Father-Son in for 29th Sydney Hobart

The 2022 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race has 111 boats entered for the 77th edition. With the start for the 628nm course to Hobart starting within Sydney Harbor on December 26.

There are 8 international boats in the race, including entrants from Germany (Orione), Hong Kong (Antipodes), Hungary (Cassiopeia 68), New Caledonia (Eye Candy and Poulpito), New Zealand (Caro), the United Kingdom (Sunrise) and the United States of America (Warrior Won).

The glamour fleet of maxis has four 100-footers which will lead the charge for Line Honors – Andoo Comanche, Black Jack, Hamilton Island Wild Oats, and LawConnect.

Joining the holiday classic is the father-son duo of Bruce and Drew Taylor who will be competing in their 28th race together. Bruce, owner/skipper of the Caprice 40 Chutzpah, notes there is a method to the record partnership with his son Drew, who lives and works in Hong Kong.

“There is always some squaring up. He comes here to sail with me at Christmas and I go to sail with him in Hong Kong,” Bruce said. “If I give him a hard time on Chutzpah, he’ll give me a hard time on his boat, Ambush. So, we don’t give each other a hard time. We have an amicable agreement.”

This year’s Rolex Sydney Hobart will be Bruce’s 41st. For his son Drew, who first sailed in the race in 1987, it will be a 29th start. Since they first crewed together in 1987, dad has loved seeing his son progress as a sailor.

“It’s one of the reasons I keep going. It’s pretty special to sail with your son,” he says. “I’ll probably stop [racing the Rolex Sydney Hobart] before he does. We get on well on the boat and he fits in well with the crew. One thing I can say, is that he steers better than I do now.”

Chutzpah is a regular in the Rolex Sydney Hobart, with numerous division wins and a best of second overall in 2014, when she finished a little less than 39 minutes behind Roger Hickman’s Wild Rose. Bruce also finished second in 1990, but on a different Chutzpah.

The Victorian admits that Chutzpah “is not an all-rounder” for all conditions. “We are looking for a downhill slide if we can get it. If we can get a northerly that would be great,” he said.

Race details – Notice of Race – Facebook

The 628 nm Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race will be the 77th edition in 2022 with a fleet of 120 boats. One hundred fifty seven teams set off in 2019, but since then the 2020 race was cancelled due to the pandemic with 88 entries in 2021.

From the start in Sydney Harbour, the fleet sails out into the Tasman Sea, down the south-east coast of mainland Australia, across Bass Strait (which divides the mainland from the island State of Tasmania), then down the east coast of Tasmania. At Tasman Island the fleet turns right into Storm Bay for the final sail up the Derwent River to the historic port city of Hobart.

Source: RSHYR