Rolex Sydney Hobart Race: Berlin's "Orione" and Ben Deifel cross the finish line
Tatjana Pokorny
· 30.12.2022
After the line honours for the 100-foot racer "Andoo Comanche" and the Tattersall Cup for the most successful boat "Celestial", the 77th Rolex Sydney Hobart Race has now also come to an end for the majority of the fleet. On the night of 30 December, the McIntyre 55 "Flying Fish Arctos" with Ben Deifel crossed the finish line in 83rd place and the Grand Soleil 45 "Orione" in 85th place. After almost four eventful days at sea, the two boats were only separated by around an hour in Hobart. In the amateur classification (PHS), the times mean sixth place for the "Orione" from the Spandauer Yacht-Club and 14th place for "Flying Fish Arctos" with skipper Drew Hulton-Smith.
After a challenging 628 nautical miles, a lifelong dream has come true for all the German premiere sailors of the Christmas classic. The Berlin "Orione" crew had been preparing for the start of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race for years and brought their ship to the Sydney starting harbour in stages. Now what the Baumgartners and their team-mates have been dreaming of for so long is complete. "We made it!", they happily radioed from Tasmania and sent the following picture.
The "Flying Fish Arctos" had already crossed the finish line a good hour earlier. Benjamin Deifel from Meckenbeuren made his debut in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race with the Australian-British crew. The all-rounder with a penchant for steering has only been sailing for three years. But intensively. "I didn't sail at all before 2018, then came across the Clipper Race and sailed around the world from 2019 to 2022. I completed around 45,000 nautical miles. During the coronavirus break, I did the RYA certificates," the 34-year-old from Lake Constance reported before embarking on the legendary long-distance race.
Ben Deifel reviewed the race in an initial summary:
"We made it - we've crossed the finish line! It was a race with all facets. The start in Sydney was impressive with lots of spectators (boats)! The wind came from the north-east, so the race started very slowly for us. We were one of the last yachts out of the Heads. Then the race to catch up began under Spinaker. We were able to catch up well- 'Length runs'. As expected, Green Point was quickly reached as the last waypoint before Bass Strait.
The wind continued to freshen and we also broke: the spinnaker was in tatters and could not be repaired on board. However, even with the jib and mainsail unfurled, we were able to make good speed and cross the Bass Strait in one night. On the other side, the weather changed faster than expected- Wind on the nose, swell and spray. It was fun, after all we are on an offshore regatta.
A great race with everything that sailing has to offer"
Yesterday we unfortunately managed to drive into a large wind hole and were parked for hours. Here we lost about 30 line honours places and also any prospect in our class. Until then we were second. Too bad. At dawn we turned onto the Derwent, mastered a few more small wind holes and then arrived in Hobart in bright sunshine. As newcomers to Sydney-Hobart, we couldn't miss out on a dip in the harbour basin- now goes's off for a few beers. It was a great trip with everything that sailing has to offer!"
It should also be noted that the Australian team of Rupert Henry and Greg O'Shea won the double-handed classification in both IRC and ORCi with the Lombard 34 "Mistral". Nine teams had to abandon the race by Friday morning. The other 100, a few of which were still at sea, seem to have succeeded in their mission to arrive.
The winning video from the organisers provides an exciting insight into the challenges of the 77th Rolex Sydney Hobart Race and the sometimes challenging sailing conditions:
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Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
