2000 Telstra Cup Preview

SHOCKWAVE A LATE ENTRY FOR TELSTRA CUP

Next week’s Telstra Cup has drawn one of the largest fleets in recent years with an impressive list of over 50 entries. The regatta is highly regarded by local and international sailors in the final lead up preparations for the 2000 Telstra Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race.

The Telstra Cup, from 13-17 December, is a seven race format; five of which are offshore races of 11–20 nautical miles in length and two are inshore races. The regatta has IMS and IRC handicap categories with additional special divisions for the Farr 40 One Design, Super 30 and Sydney 38 One Design classes.

Neville Crichton, owner/skipper of the new racing sensation Shockwave has submitted a late entry to the Telstra Cup and will helm the boat himself. The brand new 80 foot “turbo-maxi” is expected to continue its recent strong form from the Hamilton Race Week, her first regatta where she had convincing line honour wins over prominent Australian maxi’s Brindabella (George Snow) and Wild Thing (Grant Wharington).

The 75 foot Brindabella, a regular Telstra Cup contender, will return for another year to size up her fellow line honour rivals before the Hobart race. The newly lengthened 83 foot Wild Thing will not compete in all seven races of the Telstra Cup but will join the fleet to compete in the final two days of racing. This will be a valuable opportunity for both to gauge their boat speed and performance.

From a fleet of near 20 yachts, the IMS division should be a closely contested affair. Yendys, skippered by Geoff Ross and overall winner of last year’s Telstra Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race will be mixing tacks for a division win with the likes of Brindabella, the new Farr 52 Loco (David Coe), Quest, chartered by British yachtsman Chris Bull, Syd Fischer’s Ragamuffin and SAP Ausmaid, skippered by South Australian Kevan Pearce with Roger Hickman as sailing master.

Xena, the skiff-like Open 60 skippered by the capable Sean Langman, is shaping up as favourite in the IRC division.

A fleet of 16 yachts is set to contest the Farr 40 One Design division of the Telstra Cup with the added extra incentives of the regatta being the Farr 40 One Design Australian Championships and the first selection series for the 2001 Admiral’s Cup.

Competition is expected to be extremely close particularly between the last year’s Australian champion Emotional Hooligan (Marcus Blackmore) who won last weekend’s Ord Minnett Regatta from World champion John Calvert-Jones in Southern Star, American yachtsman Philippe Kahn in Pegasus and class newcomers Fruit Machine (Neill Whiston) and Smile (Simon Whiston).

Kahn has just won selection to represent the USA as the Farr 40 OD skipper in the 2001 Admiral’s Cup.

In 1999 brothers Neill and Simon finished first and second overall in the Telstra Cup when racing Beneteau First 40.7’s and subsequently represented Australia in the 2000 Kenwood Cup team. For the 2000 Telstra Cup both have both opted to compete under the same boat names but in the Farr 40 OD division.

In the Sydney 38 One Design class, the recently launched Another Challenge helmed by Victorian yachting veteran Lou Abrahams is a firm favourite for a division win.