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Sydney/Hobart, AUS
December 26, 2004 - January 4, 2005
First
international entry for 60th Rolex Sydney Hobart
July
19, 2004
The
Cruising Yacht Club of Australia has received the
first international Application to Enter this year?s
60th Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race ? from a German
yachtsman who is building a new Reichel/Pugh designed
Marten 49 to be named Vineta.
This
brings to 14 the number of boats already nominated
for the 628 nautical mile ocean classic which starts
on 26 December 2004.
The
Marten 49, described as a sports cruising yacht, is
being built in Auckland by the internationally renowned
Marten Yachts, and is due for launching in November
for the German owner/skipper Felix Scheder-Bieschin.
Scheder-Bieschin
is an experienced ocean racing yachtsman who has competed
in three Fastnet Races, three Transatlantics and a
Buenos Aires to Rio Race.
The
high-tech boat will be the second to be launched Marten
49, built in carbon fibre with foam cores. It will
be rigged with a Marten Spars carbon double sweptback
spreader, tapered mast. The boat has a LOA of 15m,
a beam of 4.17m, a draft of 3.7m, an IRC displacement
of 11,230kg and 3,413kg in ballast.
Vineta
is expected to be a strong contender for the Tattersall?s
Cup, the historic perpetual trophy for Overall Winner
under IRC handicaps, the trophy won by another German
yacht, Raptor, in the 50th Sydney Hobart Race in 1994
when the winner was decided under the IMS handicap
system.
Meanwhile,
veteran Melbourne yachtsman Lou Abrahams has nominated
a new, as yet un-named Sydney 38 for the 60th Race,
with his previous Sydney 38, Another Challenge, to
be skippered by Chris Lewin with a young crew from
Melbourne University. A third Sydney 38 in the early
line-up is Bruce Taylor?s Chutzpah, also from Melbourne.
Other
Applications to Enter the 60th Rolex Sydney Hobart
Yacht Race so far received by the CYCA include: By
Order of the Secretary, Cavalier 38 (George Shaw,
Vic), Courtesan, Farr 11.7 (Philip Childs, WA), Grasshopper,
Cole 31 (Graham Jackson, NSW), Ichi Ban, Farr 52 (Matt
Allen, NSW), Kaz, Lyons 52 (David Pescud, NSW), Komatsu
A Few Good Men, Mumm 36 (Shane Kearns, NSW), Pippin,
Farr 37 (David Taylor, Tas), Polaris of Belmont, Cole
43 (Chris Dawe, NSW), Strewth, MKL 49 (Geoffrey Hill,
NSW) and Wild Oats, Farr 43 (Howard Piggott, NSW).
RACE
DETAILS:
60th
Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race Course: From Sydney
Harbour New South Wales, 628 nautical miles south
in the Tasman Sea, down the South-East Coast of Australia,
across Eastern Bass Strait and down the East Coast
of the island State of Tasmania to Hobart on the Derwent
River.
Start:
1300 hours on Sunday, 26 December 2004.
Race
record: 1 day 19 hours 48 minutes 2 seconds set by
Nokia (Den/Aus) in 1999.
Handicap
systems: IRC and PHS. Notice of Race and other information
available on official web site ? www.rolexsydneyhobart.com.au
Conducting
Club: Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, Sydney, Australia.
Ph: +61 2 9363 9731 or email ? cyca@cyca.com.au
For
further media information, please contact:
Rolex
Sydney Hobart Yacht Race Media Director Peter Campbell,
Ph: +61 2 9869 8197 or 0419 385 028. Email: peter_campbell@bigpond.com
CYCA
Communications Manager Lisa Ratcliff, Ph: +61 2 9363
9731 or 0418 428 511. Email: lisaratcliff@bigpond.com
International
Media Contact:
Key Partners (KPMS)
info@regattanews.com
Results
and Photos at www.regattanews.com
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