THE RACING
Rolex Yachtsman of the Year Pointing Franck Cammas' 105-ft trimaran Groupama 3 around the world in 48d, 7h, 45m, garnered Palo Alto's Stan Honey the Trophée Jules Verne. And now he's won the '10 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year award. The announcement came January 5. “I am honored to receive the US Sailing Rolex Ya c h t s m a n o f the Year Award,” Honey said. “It is humbling to read through the list of previous winners. As an American, it was an unexpected Stan Honey opportunity and honor to be asked to sail with the legendary all-French Groupama offshore multihull crew. Groupama 3’s success in the Jules Verne is a tribute to Franck Cammas’ leadership and the seamanship of the entire crew. I would also like to thank Rolex and US Sailing for all they do to support sailing.” Honey also collected the honor, in part, because of his elapsed-time win in the Newport Bermuda Race aboard Alex Jackson's Speedboat. It was the second time Honey has been nominated for the award, the first coming in '06 after his victorious lap of the planet aboard ABN AMRO 2 in the Volvo Ocean Race. And he's the second person in his household to win it; his wife Sally Lindsay
ROLEX/CARLO BORLENGHI
An ominous-looking cigar-shaped cloud spells trouble for racers in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Y.R.
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Latitude 38
• February, 2011
Honey took the women's honor in '72 and '73. This year, Anna Tunnicliffe repeated for the women's award. Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race Getting a ride for the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race is no easy feat. A specialized skill never hurts, and that's what Bay Area sailor Mike Reed used to get a spot for what's one of the world's preeminent middle distance races. Reed, who sails his Express 27 Magic regularly both on the Bay and down the coast, parlayed his training as a trauma registered nurse to land a spot for the race. This is his report of a once-in-a-lifetime experience. The '10 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race was everything it was advertised to be, 'a good, old-fashioned Rolex Sydney Hobart': uncomfortable, wet and exhausting. My quest for a ride started two years ago with all the “normal” routes, including getting on the Sydney Hobart crew list at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia. But living halfway around the world makes it next to impossible to get a ride. It's so hard in fact, that one of the Bay's local sailors Nic Vos, actually moved to Sydney specifically for that purpose. My break came as a result of sailing in the China Cup International Regatta in November aboard Team Chicago (see December's Racing Sheet Sheet), where I made connections with a few Australian teams at the event. On December 1, I got the call to come down and sail on Aussie Ted Tooher's brand-new Beneteau First 40 Chancellor. I arrived in Sydney 10 days prior to the Boxing Day start, and any time not spent on boat prep or practice went into surfing at the world-famous Bondi Beach or short day trips during which I was taken with the friendliness and hospitality of the Aussies and their love of their pubs. Yacht and crew safety requirements have become extremely rigorous since the disastrous '98 race, which saw 90-knot winds and 100-foot waves that eventually took six lives, sank five yachts, and required that 55 sailors be winched from the sea. These figures were constantly in
ROLEX/KURT ARRIGO
CLAUDE BRETON
The sailing season — and hopefully the weather — will start warming up soon but before we get there, there's important news to catch up on. First up, the Rolex Yachtsman Of the Year Award. After that we get a first-hand account of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race from a Bay Area sailor. Then it's on to recapping a few of the Bay's bigger midwinter series before topping it all of with a bevy of Race Notes about some upcoming things that you'll want to keep in mind, and also some late-breaking news.
the back of my mind and although what happened in '98 was an anomaly, it’s not uncommon to see winds to 60 knots and waves to 20 feet like we experienced this year. This year's conditions resulted in 18 of the 87 yachts retiring, two MOB’s and an injury that required an immediate call to port. The big boats saw the brunt of the weather as they sped away from the fleet and right into the peaking storms. Our “traditional Hobart” started on our at 7:30 p.m. on the first day while under spinnaker in a warm, 12-knot breeze. It was clear something was happening ahead as a large cigar-shaped cloud spread across the horizon quickly moved towards us. It was a classic "southerly buster" coming our way. My first thought was, "Wow, I remember that picture from my 10th-grade meteorology class." Within 10 minutes, we went from a pleasant downwind run to 35 knots on the nose, and third reef and storm jib. The rough seas built to 12 feet with a very short period. I heard rumors that crew were starting
