Yachting classic easily won by pre-race favourite

Press, 30 December 1980, Page 3

Yachting classic easily won by pre-race favourite

NZPA Hobart The victorious skipper of the Sydney-Hobart yacht race winner New Zealand, vesterday took a break between gulps of champagne to reflect on his great moment. Peter Blake had just taken the 21-metre yacht to an easy line honours win in the race, crossing the line in the Derwent River in light misty drizzle after dawn. In spite of the weather and the early hour, several thousand people lined the foreshore and wharves to give the gleaming blue-hulled yacht, a noisy welcome in traditional Hobart style. Blake skippered Condor of Burmuda last year but had to be content with second placing. Blake said it was a bit disappointing this year not to have broken the record of two days, 14 hours, 36 minutes and 56 seconds, set by American flyer Kialoa in 1975. "We had the record with hours up our sleeves swhen we were within 50 miles of Hobart, but the wind just died and we simply wallowed round all night,” he said. New Zealand and Tony Fisher’s 21-metre Helsal II fought a cat and mouse duel from Sydney Heads on Boxing Day till the last' leg round'Tasman Island and the run to the line yesterday morning.

On Sunday evening as a heavy sea mist cut visibility to near zero, the two were about five miles apart, with New Zealand doing better on a fast spinnaker run to hold the lead. “While we were stuck in that hole we were worried all night that Helsal might creep round us in the dark, but we didn’t see her and when we got the breeze yesterday morning we just got going again,” Blake said.

Blake is confident that New Zealand will take some beating when she takes part in the 1981 round the world Whitbread race. “She was launched only in October and we came through a very fast race with no gear failures,” he said. Blake said he got his vital break crossing Bass Strait when he kept every sail he could flying and packed his 15-strong crew on the weather rail to drive as hard as he could in a near northeasterly gale., “The clock needle went off the dial a couple of times and that’s more than 20 knots,” he said. Crossing the strait, New

Zealand established a narrow lead and though Helsal drew close a few times at the finishing end, the break was enough to get the best of yesterday morning’s freshening southerly to the line. The mini yacht Screw Loose, from New Zealand, is expected to be a hot chance of a double win. Late yesterday the 29-foot yacht was close to the finishing line and was expected to finish at 3.30 p.m. today. Screw Loose, sailed by a Devenport butcher, Bob Cumming, was the handicap winner. She also is well placed to win outright in her Division D category. Early yesterday afternoon Anaconda 11, sailed by Josco Grubic, came in third behind New Zealand and Helsal 11.

Rod Howarth, the senior crew member on Anaconda 11, said the interference of pleasure craft on Sydney Harbour at the start on Boxing Day created havoc with the fleet. One of the biggest in the fleet, Anaconda II was left without wind and could not really get going again for two hours, Howarth said.

The owner-skipper of Helsal 11, Dr Tony Fisher, blamed gear failure for his finishing trouble. Helsal II crossed almost two hours behind New Zealand. Dr Fisher said Helsal II finally lost when a clip .holding the spinnaker pole let go off Tasman Island. The main spinnaker ripped and valuable time was lost. The wind died at the same time and Helsal JI was becalmed for six hours.

“We were a mile astern of New Zealand when the spinnaker ripped so it goes without saying that the boat making the most mistakes loses the race,” Dr Fisher said.