Sydney Hobart 2025

[Philpott]

Race starts on Boxing Day, which is the day after Christmas in Australia, on December 26.
Right now? It is 0732 pm Christmas Eve in California and 02:32 pm on Christmas Day in Australia. You figure out the math for when the race starts. It makes my head hurt and I ran out of fingers.

What happens when you put three singlehanders on a boat with a schooner captain and three other people and send them off on a race outa Sydney Australia? Dunno.

Dave Garman, Jim Quanci and John Wilkerson along with Andy Schwenk aboard John's Express 37 s/v Perplexity. Plus three other sundry people, maybe John's friends from Bainbridge Island. Don't know. But here are photos Andy sent from the race village.

 

[Philpott]

A few more photos.

 

[Philpott]

No need to keep emailing me. Here it is:

file:///C:/Users/jacqu/Desktop/sydney/rolexsydneyhobart_competitorfaqkit_2025v52finalfinal.pdf
Watch it here:

 

[Philpott]

PHOTOS FROM jOHN WILKERSON

Beauteous Perplexity




Chef Quanci




The competition doesn't stand a chance against Perplexity's crew. Wild Thing? Feh!

 

[Philpott]

 

[BobJ]

 

[Philpott]

I don't know whose photo this is: It was sent to me by someone in a long thread who got it from ... someone in the boat behind Perplexity (two portholes in the stern).





It was fun to watch the start but there wasn't much coverage of any of the "smaller" boats, only the maxi yachts. Why is that? Oh wait. That is probably what people would call a rhetorical question.

 

[Philpott]

Credit to Cyril Kollock, who singlehanded Sir Edmund in the Vallejo1-2

 

[Philpott]

 

[tmsowerby]

My hat's off to the team. John et al are great seamen and Perplexity's a great boat.

Now I have a boat to follow, I foresee hours of fun spent on Windy, the tracker https://www.rolexsydneyhobart.com/race/2025/tracker, and my weather routing program second guessing their strategy as they navigate headwinds, currents and big seas......from the comfort of my sofa, warm, dry and toasty. Joy.....

TS

 

[captleasure]

Big changes in the lead boats with damaged gear and torn sails. 33 boats have retired so far but Team Perplexity is still bringing it!

Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race 2025 LIVE: 33 yachts retire as Comanche holds lead on day three

Suspected broken ribs on two yachts, missing life rafts on two more and a new race leader headline the finale of the 80th Sydney to Hobart.

www.smh.com.au

 

[tmsowerby]

Corrected time - 2nd place in IRC Division 6 and leading IRC Veteran. Perplexity is very fast downwind - hopefully will keep pulling ahead.

 

[Philpott]

Thanks, Tim!
Perplexity looks really far east but I'm thinking they are anticipating having a hotter angle ahead? Can that be anticipated so far in advance?
And since Perplexity goes zoom zoom fast downwind that will be exciting in the Derwent River, right?

Why is it that Race to Alaska coverage is able to focus on every single boat and crew and LIVE while this coverage is ... um ... boring? And delayed? And not focused on any boats but the big ones and the ones with pretty girls on 'em? Isn't that kind of condescending?

Is it just me?
Please advise.

 

[Daydreamer]

It's Exciting having friends down under doing this race.
The first three days were pretty rough upwind work. Hard to rest or get anything to eat.
They are running deep now, hopefully catching up on rest, energy and other boats !!

Go Perplexity!!

 

[Xavier]

Thanks, Tim!
Perplexity looks really far east but I'm thinking they are anticipating having a hotter angle ahead? Can that be anticipated so far in advance?

...

One of the east/west decision factors is current. Typically more southbound current in the east.
Sam

 

[sleddog]

...

One of the east/west decision factors is current. Typically more southbound current in the east.
Sam

Xavier is correct. The EAC (East Australian Current) is one of the strongest in the world as it flows southward from the tropics. You can monitor its real time strength location and strength here, https://www.bom.gov.au/oceanography/forecasts/ When the wind is from the south meeting the current from the north, the seastate can be substantial, one reason for the large number of breakages and retirements so far.

Good news, bad news is our team on PERPLEXITY has less than 100 miles to go to the finish. However, a southerly change in the wind is coming just ahead, shifting the breeze to 20-25 knots from the southwest, right on the nose for our exhausted crew as they get to the turn at Tasman Island and prepare for the crossing of Storm Bay before entering the Derwent River for the 11 nm run to Hobart.

 

[Philpott]

I choose to believe that our tenacious sailors have chosen to finish in daylight. Yes they are probably exhausted. Yes, they probably smell bad. But are they not singlehanders? Do they not expect to smell this bad and have they not been exhausted before and when alone? Yes.
Next time: Starlink

 

[Philpott]

Finished.
From Ray Irvine:

 

[captleasure]

Congrats to team Perplexity!! Looking forward to the sea stories!