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An upwind endurance race ... Ideal downwind conditions along the
NSW south coast eased race-goers into the rhythm of life on board some of the
world's lightest and quickest maxi monohulls. January 1, 2001 Sydney to Hobart 2000 was painful, and it was hard. More than one quarter of the 82 yacht fleet retired, some with severe structural damage - others opting out before problems became nightmares. The Swedish maxi Nicorette took line honours - the second fastest wining race time, beating Morning Glory's 1996 record with a time of Two days, 14 hours, two minutes and nine seconds. Interesting to note, Morning Glory four years ago broke Kialoa's 20 year-old race record - created in ideal downwind conditions that refused to repeat themselves for two decades. Yet the race record was broken again only last year when the Volvo 60 Nokia sledded downwind for one day 19 hours, 48 minutes and two seconds. That time will stand for some years yet. Anyway, Melbourne maxi Wild Thing took second, five hours and 20 minutes behind the leader. The two maxis shadowed each other for most of the race, at one stage too close to call, but Nicorette established an unbeatable leads during the long upwind leg along Tasmania's east coast. Nokia, meanwhile, crossed the line seventh, last of the five Volvo 60s after mainsail problems dogged the boat. Leading the Volvo 60 pack was the German entry Illbruck, skippered by John Kostecki, just 40 minutes behind Wildthing, which says something about how well these Open 60s can handle a range of race conditions. The entire Volvo 60 fleet finished within 16 hours of each other and the first two were just 47 minutes apart after almost three days of racing. Judging by the close racing of this years Volvo 60 fleet, next year's Volvo round the world race from September will offer exciting racing indeed! Right behind the Volvo 60s, most of them designed by Bruce Farr and Associates, was SAP Ausmaid, a Farr 47, only one hour behind Nokia. Needless to say, the smaller contender won overall handicap honours. Textbook knockout to fragile contenders So where was the much touted kiwi maxi Shockwave? And what about Sydney's long-standing favourite Brindabella? What happened to the Open 60 Xena? They retired; the whole lot of 'em thanks to cranky south west winds colliding with a strong southerly set in the East Australian Current. The combination created text-book conditions for bass strait, with night time squalls from the south-southwest reaching gusts of 50 knots. these winds punched into the south-bound current to create three to four metre backless waves. To be honest, these conditions are right on par for pre-Christmas sailing in this corner of south-eastern Australia. If we were cruising, we would tuck into Eden, and head for the pub, to wait for the wind to come around and the seas to flatten. Melbourne-based Maxi Wildthing skips along Tasmania's east coast under storm sails. average winds of 30 knots and steep seas wreaked havoc on the light-weight flyer designed specifically for this race. Picture © Ian Mainsbridge. Composite craft versus complex oceanography This is the Sydney to Hobart. Boats punch into this stuff, and keep punching until they reach the lee of Tasmania. But there is something about light-weight composite craft and complex oceanography that don't mix well. Shockwave, pictured right, pulled out with rudder problems, and owner Neville Crichton feared the conditions would further damage the untested boat. Even his crack crew of 12 Team New Zealand America's cup veterans weren't enough to keep the threat of hull skin and core delamination at bay. Brindabella actually did delaminate - in the bow - which came as a surprise considering she survived the wicked 1998 storm as well as numerous southerly busters en route to Hobart. Xena tore a mainsail and considered the pounding too great a risk - not surprising considering her hull design. But then again, the entire solo trans-Atlantic Open 60 fleet punched into headwinds from Portsmouth to Newport last June. Xena's retirement either says something about her build, or else a lot about Bass strait when wind collides with current.
Synoptic situation A cold, southerly blast of Antarctic air squeezed between a stalled Southern Ocean high pressure cell below the Australian Bight and a deep low south of New Zealand was the main player in Sydney to Hobart 2000. The front that introduced the change, from a north-east seabreeze on Boxing Day to gale-force south-westerlies the day after, brought 40 knot winds in the squall clouds. But skippers were left scratching their heads when the south-westerly refused to back to the south and south east, as would winds during a normal transition of east-bound weather. What lay behind these steady winds, and their gale-force squall clouds, was a deeply convoluted jet stream at flight-level 330 (330hPa or about 33,000 feet) which directed air from the north near Cape Leeuwin south to the Antarctic continent before returning north again. This same high pressure cell developed blistering northerly winds on its western edge, fanning fires south of Perth with 40 degree heat. East of the high, and north of the slow-moving low, New Zealand was pummeled with gale-force westerly winds, hampering a cricket test match between the Kiwis and Zimbabwe at Wellington. For Tasmania it was a taste of winter, with snow falling on the high peaks and everyone donning warm clothing. For those at sea, it was a lot more uncomfortable! Upper levels winds over Australia, December 27, 2000 Early indications that a stalled weather system was in the making: Note the wavy jet stream across central Australia and the deeply convoluted stream over the Southern Ocean. High and low pressure cells at the surface are caught between the meanders of the jet stream and are held tightly in place until things above (about 33,000 feet) straighten themselves out! Sydoptic chart for Australia, December 26 1800 gmt This chart show the front that cross the New South Wales south coast early on December 27, local time, heralding a change in conditions from the north-east seabreeze the day before, and a light land breeze during the night, to 40 knot squalls from the south-west. For the next 48 hours, the low south of New Zealand refuses to budge, much, and the high in the bight continues its eastward squeeze, elongating into the deep south and providing a real blow to race-goers in the Sydney to Hobart. Upper level winds over the
Southern Ocean This colourful chart thanks to the Aviation Weather Centre clearly shows a convoluted jet stream driving south of the Australian Bight right sown to the Antarctic coast before turning north towards Tasmania and the Tasman Sea. This slow moving system directed a southerly air stream towards the Apple Isle, as Tasmania is called for the better part of five days. © weather-wise.com 2001 |