Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2024

News
2015
Ragamuffin's trials on way to line honours second

Ragamuffin's trials on way to line honours second

NEWS
29 Dec, 2015 11:30:00 AM

100, RAGAMUFFIN 100 (NSW), Sail No: SYD100, Design: Dovell 100, Owner: Syd Fischer, Skipper: David Witt Protected by Copyright

Ragamuffin's trials on way to line honours second

A match race up the River Derwent from the Tasman Light and a heart-stopping decision not to follow Rambler when she gybed in the final stages of the race, resulted in second over line for 88 year-old Syd Fischer and his Ragamuffin 100.

Those events were put into perspective when sailing master/skipper David Witt re-told the real story of their trials on the first night and second days at sea.

Witt told how on the first night in the Rolex Sydney Hobart, things went horribly wrong for Team Ragamuffin.

“It was 10 to 10.30 at night when the southerly hit. It was intense and relentless. We were trying to get the main down heading north when the boat literally capsized on top of us. Shave (Justin Shave) was on the bow and under water, the main, half down, knocked me off the back of the boat. I was hanging on to the back end and my sea boots were dragged off me.

“All I was thinking was, ‘can someone press the canting button (to centralise the keel), cos I can’t reach it from where I am’.

“We were under water for 15 minutes – the ballast was on the wrong side of the boat and so was the keel. Frightening doesn’t describe it,” Witt recalled.

Then there was a game of dodgem cars with two 25-foot whales, on a collision course with the boat.

“We had to swerve and dodge them – that was nearly catastrophic,” said crew member Andrew ‘Crowebar’ Crowe.

Losing all their electronics did not help, Crowebar apologizing for the lack of contact with the media on Day 2.

A broken port daggerboard was the dizzy limit, slowing the boat right down right when they had good contact with the lead boats.

“But we dusted ourselves off and kept going,” Witt said.

And let’s not forget a long stretch where sailing briskly at 25 knots became a distant dream when they were almost becalmed most of yesterday afternoon.

Then came the match race up the Derwent. At the last, Witt had to decide whether to follow Rambler, when tactician Brad Butterworth took the American boat towards shore looking for pressure.

“Did I feel the pressure of having to make that call – of course I did. I had Syd and the rest of the crew depending on a right decision. Lucky it was,” Witt said, adding they had overtaken George David’s Rambler once up the Derwent and then just before the finish.

“That’s the toughest one we’ve had for a few years – but it was worth it in the end. It was good to beat Rambler over the line. The crew did a great job – every one of them did the job they had to do.”

The last words go to Ragamuffin’s owner, Syd Fischer, the oldest person to ever contest the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s 628-nautical mile race.

“I don’t have to do much anymore – I sit back and let the guys do it. Witty does a good job of helming and skippering the boat. It’s a good crew – all of them,” he said.

On their winning move, Fischer said: “We just had to try different tactics. We just had to do something different, and do it better – and we did.

“It was good to beat them – a good feeling. And I crossed another one off – my 47^th,” he said with his trademark grin.

A snapshot of Fischer’s Sydney Hobart highlights:

Year Boat Design Finish

1962 Malohi (Lion 35) 5^th overall from 42 starters – his first Hobart

1968 Ragamuffin 48ft 3^rd overall from 64

1970 Ragamuffin 2^nd overall from 61

1976 Ragamuffin German Frers 37’ 5” 3^rd overall from 85

1977 Ragamuffin 2^nd overall - 131, 72 finished

1985 Ragamuffin 3^rd line/111^th overall from 180

1987 Gazebo (this is 6^th Rags renamed) 2^nd line/3^rd overall from 154

1988 Ragamuffin Line honours – from 119