Ichi Ban skipper Matt Allen says this year’s Sydney to Hobart is likely to see another win from one of the big boats, including his, despite its relatively untested status.
One of the fancies for overall honours, brand new 60-footer Ichi Ban has only enjoyed six weeks of racing but Allen is confident it is ready to go.
“We designed a 60-footer because we thought that this race favours the boats that really get in in the afternoon and on the average race a 60-footer will get in sometime between mid-morning and mid-afternoon and hopefully avoid the treacheries of the light airs in the Derwent (River) and Storm Bay,” Allen said at a press conference held with fellow overall contender chances on Monday.
“So our feeling was to go for a fixed keel yacht with relatively proven technology but to try and increase the performance of very successful boats, especially boats like Loki that got second last year and won overall the year before so it was really a development of that theme.”
According to weather forecasts, the race could start under 10 to 15 knot nor-easters on Boxing Day, with the winds freshening as the fleet makes it way down the NSW south coast.
The north to north-easterly winds are expected to get up to around 25 to 30 knots on Friday, before the first significant change later that night.
The wind is forecast to move around to the west early on December 28.
“I think with the weather the models really aren’t in line at this stage. They will move around a little bit, but the boats that haven’t gone around Tasman island on Sunday are going to struggle,” Allen said.
“Thirty to 40 knots maybe more from the south, south west is going to push the smaller boats back in my view so it is pretty hard to work out who is going to win the race.
“But I think that you are probably looking at the bigger to middle larger section of the boats with the best chance.”
Last year supermaxi Wild Oats XI took out line and overall honours.
Two other largely unknown quantities, Patrice, which has been highly impressive in its 10 weeks of racing, and Beau Geste which is yet to race, are also major contenders for overall honours, which Allen said sets the scene for an unpredictable race.
“I think it is very hard to pick a winner. I don’t think there is any race in the world you could go to to see such an eclectic collection of boats,” he said.
“A lot of them, such as Beau Geste and to some degree Patrice and Ichi Ban are almost unproven boats.
“So there are lots of unknown commodities out there.”
