| Difficulties on the
Derwent - Part 1 |
| Photos and article
by Peter Andrews. |
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| February 21, 2010. |
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| The following
photos are indeed quite low in quality, to the point that they
would not be normally published. Considering the sun had long
descended behind Hobart’s Mount Wellington and I was
attempting to photograph a moving subject in the dark with
a long telephoto lens, I was surprised that I was able to capture
anything. But what gives these dark and grainy images their
currency for display is the story they reveal. |
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In a line on the Derwent are Rod Skellet’s Krakatoa
II, Discoverer of Hornet, Howard De Torres’ Nips N
Tux and Philippe Mengual’s Paca.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage.
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De Torres sees both boats ahead had lost their breeze
and has changed course in an attempt to hang onto what
little breeze was left.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage.
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| Anyone who has
competed in a Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race would be aware
of the difficult situations that the Derwent can throw at them
towards the end of the race. Juggling fluky light shifting
breezes at one moment, to be then hit with a powerful spinnaker
shredding gust the next. These gusts’ seem to come out
of nowhere at anytime, as they roll down and out of any one
of the many gullies’ that are etched into the surrounding
hillsides. |
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Skellet’s Krakatoa II with only a few hundred metres to the finish.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage.
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Howard De Torres’ Nips N Tux slips behind Discoverer of Hornet, representing the United Kingdom’s Air Force and skippered by Rebecca Walford.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage.
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Discoverer of Hornet finds a little breeze and
turns to stay within the narrow patch of wind that De Torres
had found earlier.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage.
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| Then if you are not fortunate enough to have a decent weather system breeze to you get over the line and are riding out a local land or sea breeze, you could only hope you get there before dark. |
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One could only imagine the frustration on board Krakatoa
II, standing still and watching three other boats
closing in from behind and being so close to the
finishing line.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage.
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Krakatoa II finally gets a slight puff, but no
where near as much as what Nips N Tux has.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage.
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Challenger of Hornet manages to get some air into their spinnaker, to follow the darker patch of the river where the breeze is to recover some momentum.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage.
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| What these photos reveal is what usually happens to those trying to get to the line, just on dark as the localised weather patterns begin to shut down. With a line of four boats trying to squeeze what they can out of the remaining puffs of wind, there were some brilliant tactical manoeuvres seen from Hobart’s Battery Point and most captured through the lens. |
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Light puffs torment Krakatoa II as race officials standby.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage.
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Howard De Torres’ Nips N Tux seen well inside the middle of breeze, represented by the darker patch of water.
Photo © Peter Andrews, Outimage.
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Article
continues on Page
2 with more photos.
For further information about the 2009 Rolex Sydney Hobart, go to the official race website at: www.rolexsydneyhobart.com |
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| Outimage and
Peter Andrews © 2010 |
