Sailish along for the Joy Ride to Hobart

Last time we checked in on Joy Ride, they were winning the Vic Maui corrected time honors over Firefly. It had been a good battle across the Pacific in some abnormal conditions. At the time, we learned Joy Ride wasn’t coming back to the Northwest, at least for a while. Instead, the boat was delivered (on her own bottom!) to Sydney, Australia for the start of the Sydney Hobart Race on Boxing Day. 

Joy Ride made it to Sydney and will be ready to go for one of the world’s great distance races. Owner John Murkowski reports that the Aussie reception has been eye-opening. “It looks like we’re the only US boat this year, and they have a ton of respect that we delivered the boat on her own bottom. They’ve been super accommodating – they said ‘we’ll kick someone out of a slip so you have a place as long as you need.'”

Ed. Note: Alert readers (and a helluva rigger) Chris Tutmark pointed out there’s another US entry. Click here. They don’t say much about it, except check out the crew list. Charlie Enright of Volvo Ocean Race fame is onboard. We’ll watch them too!

Click any photo to enlarge.

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The on-her-own-bottom delivery, skippered by Murkowski’s college roommate Bron Miller, wasn’t without challenges. Joy Ride finished Vic-Maui without a backstay adjustor or workable boom vang. Those, and some other repairs, required a 3-week stay in Hawaii. A few more fixes were required in Fiji. Along the way the rudder bearings were replaced and, once in Sydney, the sails repaired under way received proper sailmaker repairs.

Murkowski has been undertaking this task with a lot of intention. He had the J/122E built in the J/Boats French factory to his own specifications after comparing hundreds of boats in a spreadsheet. All his crew have safety at sea certifications and he’s got a long range plan for attending races in various parts of the world.

Joy Ride won’t be sailing with any local knowledge aboard, however sailish.com weather guru Bruce Hedrick will be looking into his crystal ball for them ahead of the race. “For the last few years I’ve always looked at Bruce’s Briefs. I’m glad to be able to do it for Sydney-Hobart as well!”

So, while many of us are digesting our Christmas dinners on Boxing Day, and very likely looking at some dreary December Puget Sound skies, we can all do a vicarious Hobart Race. I’ll check in with the team before and after the race to see if the race brought the team any “joy.” (sorry) 

As for post-Hobart, there are big things afoot. First of all, Murkowski needs to hightail it back to the US to be home for the birth of his twins. Then Joy Ride may be headed to Europe for some of those iconic races.

If you want to check in directly with the team, you can check out the boat’s Facebook page: www.facebook.com/joyridesailing.  The Sydney Hobart profile is here. 

Murkowski also put together these live stream options:

Live Helicopter stream:
Rolex Sydney Hobart or http://www.rolexsydneyhobart.com/:

Corinthian Yacht Club of Australia Live Stream: https://www.youtube.com/user/CYCATV/featured

Chase boat streaming of the race start and race finish including lots of live interviews with skippers and crew.Adventures of a Sailor Girl – Nic Douglass:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCrMHFSFw-tMuU1mZ0o_TLw or https://www.facebook.com/sailorgirlHQ/ :

GPS Tracker:
http://www.rolexsydneyhobart.com/tracker/ (updated every 10 Minutes)

The Yachts:
http://www.rolexsydneyhobart.com/the-yachts/

Twitter Race Updates:
http://twitter.com/rshyr