CLIENTS LED THE PACK TO HOBART

Finishing the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is an accomplishment unto itself, but winning one of our sport’s toughest races is the pinnacle of an offshore sailor’s dream. North Sails clients found success across the most envied podium positions in the 2018 race, with Wild Oats XI claiming line honors, and Alive* winning the coveted George Adams Tattersall Cup Trophy for the overall race winner.

The “Big Five” supermaxis got the 74th RSHYR off on Boxing Day as they maneuvered their way through spectator chop and up the harbor. Peter Harburg’s Black Jack was the first to point their bow south towards Hobart, and the battle for Line Honors continued through all 628 miles of the race. The race down the coast saw movement all over the leaderboard, with Black Jack, Comanche, and Wild Oats XI each taking the leading position, only to be overthrown by their closest competitor. In the end, it was Wild Oats XI who was first across the finish, making this the ninth time the Oatley Family and skipper Mark Richards have won line honors.

“This is one of the best yachting wins of my life, and I’ve won a lot of races, said Richards upon arriving in Hobart. “This is one of the best feelings, not just for me but for the whole team and the Oatley family. After an event like last year, to come through and redeem yourself, today is a wonderful, wonderful feeling. Money can’t buy that sort of stuff.”

Philip Turner fulfilled a bucket list item when he and his Alive* crew were crowned overall race winner and took home the prestigious Tattersall Trophy. Turner, a native Tasmanian, was well prepared for the race but remarked that the honor “still has not sunk in” upon accepting his trophy. Commenting on Alive’s win, skipper Duncan Hine said the team was set up to achieve their goal.

“We had a goal, which we accomplished by picking the right boat set up and selecting the right sails.”

Alive’s sail inventory included a new A1.5, specifically built by North Sails for their offshore run to Hobart.

Wild Oats X was the second place IRC overall boat and won the Jane Tate Memorial Award, for being the first female skipper across the finish line. A notable performance for skipper Stacey Jackson, and her all-female Ocean Respect Racing crew; Stacey and her team are the first professional female crew to have raced in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race.

“We are an all-female team; however, that was more by accident than design- we set out to assemble a team of very good sailors who are at the top end of this sport, and they happened to all be female.”

In the IRC class as a whole, Clients finished 1*,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,10. Alive*, Voodoo, and St Jude all took first in their respective divisions, with many thanks to North Sails downwind inventories that helped make their sprint to Hobart- a fast one.