Double win for two-handed team in Sydney Hobart

Rupert Henry believes his two-handed boat, Mistral, can one day win the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race overall after he sailed the Lombard 34 to two-handed line honors in the 2023 edition on December 30.

Co-skippered by Henry and French based Australian, Jack Bouttell, their effort in the 628 nautical mile Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s race also earned them handicap honors to successfully defend their two-handed division win from last year.

And for the entire fleet, Mistral finished sixth overall.

Alive, an RP66, was confirmed as the overall winner shortly before Mistral finished. Behind Alive overall is URM Group, Moneypenny, the two maxis LawConnect and Andoo Comanche, and then Mistral followed by the third 100-footer, Wild Thing 100.

“I am surprised we did that well,” said Henry, who placed 29th overall last year. “I am really happy with that. Top 10 is great. It’s pretty fine company.” Bouttell added, “Seeing the caliber of the fleet and how many boats, it’s a really nice finish.”

But Henry feels there is more in the tank. “It can win, for sure,” he admitted. “That’s our goal; but 24 hours before the start, the forecast didn’t look like it was going to go our way.

“The race was pretty much true to forecast weather wise. It was slower than we would have liked. It was good sailing, demanding with the way the transitions were – there were several – and quite a strong breeze at times, a lot of upwind. It was a good sailor’s race.”

The transitions began early when the fleet sailed into rain, thunderstorms, and lightning. “The first day and night was weird, with thunderstorm activity coming off the NSW coast,” said Henry. “It made things interesting. We handled the cloud movements pretty well. We got becalmed a couple of times. The lighting was scary but we managed to keep moving.

“We were pleased with the way we went through that first 24, 36 hours. We had a good lead by the time we got to Green Cape, over 30 miles on the other double-handers, but then we parked for half a day. It was like a restart. Everyone regathered … then off we went.”

The second half of the race threw up its challenges as there was a lot of upwind. “We thought it was just a matter of pushing it hard, trying to get every ounce out of the boat, not stuffing everything up,” noted Henry. “Just keep building, rebuild the lead that we thought we’d got the first day and a half.”

Henry admitted the final two nights weren’t too comfortable. “Freezing … pelting rain that damages your eyes.” Bouttell concurred: “It was a pretty full on night. Especially at the end of a race.”

This was Bouttell’s fourth Sydney Hobart, but his first with Henry. While Bouttell had crewed with Henry in France beforehand, more recently he had sailed in the single-handed Figaro class or the bigger foiling IMOCA class.

“This was quite a quite a change,” said Bouttell. “I haven’t sailed on a little boat for a while. It was really nice, a very technical race course, big areas to get it wrong and not many areas to get it right. I was just trying to stay consistent, not make any race-ending issues.

“There was just always something to do. In double-handed, it’s important to really talk through the strategy and tactics. You don’t get too much rest.

“Each of us pushed when it was needed, and let the other one have a rest when it was needed. That was good. We got through that pretty well and had good communication.”

Details: https://www.rolexsydneyhobart.com/

The 628 nm course for the 78th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race has several key features following the exit from Sydney Harbor on December 26. Most notable is the crossing of the easternmost edge of the exposed Bass Strait, a notorious expanse of water that can serve up punishing and violent waves, and then periods when the sea is calm as the wind fades. The final stretch up the Derwent River into Hobart can be either kind or cruel when deciding the results of the race.

Source: RSHYR