2021 Rolex Sydney Hobart Preparations

One thing I failed to mention reaching back to my earlier posts, Rogue Wave is off the market. After what seemed an eternity of showing punters over the boat, it was apparent many just wanted to check out a Sigma because she is the only Sigma 36 in Australia. Since COVID has dragged on and my Open 40 Roaring Forty is still in The Netherlands and not accessible until our borders open and I have my 2nd jab, I will keep the old Rogue until I stop sailing. 

As discussed in my previous post, sail damage and fatigue were my primary concerns for this years Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race (RSHYR) after my old #2 furling working headsail exploded coming home from Hobart in 2020, and the mainsail had started to delaminate in areas of the luff and leech. Repairs were done after the 2018 Solo Tasman race, but the 2019 RSHYR pushed the #2 over the edge, and the mainsail needed more attention. So whilst ok for cruising, it would continue to be a case of chase the next failure which is not very cost effective. Sail repair is a bit like welding repairs where you have a crack and weld it up, the weak point then becomes the area adjacent to the weld. I purchased the Doyle Cruise Laminate sails new in 2011/12. They have seen a lot of use in some pretty nasty weather, crossed the Tasman 5 times and have sailed thousands of miles, but they also held shape.

So what to buy......Cruise Laminate again or the ye old trusted Dacron? Laminates retain their shape  longer than Dacron, so that is a plus and puts laminates over Dacron. However, the crux is failure of the resin glue used to laminate the sail together. At the top-end price range sails are made using technology that fuses the sail without resin so it cannot fail and the hi-tech yarns are individually arranged as per the expected loading of the sail. Moulded sails are when the fibres are laid over a mould that mirrors the sails designed shape. High tech and expensive and way out of my budget and need. I own a displacement boat, not a high speed planing boat.

But there is also high tech in the world of Dacron sails, so that's where I placed my bet for the next 10 years. Jon Sanders has circumnavigated the globe 11 times solo.....yep 11 times. Jon uses Rolly Tasker Sails exclusively as he was mates with the late Rolly Tasker himself. Sir Robin Knox-Johnston had Rolly Tasker Dacron sails on his Open 60 Grey Power for the Trans-Atlantic race, so there was definitely credibility to these high tech Dacron sails. The sails are made in their massive loft in Thailand where skilled workers turn out great sails with fantastic attention to detail. 

So, enter Greg and Sam Newton at Rolly Tasker Sails in Sydney who have me sorted for a new Warp Drive 10.11 triradial mainsail with three reefs instead of the two reefs I had in my old mainsail. The third reef is at 40% of the luff so a little deeper than my old sail. The #2 tri-radial roller furling headsail will also be a touch smaller at around 27sqm vice 30sqm, as I found single handed offshore I mostly had to take a wrap of the sail to balance the boat. This should fix that issue so I have a better sail shape without the need to furl quite so early. The tradeoff is when fully crewed the extra sail area is really needed. I hope to be able to run my #4 double headed with the smaller #2 but will need to do some trials to see if the slot between the sails is wide enough. Likely yes for reaching but not so for windward work.

Sam is a professional sailor currently competing on the F50 foiling catamaran on Australia's entry in SailGP. Australia is currently on top of the points table.

Powered by Nature™, SailGP is adrenaline-fueled racing as eight teams go head-to-head in iconic venues across the globe for a winner-takes-all $1 million prize.

As you may have gathered I am a community focused individual here to serve our community and it is for that reason I must sail for not only my own pleasure and challenges, but also for charity.  I support the Soldier On and I will continue to do so. But I have also taken onboard another charity Brain Tumour Alliance Australia (BTAA) and I will go into more detail as to why in a separate post.

             So to ensure their message is broadcast I have decided to brand my new sails with their corporate logo at my cost and with the help and generosity of Scott Archer at Imagine Signage in Sydney. There are only a couple of signmakers with the equipment to print on sticky back insignia cloth so finding Scott was thanks to Sam and his professional network connections.

Next was hull branding. During a telecon with fellow 2023 Global Solo Challenge competitor Brian Pattinson from Melbourne, he and his son Tristan kindly and generously sponsored the manufacture supply of my hull decals through their business AUSIGN.

A big thankyou to all my supporters. Whilst I am driven to be self sufficient in my campaigns with no major sponsors, the generous support offered by industry and members of the public is always welcome as it helps offset my personal and significant investment as we race to raise awareness and funds for Soldier On and Brain Tumour Alliance Australia.

Next big tasks on the list will be annual haul-out for antifoul and rigging maintenance and the RSHYR qualifying passage with Daz so plenty happening to Rogue Wave, so stay tuned.