A diverse and competitive fleet will chase history in the 2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race, headlined by the battle for the Tattersall Cup and the introduction of the Two-Handed Division.
Six Australian states and territories are represented in the fleet of 106 boats (NSW, Tasmania, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and ACT), along with three international entries (Black Jack – Monaco; Maverick 49 – Guernsey; SHK Scallywag 100 – Hong Kong).
Matt Allen’s Botin 52 Ichi Ban is hoping to become only the third boat to win the Tattersall Cup (awarded to the overall winner on handicap) three times, having won the 2017 and 2019 editions of the race. Simon Kurts’ S&S 47 Love & War is one of the two boats on that elite list (Freya is the other) and will be one to watch if the breeze is strong and blowing from different directions.
“We have a chance of going back-to-back, but we will put that out of our minds – we’re pretty superstitious!” Allen said. “You need all the moons to align [to win the Tattersall Cup]. You need a terrific boat, a terrific crew, but you also need luck down Storm Bay and the Derwent River.”
The TP52s will again be expected to challenge for overall honors, with Matt Donald and Chris Townsend’s Gweilo (second to Ichi Ban in 2019) one of the form boats. Craig Neil has his sights on victory with Quest, a two-time overall winner (as Quest in 2008 for Bob Steel and Balance in 2015 for Paul Clitheroe), while Michael Pritchard’s Cookson 50 Oskana (overall winner under the name Victoire in 2013) could certainly be in contention…