Fineline USA finished the race in 42nd while seeing 57 boats retire from the fleet of 116 that set sail from Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day, 26 December 2004, only to encounter more than 50 hours of galeforce winds and rough seas from the second morning of the race.
Tom now has a J/105 that he races here in Chicago. Check out all the reports here: http://www.j105.org/fleet5/
Here is from Tom Edman aboard Fineline USA
Hello all,
Currently in Strahan (pronounced Strawn) in western AU after a beautiful mountainous drive across AU from Hobart. Did I mention that Fineline arrived safely New Year's eve at about 5pm? A brief recap of the race...
Start:
WILD! Big boats going three times the speed of others all headed for the favored end of the start line. We opted (or were forced) toward the middle of the line where we enjoyed wind shadows from every angle. We tacked our way through the fleet for about three miles, then headed south for Hobart. Our goal was not to "hit or be hit" and we accomplished that.
Sunday-Mon 6 Am:
The winds at 10 knots from the port quarter gradually built through the afternoon and evening. We progressively reduced sail area until we were sailing 'wing and wing' with a reaching #3 and full main in about 30 knots of wind. Shortly after dawn the wind relaxed for a bit, then stormed in from the starboard bow (180 degree frontal shift).
Monday Am to Tues Pm:
We quickly reduced headsail and main and by midday were down to storm jib and trysail (winds around 40 knots). Meanwhile, a through hull fitting fractured, letting in lots of water. We found and plugged the leak in time to respond to 'emergency' #2, the bolt holding the vang (and the main) sheared off (rather explosively). Some quick work with Spectra cord got us back under control.
The wind and waves built with highest winds of 60+ knots and seas running 30 feet crest to trough. We spent the night and most of Tues. with just a storm jib, doing more mileage vertically than toward Hobart.
During this tough time we had some sick and injured crew which reduced our ability to keep our watch system running (read-not enough rest). The inside of the boat was pretty much like living in your washing machine minus the soap suds and the warm water.
Wed. and Thurs:
As winds abated, we started increasing sail area and proceeding to make our way south. Naturally, the winds went from 50 knots to 5 knots from the south, but we were glad for the chance to regroup.
Friday:
We rounded the southernmost point of our course (Tasman Island) around 8 am with a building breeze around 18 knots. After two days without seeing another boat, we spied two ships ahead of us and set our minds to 'reel them in'. They ran out of breeze as we caught up to the aft one, but we also lost wind at that point (only 30 miles upriver to go...ugh). We separated from both boats and waited for a sea breeze to build, which it did around 11 am, putting us ahead of one and even with the second (we later found out he had rounded Tasman Island an hour ahead of us).
A four hour match race ensued toward the finish line and we finished 20 seconds apart. Both crews congratulated each other and we proceeded to seriously 'decompresss'. Our efforts were greatly enhanced by the appearance of our 'support crew' near the finish line in an inflatable boat stuffed with cheering fans and some bubbly liquid that found its way sprayed on all of us!
Finished:
124 hours and 630 miles straight line. No way of knowing how far we actually sailed since we were rarely able to head directly toward our goal. About 60 % of the starters didn't reach the finish line. Our charter agent later admitted he didn't expect us to finish (He has done the race six times and only finished three).
I feel that my two goals for this race were achieved:
1. We finished
2. We truly enjoyed each other's company and the blending of personalities and skills from start to finish.
Several folks at the finish commented on how rested and happy we all looked.
Tomorrow is another day, involving a seaplane and a big powerboat (don't tell anyone!)
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