The first time Charles Devanneaux heard about the Sydney to Hobart was via a first-hand account of the notorious 1998 edition. A close friend had sailed in the worst conditions of the event’s history, which left six dead and 55 plucked from the sea.
“So we heard about not only the danger, but also the challenges on the Bass Strait,” says the Frenchman, who will skipper his new 44-footer Lenny. “He was OK, but it took him like three or four years to come back sailing with us. He was like ‘I’m out – I go skiing’.
“I took him back racing with me back in 2002 or 2003. It was the first time sail racing. We did a couple of crews on the cruising boats and it was OK, but he was traumatised.”
Devanneaux, however, was hooked, and immediately put the 638-nautical-mile course on his bucket list. It did not come to anything until 25 years later, when the California-based boat dealer and a friend were planning the 2023 Transpacific race from California to Hawaii.
That was to be Lenny’s maiden race, and a few tequila shots later they had added the Sydney to Hobart to her calendar. Devanneaux only fully realised what he had committed himself to when he awoke the next morning to find the previous night’s table covered in maps and charts.
Devanneaux will sail with eight crew, including one based in New Caledonia (best man at his wedding 27 years ago), and three French-Australians (one spent Christmas Day down at the docks in a kangaroo onesie). All will spend the race eating fine foods cooked by an on-board chef including duck parmentier, stuffed potatoes and spaghetti carbonara.
Charles Devanneaux and the Lenny crew on Christmas Day.
“We have no freeze-dried food on the boat, never on my boat,” he says. “What is important for me is the atmosphere on the boat. We are not in complete racing mode – if weather allows, we’ll have a little sip of wine. But looking at the forecast in Bass Strait, I doubt we’ll open a bottle of wine.”
A 103-strong fleet is preparing themselves for wild and dangerous weather. While conditions at the start are expected be calm for the initial dash out of Sydney’s heads on Boxing Day, meteorologists predict the weather to morph into thunderstorms soon after, with the potential for hail and lightning – all before reaching the dangerous Bass Strait crossing. More clarity is expected early on Tuesday.
That is unlikely to significantly trouble the four 100-foot super maxis, including reigning overall winner Celestial and line-honours winner Andoo Comanche, who is best suited to heavy, downwind conditions. Andoo Comanche skipper John “Herman” Winning jnr said the possibility of a new race record was fading, but there was still a “glimmer of hope”.
They at least won’t have to battle against the most successful yacht in Sydney to Hobart history, with Wild Oats XI absent for only the second time since she was launched in 2005. But LawConnect and Hong Kong-based Scallywag will be there, and record-breaking circumnavigator Jessica Watson is competing on the 34-foot Azzurro to raise money for the Stroke Foundation after recently losing her partner to a stroke.
Santa and “Rudolph” visited the Sydney to Hobart race’s international yachts at Rushcutters Bay on Christmas Day.
“We’re a boat that I think will do quite well in a bit of wind,” Watson said over the weekend.
“Obviously, thunder and lightning is not something anyone wants but [we] actually wouldn’t mind a bit of breeze.”
Lenny is one of 10 international entrants and will be joined by another French entry, the 54-foot Teasing Machine, along with others from Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland and New Caledonia. There are also two from New Zealand, including the Allegresse, which will be co-skippered by husband-and-wife duo Michael and Tracey Carter.
They are one of 18 pairs who will compete two-handed on the 42-foot cruiser they have sailed around New Zealand and to Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia.
“But she’s very heavy,” Michael says. “She’s nine tonnes built of timber and a very strong boat. We’ve done thousands of miles in ocean cruising.”
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