12:53 AM Mon 14 Dec 2009 GMT
The countdown to the 2009 Rolex Sydney Hobart Race has entered the final stages for the 'Tropical Shirt' sailors as they prepare to master the challenge of completing 628 nautical miles of physically gruelling ocean racing.
Not every sailor including the crews on the former Volvo Globe challenger Telcoinabox Merit representing the Whitsunday Sailing Club and Another Fiasco proudly racing under the Abel Point Yacht Club burgee can predict the personal torment they will face but they are all determined to enjoy the post race celebrations.
Naturally all are totally different however they remain positive on the outcome however a high percentage have accepted they will be cold wet exhausted frightened and hungry during their battle to log the faster nautical miles against an unpredictable weather pattern which is always spiced with some hidden challenges.
Thinking ahead and applying the sail fast strategy to make the most from the velocity and wind angle that fills the sails becomes the paramount issue after the crews weather Sydney's South Head on Boxing Day to commence the long haul to Hobart.
One 'Old Salt' and veteran of numerous Hobart classics including several stressing 'knockdowns' who has since hung up his storm suit simply described the Hobart Race as a test to sort the best from the rest but in the end every sailor who steps ashore on Constitution Dock is an achiever.
This year Whitsunday Sailing Club skipper Leo Rodriguez and his Telcoinabox Merit crew will defend the Performance Handicap trophy against a very competitive group of rivals including former class winner Damien Suckling's Another Fiasco.
Both yachts are radically different which promises to turn the 'Local Derby' involving the present and past champion into a drag race to finish with the faster corrected course time.
The advantage of a longer waterline will provide the former Volvo Globe challenger Merit and principal skipper Leo Rodriguez to post the faster elapsed time but only time will tell if it will be quick enough to finish ahead of Another Fiasco on individual rated handicap.
Winning class honours in any ocean race is a significant achievement and both crews have proved they have the collective skill to win again but it will all come down to sailing their own race and making the important tactical decisions.
Last year the race became a complicated issue for skipper Leo Rodriguez when he and crew skilfully completed a dramatic rescue of the Victorian crew before the sloop Georgia plummeted to the ocean floor.
Rodriguez applied for and was granted and 18 hour redress for the time they took to ensure the safe rescue which elevated them to claim a deserved win in the performance handicap class.
Both crews are expecting an incident free race with Telcoinabox Merit facing a real threat from Another Fiasco in what promises to become an interesting tactical duel which depending on the forecast could extend beyond the 80 hour mark to officially decide which crew can claim the 'bragging rights' for the next 12 months.
by Ian Grant
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