2018 Riversdale Estate Wines Launceston to Hobart Race overall
by Peter Campbell 1 Jan 2019 09:51 GMT
1 January 2019
Filepro was third to finish in the 2018 Riversdale Estate Wines Launceston to Hobart Race © Peter Watson
Thirty-four years ago the little yacht Lawless battled through a galeswept Tasman Sea to finish second overall in a Sydney Hobart Yacht Race that saw only 46 boats finish out of a fleet of 151.
Skippered by her designer and builder Robert Green, the 31-footer was beaten by only 50 minutes on corrected time.
This past few days, Lawless is still obviously a sturdy, seaworthy and well-sailed yacht, collecting a third place on corrected time in the IRC category and second on PHS in the Riversdale Estate Wines L2H 2018 race after battling through another gale off Tasmania's rugged East Coast.
Now owned by prominent Port Dalrymple Yacht Club member Stephen McElwee, Lawless has been a regular competitor in the L2H, winning the PHS category in 2015.
Lawless was last boat to finish the gale-battered L2H, late on Saturday evening after encountering 50 knot north-westerly winds in Storm Bay that had dismasted one yacht and forced seven others to retire.
Official results of the Riversdale Estates Wines L2H 2018 were announced at yesterday's prizegiving at the Derwent Sailing Squadron, with Shaun Tiedemann's Sydney 36cr Philosopher named Overall winner as first placegetter in the IRC category.
Another small boat, Footloose, Stewart Geeves' Footloose placed second in IRC, Lawless third.
In the PHS category, first place went to Crescendo, Vaughan Lynch's Dufour Gib-Sea 43, second to Lawless and third to Off-Piste, Paul Einoder's Beneteau Oceanis 34 which won the AMS handicap category.
Runner-up in AMS was Philosopher with Footloose third. Lawless did not enter this category.
Of the other northern boats in the race, Tristian Gourlay's Force Eleven finished 10th in fleet and seventh on PHS corrected time while Sassy (Tim White) finished 13th in fleet, 10th on PHS.
Line honours, for the seventh time, went to The Fork in the Road, skippered by Gary Smith.
Launceston to Hobart Race confirmed results
It's official, Shaun Tiedemann's Australian champion yacht Philosopher has been declared the Overall winner of the Riversdale Estate Wines L2H 2018.
The official results of the race were announced at the prizegiving at the Derwent Sailing Squadron with the Governor of Tasmania, Professor the Honourable Kate Warner AC, presenting trophies.
Earlier in the day, a protest hearing had granted redress of 20 minutes to Philosopher for standing by the dismasted RAD off Tasman Island at the height of the 50-60 knot north-westerly storm in the early hours of last Saturday morning.
The redress made no difference to the placings in three handicap categories, with the placings confirmed as:
Overall: Philosopher (Shaun Tiedemann, DSS)
IRC: 1 Philosopher (Shaun Tiedemann, DSS), 2 Footloose (Stewart Geeves, RYCT), 3 Lawless, Stephen McElwee, PDYC).
AMS: 1 Off-Piste (Paul EInoder, RYCT), 2 Philosopher, 3 Footloose.
PHS: 1 Crescendo (Vaughan Lynch, BYC), 2 Lawless, 3 Off-Piste.
Philosopher, arguably the gun boat of the Derwent Sailing Squadron fleet in Hobart, won what skipper Shaun Tiedeman describes as a 'full on' race down Tasmania's rugged East Coast.
In the early hours of Saturday morning Philosopher stood by the dismasted yacht RAD in a 50 knot nor-wester off Tasman Island.
Once it was clear that RAD's crew had everything in hand, Tiedemann and his young crew sailed on to finish fourth in fleet and provisionally first in IRC handicaps and thus overall winner of the race.
"Awesome crew work from the 'Offshore Philosphers' for the entire race – Sam Tiedemann, Andrew Davison, Nelson Brown, Alec Bailey, Tom Stearnes, Nicholas Corkhill and Shaun Tiedemann," the skipper wrote on the team's facebook.
"It was a fantastic effort in getting Philosopher to RAD who had lost their rig south of Tasman," added Tiedemann, who is general manager of the Derwent Sailing Squadron.
"The race was full on – the Banks Strait nightmare where we missed the tide and parked for six hours; bouncing off an uncharted 'bully'; a ripping kite run al the way down the East Coast; and a fresh to fierce trip around Tasman and into Storm Bay in a 40-50 knot blow.
"The lads raced the boat hard all the way and the result is a credit to the team....outstanding sailors...outstanding seamanship," Tiedemann added.
On Wednesday, 2 January 2019, Philosopher will be out on the Derwent again to defend her title of King of the Derwent, this year's event sponsored by Derwent Boat Sales.
Then, late in January later she will heading north again, crossing Bass Strait to contest the Australian Yachting Championships on Port Phillip. Philosopher is the current Division 3 IR champion.
Of the 26 starters in the L2H, 18 boats finished the gruelling race with line honours going to The Fork in Road (Gary Smith) and Lawless the last boat to finish on Saturday evening.