2016 Race Recap

Jim Delegat's Volvo 70 Giacomo, Overall Winner in 2016.  Image: ROLEX/Kurt Arrigo

Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2016

For once, the pre-race hype about a record run South turned out to be true.  The whole fleet surfed before a building nor'-easter that swung easterly and propelled the leaders well across the Strait.  Fate and the River Derwent conspired to affect the final outcome, but it was an unforgettable ride while it lasted.

The 72nd edition of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race was won in record time.  It was the first time that more than one boat had broken the record, with Perpetual LOYAL crossing the line in first, Giacomo second and Scallywag third. 

Perpetual LOYAL set a new race record of 1 day 13 hours 31 minutes and 20 seconds – well ahead of the 1 day 18 hours 23 minutes 12 seconds set by Wild Oats XI in 2012.

Volvo 70 Giacomo was second over the line, but finished first overall, taking home the Tattersall Cup.  The River Derwent shut down after Scallywag finished and remained almost becalmed for the remainder of the race, as boats trickled through the finish in less than 10 knots of wind. 

Race Program

Prior to each race Cruising Yacht Club of Australia publishes a separate official race program (with details of competing boats, the results of past races and articles about the race and its participants and other important events).  The 2016 Edition is here.    

2016 Rolex Sydney Hobart - Race Documents

Notice of Race

Sailing Instructions 

Amendment 1 to the Sailing Instructions

Protest No 1 - Request for redress by Flying Fish Arctos

Protest No 2 - Request for redress by Race Committee for Papillon

Weather

The 72nd edition of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race started in a 15-20 knot north easterly sea breeze, giving competitors a jump on the 2012 race record set by Wild Oats XI, as more than one third of the fleet was ahead of the record after the first night of racing. Three yachts finished in record time: Perpetual Loyal took line honours followed two hours later by Giacomo in second and Scallywag in third. However, the fast-paced race did not hold in for the majority of the fleet, as the yachts trickled into the dock in the following days after the wind shut down for days on end in River Derwent.

The synoptic forecast showed two high pressure systems in place. The first one was quite steady, in between the Australian east coast and the North Island of New Zealand, and the second was to the south west of Tasmania, moving from the west to the north-east eventually ending up with the two combined during the night of 27 December. These combined with the low pressure systems to the south of New Zealand, and over central Australia, resulted in a trough located between Sydney and Cape Howe. This trough was forecast to bring rain and light winds and the timing and depth of this trough would end up being the most critical part of the race from the strategic point of view.

At the start, the synoptic winds were about 15-20 knots from the north-east and would increase to 25 knots for the first few hours after the start before lightening overnight.  There was an easterly flow on the other side of the trough that slowly turned to the North.  Light winds prevailed close to the Tasmanian coast and in River Derwent for the tail end of the fleet.  Despite that, the last boats in the fleet finished in a little over 4 days, an uncharacteristically short race.

Race reports

In recent years navigators of the overall winner have been invited to write a report on their race, including detail on the weather they experienced.  After each race, the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia's magazine Offshore contains photo galleries, reports and articles on the race.  Read on to access them.

February / March 2017 Offshore - see pages 16 to 51

Race report - Francesco Mongelli, Navigator, Overall Winner Giacomo