Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race: Brutal finale with hailstorms and "48 knots out of nowhere"
Tatjana Pokorny
· 31.12.2023
The 78th edition of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race is not expected to finish until the New Year for the last boats in the race. Five boats were still striving towards the finish on New Year's Eve morning. The aged 12.50 metre Alan Payne sloop "Sylph VI", owned by two-time circumnavigator Robert Williams, which sailed its last Rolex Sydney Hobart Race in 1972, was the last boat to finish on New Year's Eve morning, with around 240 of the 628 nautical miles from Sydney to Hobart still to be covered.
78th Rolex Sydney Hobart Race: The cancellation rate is almost 18 per cent
80 teams of the 103 teams that started have gradually arrived in Hobart over the past few days. Christian Beck's Juan K 100 "LawConnect" secured the Line Honours victory in the second closest finish in race history in a duel with the top favourite "Andoo Comanche" just two days after the start on Boxing Day. The Tattersall Cup for the best IRC yacht by calculated time was won for the second time since 2018 by the Tasmanian Reichel Pugh 66 "Alive".
Christopher Opielok and his "Rockall VIII" crew reached the finish port of Hobart on 30 December after 4 days, 3 hours, 47 minutes and 30 seconds as the 49th boat in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race fleet. Calculated, the performance brought the only German skipper and his crew on their JPK 10.80 14th place in the IRC ranking and even second place in Division 4. So much for the bare figures for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2023.
There were moments of danger that were not without them" (Christopher Opielok)
Taking stock the day after a stormy arrival for the smaller boats, Christopher Opielok described the challenges his crew of seven faced on the demanding course from Sydney to Hobart: "The race started as brutally as it ended. Opielok said, "It feels incredibly good that we were able to finish the race this time after giving up in 2017. But so soon after the race, I'm also reflective because there were moments of danger that were not without."
The "Rockall VIII" crew opened the 78th edition of the Australian Christmas classic with a clean leeward start. "We had the whole fleet in front of us at first, but we were able to sail freely," says Christopher Opielok. However, shortly after the controlled start to the race, thunderstorms demanded good seamanship and strong nerves from the fleet at the beginning of the first night at sea.
We experienced the first night with lightning like disco lighting" (Christopher Opielok)
"We experienced the first night with lightning like disco lighting," recalls Opielok. His descriptions are vivid: "Several flashes of lightning struck in our neighbourhood. We were just changing sails and had no headsail up when 40 knots hit us out of nowhere."
On this brutal first night on the double-handed J/99 "Rum Rebellion", owner Shane Connelly even went overboard very close to the "Rockall VIII" after just 20 nautical miles. However, co-sailor Tony Sutton reacted with lightning speed and was able to pull the skipper, who was still hanging on to the well-functioning lifeline, back on board with a show of strength. Nevertheless, the duo gave up. The mainsail of another competitor shredded. "That was two shockers at the start," recalls Christopher Opielok.
"Lift rides" through the rankings
His team had come out of the heads in the mid-50s. "We just wanted to arrive clean in Hobart," the "Rockall VIII" skipper recalls his thoughts in this early phase of the race. After several "lift rides" through the classification to Hobart, they no longer looked at the tracker. "I asked the crew to put their mobile phones away after the ups and downs. We didn't want to look at the intermediate results again until Tasmania at the earliest," says Opielok.
His crew worked well together: Co-skipper Felix Oehme, navigator Chris Frost, sailmaker Klaas Simon, Tasmanian Stu Lee, Mark Lovelady and Tom Swift are sailing towards Hobart as a cohesive unit. The JPK 10.80, which was purchased especially for the race in Australia and has already been sold again, is proving its worth. "She's a super seaworthy boat," says Opielok, who admired the two-handed crews in this race beyond his own backyard: "I have monster respect for their performance."
It went well with the team. Everyone had their position, their strengths" (Christopher Opielok)
His team had deliberately contested the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race conservatively over long phases. They reefed early on in Bass Strait. After the broken rudder and the abandonment at their own premiere in 2017, arriving was the most important goal for the men on the "Rockall VIII", which Christopher Opielok praised at the finish as a unit that had grown together well: "It went well with the team. Everyone had their position, their strengths. We only had a few training days on site. After all the highs and lows of the race, we were a tight-knit unit in the end."
That was helpful, because the end was a tough one after a well-mastered Bass Strait, a few lulls and then a brisk ride again. When they were already heading for Cape Raoul on the south-eastern tip of Tasmania and only had a few hours of racing ahead of them, another bout of capricious weather made for some tense hours.
Dangerous breakers developed on the waves. Until then, I had only seen something like this from above from freighters" (Christopher Opielok)
"We still had around ten or twelve nautical miles to go," recalls Christopher Opielok. He continues: "We were travelling with the genoa 4 and in the second reef and were doing quite well and were able to cope with the squalls that suddenly came back. Then suddenly there were heavy hail showers and winds of up to 48 knots - again out of nowhere. We managed the front, but there were always extremely strong gusts, while the hail minimised visibility considerably."
The swell quickly took on extreme forms. "Dangerous breakers developed on the waves. Until then, I had only seen something like this from above from freighters," says Opielok, whose crew quickly found themselves in a witch's cauldron. "It was the first time I was a bit scared for the crew and the ship," says the skipper, describing his thoughts during these tough last few hours at sea, "we then realised that we couldn't turn back now because we wouldn't be able to get back in."
What if the mast broke now? We would have immediately pressed the mayday button with a view of the rocky coast ..." (Christopher Opielok)
The situation came to a head: "We then tried to reach Cape Raoul with several boats, but we all drifted into the small bay." Getting out of this rock trap was no mean feat: "We also thought about possible emergency situations: What if the mast broke now? We would have immediately pressed the mayday button with a view of the rocky coast ..." However, together with other participants in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, the "Rockall VIII" crew managed to free themselves, while two teams had to give up.
"That was the only really dicey situation in the race," mused Christopher Opielok in Hobart harbour. The local expertise of Stuart Lee, who knew how to read the weather and clouds and made work on board easier with his calmness, even in a storm, helped. "When everyone's pulse was already racing, Stu was still cool," says Christopher Opielok, impressed.
The JPK 10.80 has proved its worth
The final tough test was followed by the sweet reward: when Christopher Opielok and his crew crossed the finish line off Hobart at 4.47 am local time on 30 December, the mood on board was one of euphoria, relief and gratitude. The ship, which was bought in Perth and has already been sold, and its crew have proved their worth.
It is an emotional moment when Christopher Opielok heads to the famous Customs House after mooring in Hobart and hands in the tracker to the race organisers. He had also stood here in 2017 with his friend and fellow sailor Martin Klawon after the early end of the race. Back then, they had headed for a port of refuge after breaking their rudder in the 73rd Rolex Sydney Hobart Race and later flew from Melbourne to Hobart to hand over the tracker in person and find a conciliatory conclusion.
Tears of joy and relief
"We confused the race organisers at the time, who were briefly surprised at the speeding tracker we had with us, which had just completed 3,000 nautical miles in an aircraft," recalls Christopher Opielok with a smile. When he returned the "Rockall VIII" tracker this year alongside his wife Elke, tears of joy and relief ran down his face.
"I've done a number of Fastnets and Atlantic crossings," Christopher Opielok reported in his first interview on the jetty after docking in Hobart harbour. "I've found the last two days in particular very tough. This morning we were almost in survival mode. My mission is now complete. I have completed the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race!"
