Sydney to Hobart: Jury still out on the Hobart

The sight of five 100-foot super maxis leading the fleet through Sydney Harbour on a glittering Boxing Day set the scene perfectly for the 74th edition of this great race, and we had the perfect vantage point from our media boat bobbing among them. The front runners were separated into three lines, according to size, with Queensland super maxi Blackjack leading the charge at a blistering upwind pace. 

Notable in 2018 was the separation between the big boats, with the clear intention of avoiding early controversy, as witnessed in 2017 when Wild Oats XI and skipper Mark Richards were penalised for infringing the rights of race favourite Comanche. “This year Mark and I will be keeping our distance for sure!,” Comanche owner Jim Cooney told us before the start. And so it went as a procession formed through Sydney Heads with the remaining three super maxis – Scallywag, Infotrack and Comanche – following the leaders as they turned south. 

RACE WINNING CONDITIONS

Each of the main contenders had undergone some level of modification since 2017's race, as they sought to optimise for specific conditions. Comanche joined the other four in having electric winches, after achieving several international records under her previous owner, including the transatlantic. Blackjack increased upwind performance by adding keel weight, while joint favourite Wild Oats XI reputedly has one of the largest Code 0 headsails ever built. Former 2016 winner Infotrack had been upgraded by recent owner Christian Beck and set a good pace in the early part of the race down the NSW coast. Despite what skipper David Witt described as extensive modifications, Chinese-owned Scallywag was arguably the least well prepared – arriving not long before the race and becoming the first casualty when the bowsprit failed on day one.

One other modification required for all yachts this year was the CYCA Race Committee's requirement to have an AIS (Automatic Identification System) on every boat. AIS is a location  beacon that uses an enhanced form of VHF radio transmission to both send and receive a vessel's position. For commercial vessels it's mandatory, but not for recreational vessels. This new system for the race meant that all yachts could see and be seen by others (in addition to the website trackers that allow spectators to follow the race online). The ability to see competitors allowed yachts to understand weather conditions around them and the strategies of opponents. For example, this time around, the patchy wind holes down the NSW coast were the traps for some yachts and simply areas of low pressure to be avoided by those following, who at a glance and click on their AIS target could see the speed and direction of a particular yacht.

AIS PROTEST

As the super maxis sped down the coast in sight of one another AIS wouldn't play such a big part. The CYCA tracker showed Comanche leading across the Bass Strait, doing 15 knots as it surged across the 'paddock' to north-east Tasmania, closely followed by Wild Oats XI and Blackjack.

However, on board Blackjack, navigator Tom Addis realised something was amiss – he couldn't see Wild Oats XI on his AIS screen, unlike the other 80 yachts remaining in the race. It was a similar story aboard Comanche, who also couldn't see Wild Oats XI.

But then something interesting happened mid-way down the Tasmanian coast, as Wild Oats XI sheared east for a classic manoeuvre called 'going round the outside' or a 'buffalo girls'. It's something I've done as a Hobart sailor, along with thousands of others who seek advantage of a pressure difference that is found clear of the coast and allows a better angle of approach to Storm Bay and west to Hobart. 

On board Wild Oats XI was one of the world's best navigators, Spaniard Juan Vila, along with the legendary tactician Ian Murray (an officiator of the America's Cup) and arguably the world's best super maxi driver in Mark Richards. “That was a game-winning manoeuvre right there,” recounted an ecstatic Mark Richards after finishing the race in one day, 19 hours, seven minutes and 21 seconds. “We basically sailed around the opposition and got ourselves into a position where the breeze filled in from the south-west; this morning we were in the right spot,” Richards concluded. The finish was well outside the Comanche-held race record of 1 day, 9 hours, 15 minutes and 24 seconds, due to generally mild conditions for the leading boats.

KEY QUESTIONS

One key question stood out: was their alleged lack of AIS a disadvantage to other yachts? The closest opposition – Blackjack and Comanche – had stayed inshore where the lower pressure slowed them and when they arrived at the finish within the hour their skippers both complained. 

However, neither Blackjack owner Peter Harburg nor Jim Cooney was prepared to lodge an official protest, that could have disqualified Wild Oats XI or at least heavily penalised her at the cost of the race win; as happened last year when Jim Cooney did raise a protest. Instead, the Race Committee acted on the aggrieved skippers' comments to lodge the protest. This turned out to be an invalid action, declared a hearing convened by the International Race Jury. The five man panel declared the only protests that could be upheld were those raised by a competitor, not a third party (committee). “We don’t protest. That’s it,” declared Peter Harburg afterwards.

This outcome, an invalid protest based on an a relatively obscure legal point, prevented a full enquiry into the facts so we will never know what happened, despite the Wild Oats XI team changing their story; initially saying it was not mandatory therefore not relevant, later denying any wrongdoing. "Our AIS was on the whole time," Mark Richards told waiting media after the protest decision in Hobart, while also adding that the technology behind AIS is not infallible; a known fact. Wild Oats XI engineer Cameron Baillie said he believed their AIS was on throughout the race. “We were receiving the whole time, our device was telling us it was transmitting, so how else are you meant to know it’s not transmitting, unless someone tells you?” said Richards. 

Usually AIS systems have a signal light to show if they are fully operational – that is, sending and receiving – but given the controversy perhaps the Race Committee should review the facts themselves by seeking evidence from their own radio relay vessel, which should have AIS records of all the race fleet. If their findings show that AIS wasn't being seen all the time (because of atmospheric or other reasons) perhaps not making it mandatory would avoid the controversy. 

However, from a safety point of view it's an essential system that is used by race crew who can use personal AIS beacons and it is an important collision avoidance tool. In global races such as the Clipper, it has saved the lives of crew lost overboard and is also used as a tactical tool in both the Clipper round the world race and the Volvo ocean race. In these races AIS can be switched off at times for a period known as Stealth Mode, to allow the fleet's unfettered manoeuvring.

At the end of the day, Blackjack owner Harburg was rather ambivalent about the whole episode: "If Mark said they had it on, then I believe him," Harburg said, adding he was content with the jury's ruling but still perplexed as to why he couldn't pick up Wild Oats XI's AIS.