Catholic Online Forum

One day and six hours is the new fastest sail-time between Sydney and Hobart.

Sydney sailor Sean Langman set out just before 11:00am AEDT yesterday to break the standing record of one day, 18 hours.

Cruising at up to 38 knots overnight, Langman and his crew in the trimaran Team Australia sailed into Storm Bay about 3:00pm AEDT today, crossing the Hobart finish line just before 5:00pm.

He says the achievement has not quite sunk in.

That Sydney-Hobart time sounds fantastic for a mono-hull! Many a sailor has died in that particular sailing route when conditions get rough.

The 1998 Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race was the 54th annual running of the "blue water classic" Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. It was hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia based in Sydney, New South Wales. It was the most disastrous in the race's history, with the loss of six lives and five yachts.

The 1998 fleet comprised 115 starters. Of these, only 44 yachts completed the race, after severe weather conditions struck the fleet off the south-eastern Australian coast. An unusually strong low pressure depression developed which resulted in mid-summer snow across parts of south-east Australia. The weather system built into an exceptionally strong storm with winds reaching up to 70 knots, similar in strength to a lower-category hurricane. The rising storm produced an enormous waterspout perilously close to one yacht, ultimately causing the sinking of five boats and the deaths of six sailors. Additionally a record 66 yachts retired from the race, and 55 other sailors had to be airlifted from their yachts by rescue helicopter. Overall, the rescue efforts involved 35 military and civilian aircraft and 27 Royal Australian Navy vessels, and proved to be Australia's largest ever peacetime rescue operation.

I thought the record breaker was a trimaran.

I thought the record breaker was a trimaran.