11:28 PM Sun 27 Dec 2009 GMT
For the past four years, the morning or early afternoon of the 28th of December has seen a hive of activity around the waterfront and on the River Derwent stretching to south to the river entrance at the Iron Pot.
Thousands of locals and visitors to Hobart have crowded the waterfront for the spectacle of Wild Oats XI powering up the river to take line honours in the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, accompanied by a fleet of spectator and
media craft. Overhead, helicopters have carried television crews and cameraman recording the spectacle.
Today, 28th December 2009 as the sun rose over the River Derwent at 5.33am today, nothing disturbed the waters of a boatless estuary as far south as the Iron Pot. Around the waterfront of Sullivans Cove, the sponsors flags
hung limpless, historic Constitution Dock was a millpond.
At a time of the morning when the line honours leaders were sailing across Storm Bay or even up the Derwent, chased by media boats, light aircraft and helicopters, current leader Alfa Romeo was abeam of St Helens, still more
than 160 nautical from the finish.
Everything is ready for the arrival of more than 160 yachts in the races from Sydney, Melbourne and Launceston. The Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania's liaison centre at Constitution Dock has been open since Boxing Day but business has been rather quiet with nothing for tourists to see except seagulls scavenging in an empty dock.
The famous Taste of Tasmania, the State's biggest festival of food and wine, opens today but will have to depend on locals and tourists for trade at least until tomorrow. The yachties' favourite pubs, the Custom House and the Shipwrights Inn, will be very quiet today.
In effect, Hobart's residential hotels, waterfront restaurants and pubs will lose a day's valuable trade as a result of the light winds that have slowed the four ocean races that end up here - the Sydney Hobart, the two Melbourne Hobarts, one down the West Coast, the other down the East Coast, and the Launceston to Hobart. And in the L2H, most of the fleet are locals who will be heading to their homes soon after they arrive in port.
Airlines flying out of Hobart can expect many cancellations or changes to flight bookings back to Sydney or Melbourne, particularly from the crews of the maxi yachts. Wild Oats XI's plan to turn around and head back to Sydney for the Pittwater Coffs Harbour Race now seem unlikely.
With all four fleets finishing on the same line off Castray Esplanade, tonight and tomorrow will see peak traffic on the Derwent, with Alfa Romeo, ACAP Leopard and Wild Oats XI likely to finish before midnight, although not necessarily in that order. The first of the yachts in the Launceston to Hobart (L2H) should finish in the early hours of tomorrow morning followed by the leaders in the Melbourne to Hobart East Coaster (M2HE).
Yachts in the Launceston to Hobart have since daybreak today not only enjoyed pleasant, but not fast, spinnaker sailing down the East Coast, but have had the rare opportunity of seeing these three 100-footers power past them, probably doing double the speed of the front runners in the L2H, The Fork in the Road, 42 South and Mr Kite.
Since 9am a freshening north-westerly breeze had sprung up on the Derwent and hopefully the yachts on the East Coast will be enjoying equally freshening northerly winds as they head for Hobart.
No records will be broken in any of the races to Hobart this year, but the stage is set for a late afternoon, early evening finish to the 65th Rolex Sydney Hobart Race. And that will liven up an otherwise quiet and relaxed
Hobart town.
by Peter Campbell
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Manly, QLD
