Comanche, Ragamuffin and Balance Conquer Rolex´ Shredder

Comanche blasting away in the rought waters of the final Rolex of 2015

Teams Comanche, Ragamuffin 100 and Balance conquered the Rolex Hobart - final regatta of 2015 Rolex Series known historically for its force to shred fleets to the ground. The three teams shined in rough waters and took line of honour or title.

“Fear”, “sheer terror” and “glory” were some of the words used by leading skippers to describe their experience out in ocean waters at the start of the race. Inspiration and respect soon followed.

ABC Australia reported on December 28 “US yacht Comanche Took Line Honours Despite Suffering Rudder Damage”. 

“American yacht Comanche has taken line honours in the 71st Sydney to Hobart yacht race with a time of two days, eight hours, 58 minutes and 30 seconds,” ABC reported. Comanche owner Jim Clark said he had faith his crew could pull through the difficult race.

"That's one hard, hard body of water," Skipper of Comanche Ken Read said and added that the crew was pushed to the limit.

"I've sailed around the world two and a half times and I thought I'd seen it all but that is one really tough body of water.The people who have done this race something like 25 times, God bless 'em, either they're the dumbest people on earth or the hardest people on earth. Probably a combination of the two," the honored Skipper concluded. 

Rolex Hobart released the final results which left Comanche first in the Honor Line finish up, Ragamuffin second, Rambler Third, Master Fourth and Chinese Whisper Fifth to cross the lines. The overall results threw in a different perspective. Handicap Overall Winner of the Race went to Team Balance, Da Nang Vietnam took the Win for the Class Clipper 70, IRC 0 Class was taken by Chinese Whisper, IRC 1 was taken by Balance and IRC 3 was taken by Rish. 

The Rolex Hobart Race which runs since 1945 proved to be up to its shredding reputation in this edition. "Rolex Sydney Hobart Races are a long, tough slog south in consistently fresh headwinds," Rolex warns and details the harsh conditions encountered each year of competition.

108 teams sailed off port into the unknown... more than 31 teams were forced to abandon due to damages. Winds up to 40 knots ripped mainsails and leveraged on the main masts, treacherous coral areas ran boats to water entry and caused hull damages, daggers broke with powerful tides and the force of massive relentless waves relentless took over the first days of the race as it has done for decades and decades of the prestigious regatta. 

Sailing Scuttlebutt News reported on January 5 that the plans of the fleet which started out “the 71st edition of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race on December 26,” were quickly disrupted “by the most dramatic weather and racing conditions the race has seen in over a decade”.

Comanche Ragamuffin and Balance were no strangers to the sea´s misfortune.

Sail World reported that “After a long day and overnight wait, Paul Clitheroe’s Balance was declared the overall winner of the 2015 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race”: 

Skipper Clitheroe, who turned 60 in July took the overall win for the first time but his boat won the race in 2008 when it went by the name of Quest. Skipper Clitheroe sailed with sailing master Mike Green, a veteran of 37 Hobarts, and Adam Brown, a veteran of 29 races. Both veterans have bundled in more than one story of storm passing. 

“It’s an absolute honour to win this great race,” Clitheroe said. 

“When you put a dumbo like me on a boat as good as this, it’s easy to win. In fact Greeny and Brownie are relieved when I leave the helm,” Clitheroe said.

“We had the hell beaten out of us on the first night and then it was pretty light in Bass Strait. The boat would launch into the air in the first 24 hours and you would count one, then two and if you get to three, (a crew member interjects: ‘You get the cheque book out,” Clitheroe said on the weather tough conditions.

Sail World listed Clitheroe as one of the sailors who was hurt. “Clitheroe had a fall on the boat and hurt his back, and was aware of others in the race who came off second best, including Black Jack’s owner Peter Harburg who broke a leg, and Victoire owner Darryl Hodgkinson, who cracked ribs,” Sail World reported.  

“What other sport do you know of where competitors stop and help others in trouble? We have a great sport and I’m lucky to be involved in it,” the overall winner stated. 

Taking the line of honor first Comanche made history. It was the first time a Female Owner took the line of honours- Kristy Clark´s name went down in the pages of history of Rolex Regatta.  

Just nine hours into the start “the team incurred severe damage to their port dagger board and it began flailing under the boat”. The damage could worsen by puncturing the carbon fiber hull. The crew rushed to cut it off free but once the dagger board broke away, it took out one of the rudders, which severely impacted the steering system.

“The deflated skipper Ken Read placed a call to the Cruising Club of Australia’s Race Director to report their misfortune; but Comanche’s race was not over yet,” Rolex reported. 

“That’s when we said ‘we’re done’. We stopped and took all the sails down. We actually started drifting back towards Sydney. Then I see the tools come out, and when I see the tools come out with these guys, that’s usually a good sign that they have an idea. All of a sudden you hear cutters and grinders,” Read said.

After the repair was finished Read discussed the situation with the watch captains and they decided unanimously, to finish this race.

“This racing crew would not stop unless they couldn’t,” added owner Jim Clark.

It took Comanche 13 hours to take back the waters lost against Team Rambler. Rambler too suffered damages and smashed one of the daggerboards as well. 

“About half way through we put in a long port tack and chewed up Rambler,” Read says. “We went from let’s just finish to, holy crap, we might win this thing.”

And win it they did, in grand style. “This boat is doing everything we dreamt it could do and more. “We love this boat. It got us here safe, right?” Read ended it. 

The Ragamuffin 100 story is just as incredible. Doyle Sails reported that in “one of the most challenging editions of the Rolex Sydney Hobart Race in recent years, the 100 foot Maxi Ragamuffin 100 overcame several early stumbles for a thrilling finish in the veritable race”.  

The Ragamuffin 100 was fitted with a new hull and sailed with a full Doyle Stratis sail. The “massive Square Top main was first fitted on the original Ragamuffin 100 in 2013 and stayed with the boat as the new hull was built for the rig and deck. The Top Main powered the yacht to 3 Sydney Hobart Races, 2 Transpacs and set the record in the 673 mild Hong Kong to Vietnam Race,” Doyle Sails explains.

First night for the team was all about 40 knot wind blows, dark pitch night and intense rain. During that night and during a sail change operation the team encounter problems with their massive A3 asymmetric racing spinnaker. The team struggled to get back on deck the A3 which has a sail area of 9 thousand square feet all this while “running downwind with a full main and J4 at 20 knots, into the swell”. 

The team got the ”foredeck under control” and began reducing sail area by “reefing”.”In the chaos that ensued going for the 3rd reef, the yacht crash tacked, with the keel and water ballast now to leeward,” Doyle Sails stated.

Skipper David Witt was thrown off the back of the boat in the process, only hanging on to the back but unable to help get the boat righted.

“It was 10 to 10.30 at night when the southerly hit. It was intense and relentless. We were trying to get the main down heading north when the boat literally capsized on top of us. Justin Shave was on the bow and under water, the main, half down, knocked me off the back of the boat. I was hanging on to the back end and my sea boots were dragged off me.

“All I was thinking was, ‘can someone press the canting button (to centralise the keel), cos I can’t reach it from where I am’.  We were under water for 15 minutes – the ballast was on the wrong side of the boat and so was the keel. Frightening doesn’t describe it,” Witt recalled.

Ragamuffin 100 also suffered a broken daggerboard later in the race and competed hard with Rambler 88 for the finish. In the end Ragamuffin kept on going. 

“We never give up on this boat,” Witt said.

“Everyone on board couldn’t believe how it survived the first night. I have no idea how and why the rig didn’t come down. It was about as messed up as you could get things. There were no broken battens or any damage to  the main.  As the race went on and we pulled the reefs out I was amazed to see there was no damage to the mainsail. No more than a few minor bits of chafe,” Mark Fullerton commented.  

Boats and Teams that did not abandon continued to reach port and safety as days moved one. Under cold ocean night waters, main sails down, reefing, hoving mastery in action, committed crew members jazzing up repairs, teared sails fastly patched and stitched in hope of continuation, compromised desire to end the race, 18 hs of below deck storm passing....and on and on...the stories of the sailing athletes came to shore and the Rolex Regatta Series 2015 ended the year with “epic conditions”.