One of the trophies collected by the overall winning boat in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race has been returned after the vessel was removed from a major handicap division following the emergence of a photo showing it using an illegal configuration of sails.
Days after overall handicap winner Celestial arrived in Hobart, its victory in the ORCi handicap class was revoked by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia late on Thursday. Instead, that prize will go to arch-rival Gweilo.
This photo of Celestial, overall handicap winner of the 2022 Sydney to Hobart, shows an illegal sail configuration under the ORCi rules.Credit:Andrea Francolini
The issue became a hot topic in the Sydney sailing community when the club released a photograph from the first afternoon of the race as part of its promotional materials that inadvertently showed Celestial sailing with a spinnaker and a smaller flying jib sail. This configuration of sails is illegal under the ORCi rules, but not under the rules of the other handicap system, IRC.
Celestial skipper Sam Haynes, who is the vice commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia and owner of six veterinary practices in Sydney, informed the club in early January that he had withdrawn the boat from that class after deciding they had broken the rules for that handicap. The club removed the boat from the website late on Thursday night, days after it was informed.
It is the second year in a row that Celestial has had honours stripped by the club, after it was penalised in 2021 following a radio safety incident.
Aside from the boat that arrives in Hobart first, there are two key handicap winners in the Sydney to Hobart: the IRC handicap (the International Rating Certificate, which is the overall winning prize based on a rating developed by a global body in the United Kingdom); and the ORCi handicap (a second, more transparent handicap rating created by the Offshore Racing Congress). Celestial maintains its win in the IRC handicap section.
Sailors on Warrior Won, an international entry in the fleet, used the same sailing configuration, but removed themselves from entry into the ORCi class before the presentation ceremony.
Sydney to Hobart winners, including the Celestial crew with owner Sam Haynes.Credit:Andrea Francolini
Celestial arrived in Hobart just before 11.30am on December 28. A presentation ceremony was held on December 31, which honoured the crew as winners of the overall and Division 1 IRC handicap prizes, as well as the ORCi Division 1 winners. It is unclear whether Celestial had been informed of the suspected infringement before the ceremony.
“We looked into it and decided we had contravened the rules, and we withdrew,” Haynes said. “It was after the presentation of prizes – a couple of days.”
“In the end, the club is going to have to take a close look at whether running two certificates is worth it. Little-known changes can occur between these two [handicaps].”
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