The PNW’s Sydney Hobart hopeful Joy Ride appears to be having a solid race. According to the tracker John Murkowski’s J/122E is lying 11th in ORCi Division 4 and IRC Division 3. She’s 60th overall for line honors.
The ORC class leader is the Cookson 12 Grace O’Malley (
Check out the Rolex Sydney Hobart website and tracker. The start coverage video is also captivating, with Jimmy Spihill doing some of the
As predicted, it’s been a downwind race with the biggest northerlies coming during the day shortly after the start. In the evening the wind apparently dropped. It’s unclear whether the inshore or offshore route paid dividends.
Of course most eyes are on the pointy end of the fleet. Black Jack led out of Sydney Heads, Comanche roared to a lead in the heavy running conditions and Wild Oats XI (“WOXI“) claimed the lead in the lighter nighttime winds. One of the elapsed time contenders, Scallywag, abandoned the race with a broken sprit.
Kurt grew up racing and cruising in the Midwest, and has raced Lasers since the late 1970s. Currently he is a broker at Swiftsure Yachts. He has been Assistant Editor at Sailing Magazine and a short stint as Editor of Northwest Yachting. Through Meadow Point Publishing he handles various marketing duties for smaller local companies. He currently is partners on a C&C 36 which he cruises throughout the Northwest. He’s married to the amazing Abby and is father to Ian and Gabe.