IT wasn’t his top result in the Sydney to Hobart but Newcastle owner-skipper Mick Martin said Frantic’s 2018 race was the best after finishing 22nd in line honours and 29th on handicap on Saturday morning.
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Martin and his crew of Newcastle and Sydney sailors were back in the event after two years off and the disappointment of retiring because of damage in 2015. They were 41st, 24th and 48th on handicap in the race from 2012-14.
The former Wallaby, who sails his TP52 out of Newcastle Cruising Yacht Club, said they reached Hobart unscathed, happy and ready for a relaxing run home.
“This is our best race,” Martin said on Sunday.
“Just performance-wise and just the downhill exhilaration, it was great. I’m very happy.
“It was a pretty tough week. It was a great race down, just downhill, and then we fell into a hole everyone else did, and then we had an absolute screaming run down the Tassie coast. It was just Volvo stuff and sensational.
“We pulled back a couple, so it was good racing too. We then got smashed at Storm Bay just to give it every aspect of Hobart, so it was good.
“When you’re doing it, the set-up – Christmas, work and getting ready for Hobart – it’s a challenge.
“The boat was where it was supposed to be and all the TPs finished within one or two hours of each other, so over that distance, it’s just good racing.
“We’ll try and dodge all the nasty stuff on the way back, have a few beers and work out where you can anchor in at. It’s always great to chill out, no phones, and we’ve got a great crew of mates who want to tick the Hobart box off.”
Newcastle’s other yacht, Sibby Ilzhofer’s Farr/Cookson 47 Dare Devil, was 46th across the line and 55th on handicap. Ilzhofer has twice had to withdraw Dare Devil from the race with rudder damage so she was relieved to finish this year when six boats were forced to retire.
“Running hard is very tough on the crew because they are trimming 20 hours a day,” Ilzhofer said.
“It wears everyone out because you’ve got to stay on the ball. If you stuff up, you break gear and break the boat.
“Everyone says it’s terrific because it’s a downhill race, and it is great, but within 48 hours, everyone is tired.
“We had some great runs and blew some things up, like out A5 spinnaker, but there were a few boats, big guns who have money, who didn’t make it, so at least we made it.
“I still have high expectations on myself and we still work really hard as a crew to achieve the very best result, but we have what we have.
“I have a boat which was built in 2000 and modified in 2012, I’m not a millionaire, we have a limited budget and so the fact that we finished is always a great thing.”
Lake Macquarie sailors were aboard some of the top finishers. Tom Addis was navigator on Black Jack, which was second across the line. Kyle Langford was on Comanche, which was third, while Lucas Chapman and Chris Nicholson were on fourth-placed Infotrack.
