Melbourne to Hobart (M2H) West Coaster

7:09 PM Sat 20 Dec 2008 GMT

'Maatsuyker Island Light House - image by Jeff Jennings'

The Heemskirk Consolidated, Melbourne to Hobart (M2H) West Coaster is the Ocean Racing Club of Victoria's premier blue water event. It is one of the definitive landmarks in the Australian Summer sporting fixture.

The classic, 480nm M2H West Coaster has been run each year since 1972 and only delayed twice. This most challenging of races, in some of the world's most revered waters, has a truly enviable safety record, which is how in 2008, a boat like Robin Hewitt's 'Yoko' will be lining up for their 27th consecutive West Coaster! This is a fantastically significant and praiseworthy achievement for sure.

The M2H West Coaster is a real race. A race run for yachties, by yachties - hard work earns you the yellow cap of the West Coast racer. There is a certain camaraderie that pervades this race and the crews that do it.

Historically, there is a lot to the M2H West Coaster. Stan Gibson and John Cannon created the West Coaster, back in a time when the concepts of GPS and breathable wet weather gear would have had you laughed out of the bar.

Stan, from Hobson's Bay Yacht Club in Melbourne and John from the Derwent Sailing Squadron in Hobart sought to offer the Southern and Western States an alternative to getting the boat to Sydney and all that this entails logistically. The other benefit was that you still got to be in Hobart for all the celebrations, including NYE!

They had to convince a lot of people that a course would be achievable, given that going around the bottom of Tasmania had not used since the early days of European square-riggers, before Bass Strait had even been fully discovered by Bass and Flinders in the late 18th Century. 36 years on, their studies of the prevailing weather and the ORCV's race management and education programmes mean this race is still available to those wanting to explore their inner strengths.

Each year on December 27, Portsea Pier is awash with visitors keen to get a final glimpse of the ORCV fleets as they depart for Launceston and Hobart. All crews having completed the Cock of the Bay on the day before - Boxing Day. For the next two to four days, these could well be the last people and indeed civilisation the West Coaster crews will see, until they meet the other fleets in Storm Bay and the Derwent River.

On paper, the M2H West Coaster course is easy to explain. You depart Port Phillip through the Heads, charge across Bass Strait, down Tasmania's dramatic and world heritage listed West Coast, before rounding Australia's most Southern point, to then head North again to Hobart.

Maatsuyker Island - The seal is the only one to have seen this sort of weather here - M2H West Coaster - John Curnow

Simple. Or is it?

This part of the world is as changeable as it is dramatic and pretty. In the end, it is all about geography. Bass Strait is shallow by blue water standards, often barely 25m deep. Around 13,000 years ago there was indeed a land bridge linking Victoria to Tasmania from Wilsons Promontory via the Kent Group, then on to the Furneaux Group and finally across Banks Strait to Cape Portland.

Bass Strait is acknowledged as Australia's most consistently roughest water. The changes here are as notorious as they are fast. The course is also exposed to the West and the predominant winds generated by the spin of the earth and the Coriolis effect. It is part of the Roaring Forties and by definition, next door to the Furious Fifties and Screaming Sixties that the Round the World crews use to generate their 40kn plus speeds to traverse the globe. Antarctica is the only other landmass down there and of course, South East Australia's weather at Christmas time is best described as 'anything and possibly everything'.

So. With the gun having been fired, we're off. You head right, over towards Point Lonsdale and then straight out, being careful to miss Challenge Reef on your right and Corsair Rock on your left. The Port Phillip Sea Pilots provide a trophy for the first boat out of the Heads and this is keenly sought after. It is also very apt that the Pilots are involved, for as a maritime challenge, the Heads are also world-renowned.

Weather the whole way down plays such a critical role in your plans and will be monitored closely for sure. If Poseidon and Zeus or any other being has played to your hand, you could charge over the whole of Bass Strait in 14 hours; heart-breakingly longer otherwise. You may even extend your thoughts to the other fleet already heading East to Flinders Island. However, the gap between the bottom of King Island and Tasmania's Northwest corner, Cape Grim (yes. who did name that?), can add its own dimension and re-focus you. Tricky currents run through here, Navigators will be constantly updating ETAs to tide charts and locations, for a well-placed boat can gain significant position in this patch, much like the experience you have walking on a travelator versus normal walking at a large airport.

Cape Grim to the South West Cape is the next sector. You may be lucky to have winds from the West or North West and be making good time. The Navigator could even be telling you where you are relative to record time, as you take in the majesty of this coast and its barren, wind-swept nature, which gets more and more amazing the further South you head. Indeed, you will be part of a rare group of sailors who get to see this place first-hand. However, as you do penetrate further South it is exactly there where you can slow down significantly, as you meet the dense and strong Southerlies and their accompanying seaway.

The narrow 120m entrance to Macquarie Harbour, is about half way down the West Coaster. It is home to the delightful town of Strahan and the truly stunning Gordon/Franklin River system.

It was named 'Hell's Gate' by the early convicts of Sarah Island, which included the very infamous cannibal, Alexander Pearce, because it was the entrance to the most remote and tough penal 'hellhole' in the whole of the British Empire.

That's quite a title to have, but you wont have to worry about any of that however, for if your boat draws too much or the weather is too inclement, you wont be able to go in anyway. Should you be able/need to go in, please pay close attention to the Cardinals and look out for the ever-changing sandbars. Interestingly, it represents very last indications of civilization, which you won't be near again until Bruny Island.

As you continue, hopefully barreling down past Cape Sorrell and then Low Rocky Point, you will be deep into the National Park and begin to realise how isolated you are. Just like the Hercules trips to Antarctica, you have to remain committed to Hobart or turn and head back to Stanley or Devonport. There is simply nowhere else for you to go. The wonderfully friendly Cray fishermen of Port Davey won't even be around in a blow. The redeeming feature is that you have just started to head more Easterly and if you're lucky, you should be able to ease the sheets some.

Your next installment is the south coast from South West Cape and Maatsuyker Island (pronounced Mat Sy Carr) to the South East Cape and Whale Head. This is the edge of the great Southern Ocean. You'll be down around or past the 45th parallel, reaching or running in the predominant West, Sou'Westerlies with the big long swells that look like deep navy corduroy. It is often both very cold and very fast. The penguins in your crew will love it. Simply put, no bush walker will ever see it the same way and they are visions that will stay with you forever. After ducking below Maatsuyker, which is the furthest South you go on this trip, you'll ever so gradually swing slightly North as you make your way to Tasman Head at the bottom of South Bruny Island.

The Friars - No handbrake at sea - so steer carefully - M2H John Curnow

Just below Tasman Head are The Friars. A rocky little group that give some indication as to what lies below the surface. Some crews with a keen local knowledge pass through here - the majority steer well clear! Your call. From there you'll be turning North, with yet more opportunities to have a kite up. Warning. The Brunies also have high headlands and can cast significant wind shadows, so keep an eye and ear out for up-to-date information to help you decide which part of Storm Bay to be in. Remember. You've almost done it; so don't let slip now.

This is your penultimate section of the race and as you get further into Storm Bay you will no doubt encounter vessels from other fleets. How are those side bets going now you wonder? Did we nail it or are we buying the drinks? At the very least, it is likely to be significantly warmer by now.

Finally then, you pass the Iron Pot and you're in the Derwent - your last stage. Pray it is not nightfall, for the river can serve up some of the most fickle and soul-destroying winds. Work hard, concentrate and take whatever local knowledge you have collected, remembering what you have gone through to get here. Chase all wind and keep the boat moving - stationary or backwards is no fun at any time.

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 after a West Coaster, you'll surely take it.

Cape Grim - fearsome name, cleanest air in the world! - M2H West Coaster - John Curnow

The M2H West Coaster fleet have their own Summer series to gain points towards - The Sovereign Series. Starting with the Cock of the Bay and then their M2H West 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.

So having sold your wet weather gear for a jug of Rum and Coke in a tirade about 'never again', you'll need to go out shopping. 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 Sovereign Series is a true mark of a crew's all-round ability.

by John Curnow

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