds in Bass strait, were highly unlikely to be borne out. Michael Logan, a forecaster with BoM, told Guardian Australia that forecasters were watching a low pressure system in the south Tasman Sea, east of Tasmania, which could potentially move into the Bass Strait on Sunday. But he said comparisons to the conditions in the fatal 1998 yacht race, where six people from three yachts died in hurricane-strength 70-knot (130 km/h) winds in Bass Strait, were highly unlikely to be borne out.
“Although a low may form east of Tasmania on Sunday, conditions are not likely to be comparable to the 1998 race,” he said.“Although a low may form east of Tasmania on Sunday, conditions are not likely to be comparable to the 1998 race,” he said.
Logan said the official long-range forecast predicted a fine start in Sydney on Boxing Day, with a south-westerly change coming through as the fleet travelled down the New South Wales south coast, bringing winds of 25-30 knots. The timing of that change is still loose; it could come in any time in the afternoon or evening.Logan said the official long-range forecast predicted a fine start in Sydney on Boxing Day, with a south-westerly change coming through as the fleet travelled down the New South Wales south coast, bringing winds of 25-30 knots. The timing of that change is still loose; it could come in any time in the afternoon or evening.
“Conditions will be pretty choppy, wet and uncomfortable during the first night for the fleet,” Logan said.“Conditions will be pretty choppy, wet and uncomfortable during the first night for the fleet,” Logan said.
Logan said on current forecasts the worrying low-pressure system off Tasmania was likely to just bring a continuation of those strong, 30-knot winds through the Bass Strait.Logan said on current forecasts the worrying low-pressure system off Tasmania was likely to just bring a continuation of those strong, 30-knot winds through the Bass Strait.
The next formal update will be on Christmas Eve, 48 hours before the race starts.The next formal update will be on Christmas Eve, 48 hours before the race starts.
“We would hope before then we would have refined the timing of the first southerly that they will get hit with on the first evening of the race, and we should know a fair bit more about the wind conditions for the middle part of the race,” Logan said.“We would hope before then we would have refined the timing of the first southerly that they will get hit with on the first evening of the race, and we should know a fair bit more about the wind conditions for the middle part of the race,” Logan said.