FREE FATAL STORM: THE INSIDE STORY OF THE TRAGIC SYDNEY TO HOBART RACE PDF Robert Mundle | 384 pages | 28 Jan 2009 | Bloomsbury Publishing PLC | 9781408107003 | English | London, United Kingdom Fatal Storm: The Inside Story of the Tragic Sydney-Hobart Race by Rob Mundle When global property magnate and mad keen sailor Peter Harburg talks about the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, he does so with an eye to gaining a competitive advantage for his foot super maxi, Black Jack. It seems nothing will stand in the way of Harburg winning an ocean race that he says is definitely, by far, the toughest in the world. His inspiration is the legendary British designer, inventor, engineer and founder of Lotus Cars, Colin Chapman. Chapman used aeronautical engineering techniques in the s, '60s and '70s to make his cars lighter and faster than his competitors'. He struck a fine balance between having the cutting-edge technology to outpace others and the strength to finish each race in one piece. A similar strategy is used by other ft super maxi owners. InBeck modified the boat's water ballast, installed new winch motors, added a J Zero off the bowsprit and a whisker pole. He bought the boat in from celebrity accountant Anthony Bell, who sailed it under the name Perpetual Loyal. InfoTrack came fourth. Matt Allenthe former UBS investment banker who won the race in in his super maxi Ichi Ban, says the challenging racing conditions in the Sydney to Hobart have a lot to do with the current that runs down the east coast of Australia in summer at about 3 to 5 knots. You know, it's still very much a seat-of-the-pants race. Instinct still counts for a lot. Allen had a long discussion about the Sydney to Hobart race with a bunch of sailors at the World Sailing annual conference in Bermuda in November. Aerial view of the start of the Sydney to Hobart race. Brendan Esposito. Harburg agrees there is no other race in the world that presents the technical and tactical challenges the Sydney to Hobart does. Dominic Lorrimer. Adrienne Cahalan, who is navigator on Chinese Whisper and has done 25 Sydney Hobart races, says the most dangerous part of the race can be crossing Bass Strait in a southerly storm. Cahalan says skippers have to think about Fatal Storm: The Inside Story of the Tragic Sydney to Hobart Race tactics for three different zones of weather: the NSW coast and the impact of the current, Bass Strait, and then conditions off the coast of Tasmania, where it is not uncommon to be becalmed. Adrienne Cahalan far right was leading skiff skipper on "Condor" in the Sydney to Hobart. David Porter. Cahalan was in the tragic race ofand her yacht was forced to retire 40 miles from the finish. But she has a positive view overall. Thanks to the fatal storm ofit is the survival aspect of the Sydney Hobart race that weighs on the minds of all skippers, whether they are mega-rich or just in it for the thrill of sailing. A yacht sails towards a large storm cloud during the Sydney To Hobart yacht race. Bruce Gould, who has done 46 Sydney Hobart races sincewas on board the yacht Winston Churchill inwhen the monster storm came out of the Southern Ocean. Three of his fellow crew members — Mike Bannister, Jim Lawler and John Dean — died when they were swept out of a life raft. After that, says Gould, he thought hard before going back out to sea. I love ocean racing and I have sailed with some terrific sailors over the years. It is widely accepted that the changes made to safety rules and regulations by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia as a result of the lessons learnt from have made the Sydney Hobart a much safer race. Technology has helped as well, with real-time tracking of the position of each yacht. First across the line was Larry Ellison's Sayonara. Bruce Knecht The Proving Ground. It contains some extraordinary stories of which the most extraordinary of all is from the race, when the metre sloop Lolita was damaged in a storm and called for help. Before a nearby fishing trawler could arrive, a British submarine HMS Trump surfaced 20 metres away and managed to tow the yacht over the next three days to St Helens. Laurie Shea. This year there are yachts in the race including five super maxis. There are an estimated crew and about Technology and mountains of money have combined to create F1 style speedsters that can finish the race in a day and a half compared to Fatal Storm: The Inside Story of the Tragic Sydney to Hobart Race and a half days for the nine yachts in the original race, which was won by Rani, skippered by John Illingworth. Beck says because the race is over so fast in a super maxi, his enjoyment comes from the hectic and sometimes fraught start in Sydney Harbour and the huge party at Constitution Dock in Hobart. Skipper and owner Matt Allen standing and the crew of Ichi Ban hone their competitive edge ahead of the race. Whatever happens during the mad and frantic start on the harbour on Boxing Day, Matt Allen from Ichi Ban says the final outcome will be unpredictable. You can be becalmed one minute and then you can have 40 to 50 knots 10 minutes later or vice versa. And it's it's quite a challenge. Skip to navigation Skip to content Skip to footer Help using this website - Accessibility statement. Tony Boyd Columnist. Dec 20, — 5. Rolex Matt Allenthe former UBS Fatal Storm: The Inside Story of the Tragic Sydney to Hobart Race banker who won the race in in his super maxi Ichi Ban, says the challenging racing conditions in the Sydney to Hobart have a lot to do with the current that runs down the east coast of Australia in summer at about 3 to 5 knots. Brendan Esposito "I was talking to Stan Honey, who is arguably the most recognised and highly regarded navigator, and he's been collecting data over the last decade and a half on all the big ocean races," Allen says. Print article License article. Sydney to Hobart. Super yachts. He has more than 35 years' experience as a finance journalist. Connect with Tony on Twitter. Email Tony at tony. The Everest Jockey a three-time winner of world's richest turf race Oct 17, The 10 most powerful people in Australia in Tom McIlroy. Premiers, doctors and bankers back in charge but PM still on top. 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Into and across the usually aptly named Storm Bay — although quiet as mouse for most in — the course takes you finally past the Iron Pot at the entrance to Derwent River. Despite its rugged reputation, for all but the tail end of the fleet in this anniversary race the greatest challenge in the uncharacteristically light to moderate running conditions to Hobart was to pick the best route through two large and complex light air transitions. But Boxing Day dawned bright, with only a slight smoke haze and the promise of a building north-easterly sea breeze to send the strong fleet southward under spinnakers to the first Fatal Storm: The Inside Story of the Tragic Sydney to Hobart Race those light air troughs off the New South Wales south coast. Those two transitions the second off Tasman Island were to tax the navigators of yachts large and small. And the mental anguish is never worse than in the tormenting 11 miles it takes to sail up the Derwent River to the finish line, as the line honours winner was to find. Accompanied by a fleet of spectator boats, Comanche heads for line honours in Hobart. But the breeze on this notoriously fickle river suddenly evaporated, leaving the super-beamy maxi yacht flat on its bottom, stock still and surrounded by a large, equally stationary spectator fleet. After agonising minutes with a spotter aloft searching for any zephyrs, the collective exhalation aboard Comanche was almost audible as a light breeze returned and she crossed the finish to take line honours in 1d 18h 30m — nine hours outside her own record from Maxis jockey for position at the start in Sydney Harbour. Winning was relief more than elation! All was in sharp contrast to the original cruise-in-company-turned-race. The response to such challenging conditions and the determination to finish the race was as practical as it was unconventional to modern eyes.