PBS Director Lee Condell has entered this years Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race 2-handed with co-skipper Lincoln Dews from Queensland. Lincoln started last year’s race on the Sun Fast 3200 Hell’s Bells, but had to retire with engine problems.
The pair are campaigning a new Jeanneau Sun Fast 3300 called Sun Fast Racing and completed their qualifier last month delivering the yacht from Brisbane where it was commissioned. The delivery went extremely well with the pair covering the distance from Southport to Pittwater in just 48 hours in a range of conditions from light downwind running to tight reaching across Stockton Bight in gusts of 37 knots. Top speed recorded was 17.6 knots. Not bad for a 33-footer on its maiden coastal voyage!
Since its arrival to Sydney work has been progressing on meeting the demanding requirements to enter the Hobart. Safety audits have been completed, sail measurements, IRC weighing, stability incline and all the required communications and safety gear sourced and installed.
Just to give you an idea of what is involved all yachts are required to carry a VHF radio, HF radio, and Satellite phone, all with back-up antennas, a tracker, boat and personal EPIRB’s, AIS and personal AIS transponders, as well as life-raft, flares, extensive first-aid kit, MOB retrieval, throwable device, Dan Buoy, life-ring and so on.
The boats IRC rating and stability acceptance are expected to be completed over the next two weeks and they will then be race ready.
The pair will start their first race in mid-October, being the CYCA Bluewater Series ‘Tollgate Island’ 260 miler to Batemans Bay and back, along with the other races in the series as a lead up to their Hobart bid.
Excitedly there look to be six Sun Fast 3300’s entered in the Hobart, five to be raced 2-handed, as well as two Sun Fast 3600’s, both double handed. The two-handed division is expected to be the biggest division in the race with 18 yachts expected.
“My co-skipper Lincoln Dews and I just had a superb 350-mile delivery trip and Hobart qualifier from Southport to Pittwater on our Sun Fast 3300 “Sun Fast Racing”, also the first shakedown of this new boat fresh-out-of-the-wrapper, having just done a few short sails on Moreton Bay to check sails and systems since its launch.
Although predominantly reaching and running we experienced sustained winds of 24 knots with gusts to 37 close reaching across Stockton Bight, so were able to test reefing systems for both headsail and the main, as well as giving the Code 0 and A2 a good workout.
Everything on the boat worked well and it just reinforced to me what incredible offshore racing yachts these are. They just exude confidence and still amaze me with consistent performance well beyond what would have been expected of a boat this size even a few years ago.” Lee Condell