10:08 PM Tue 9 Dec 2008 GMT
Born in 2007, the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria's latest race is now officially referred to as the Heemskirk Consolidated, M2H East Coaster.
Following on from the success of the centenary event created last year for the Rudder Cup, the course has been slightly modified and is now almost the identical distance as the ORCV classic - the 480nm M2H West Coaster.
This year however, skippers and crews will not be required to cross the finish line of the Melbourne-Launceston race at Low Head and then continue along the Tasmanian North-East Coast.
Instead, once out of the Heads of Port Phillip, they will turn immediately South East and make for Wilsons Promontory and then still further East as the rhumbline extends past the beautiful Deal Island, before turning South to start making their way directly to Hobart, just above Flinders Island at Craggy Island. Given favourable winds, this first section of the M2H East Coaster could be very fast and enjoyable.
Once turned however, there are two distinctive choices in the overall route you could take. Do you head out and away from Flinders to pick up the remainder of the East Australia Current and join the S2H fleet all barrelling in towards Tasman Light?
Or do you stay close to Flinders Island? And it is here that the many interesting navigational and meteorological challenges found in the inaugural race will come into their own. By being close to the spectacular Tasmanian coast, there will be many things to concentrate on - from the wind shadows off the bottom of Flinders and the tides coming through Banks Strait, to land breezes, sea breezes, coastal effects and of course the katabatics.
What's a katabatic you ask? It is a wind created at night when the tops of mountain ranges cool the surrounding air quickly after being heated during the day. The resultant heavier air then falls down the valleys and out to sea, much like water through a gulley. Generally they are light in strength, but the higher the mountains and the more significant change in the temperature, the more breeze. If you are familiar with this coast and S.E Australia's sensational Christmas weather patterns, then you can begin to imagine what effect these winds could bring should conditions be right.
All too hard? Then ponder this. The boats out further East could be in a very different weather pattern, with an entirely uncomfortable seaway. A cunning skipper, navigator and crew could glide and weave their way down the coast, while their opponents out at sea could be very cold, wet, hungry and slow, with a VMG more akin to an Optimist dinghy than an Ocean Racer!
Tasman Island at the bottom of Storm Bay acts like an outdoor light to mosquitoes, as all the racing fleets gather to get across Storm Bay, avoid the Iron Pot and then make the best of the often fickle winds that the Derwent can serve up.
It is here that any side bet you had with entrants from this or other races could look promising or disastrous. Avoid Cape Raoul and its wind hole, make the most you can from any local knowledge you can garner from experienced racers or Tasmanians aboard your boat and be prepared for the equation to change at night or early in the morning.
Alas when you finally do get to the Elizabeth Street Pier a warm welcome and cold slab of beer awaits all finishing boats - no matter what the hour!
And the fun does not stop there. The M2H East Coaster fleet have their own Summer series to gain points towards - The Salamanca Series. Starting with the Cock of the Bay and then their M2H East Coaster result, skippers and crews will be keen to get the final points in the King of the Derwent, which the ORCV runs in conjunction with the Derwent Sailing Squadron in Hobart.
The race, always on January 2, attracts entrants from our two fleets, as well as the Sydney-Hobart race, often including the Maxis. You have a lot of the best sailors in the world pitted against each other with the need for local knowledge from Tasmanian Skippers as crews master the very fluky conditions. We are delighted that Wrest Point remains involved with us for this great local event that sees a fleet of around 60 yachts cover the Derwent River course in a sea of colour.
Proudly sponsored by Heemskirk Consolidated, the Salamanca Series is apt not only for the local Hobart market and caf? precinct, but also that Heemskirk have operations in Salamanca, Spain, not altogether too far from where the America's Cup is presently conducted.
by Simon Dryden
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